Super Off-Season

The Super Bowl has ended. The Green Bay Packers are the 45th Super Bowl Champions of the NFL. The commercials aired and have caught the attention of the public. Your chili you made or tasted was good and is gone. The nachos were good. Ribs and chicken.

Now what?

Well, for the players, it is their off-season. This time marks the need for a stint away from the rigors of football. Players will go on vacations, celebrate weddings, go back to their true home addresses, and spend more quality time with family. It is much needed and much deserved until team workouts begin in the spring.

Now what for the fans?

Those who are entrenched in football every Sunday and truly look forward to Sundays solely for football will have to fight its bitter absence. During the season, Sundays at 1pm, 4pm, and 8pm are a time to watch America's sport. After the season, fans are left with the specialities of other sports such as ice hockey and basketball and smaller sports like MMA and boxing and the other big sport in baseball in the spring. Even though there are many sports to look at after football ends among the many other chores, activities, and duties that need to get accomplished, many people enter Post-traumatic Football Disorder (PTFD).

It's not an official name but PTFD is normal. Physiology tells someone in my field of health and fitness and with the same title, as a strength and conditioning specialist, that athletes (and therefore non-athletes) need off-seasons. The off-season is a time to reflect on the previous season, to make changes in routine, to relax, to stay active but with less physical, mental, and emotional stress. Recharge your battery (energy). Get a new battery. Replace your battery. Physiologically, the off-season is a natural part of periodization.

Anyone can use an off-season, but it needs some planning. Even spontaneity is a planned part of an off-season. For someone who is not involved in the stressors of athletics, perhaps you need a vacation. You do not have to go far. Just slightly change your routine. It may involve traveling to a museum to see an exhibit. It may involve biking to work instead of driving, especially if driving causes too much commuter stress. Your off-season may involve going to church if you do not already go to one (the routing may catch on!) If you do go to one or belong to one, then your off-season may involve visiting churches every now and then.

For the off-season:

The options are plentiful.

Your choices are optimal.

Your actions are significant, purposeful, reflective, and manageable.

So, get it on!

Be fit,
Derek