Blame your parents for your hairline. A lack of dimples? Your parents’ fault. The way your ear lobes connect to your head (or don’t) are also the responsibility of your parents. And, of course, there’s more you can’t see in the mirror. Your family health history is embedded in you because that’s what your parents passed down. It encompasses the health issues of your blood relatives. The shared genes, and, in some cases, environment and habits, make health outcomes similar throughout a family.

And this history provides insights you and your doctor can use to help you maintain your health. The knowledge you acquire creates potential roadmaps for your future. That’s the biggest reason your family health history is more important than the few lines on a form at the doctor’s office.

So, don’t wait for your next appointment to think about your family health history. The guide below will help you start gathering this important information for your health.

Guide to Gathering Your Family Health History

Obviously, this part could take some time. And, depending on how you feel about talking to your family, some energy. But don’t worry. This step-by-step guide will help you get through the process as painlessly as possible.

1. Decide who you need to talk to: The general rule is three generations of blood-related family (on your mother’s and father’s side) make up a complete history. That includes:

• • Grandparents
  • Parents
  • Aunts and uncles
  • Siblings
  • First Cousins
  • Your children

That seems like a lot of people whose health history you need. But remember, you only need to do this for blood relatives. No step-siblings or stepparents. Nobody who married into your family. Hopefully that simplifies the process and trims the number of potentially intense conversations you need to have.

2. Focus on the information you need most: You don’t need to talk to your grandma about how much she weighed at 25. And put the tape measure away because you don’t need to check your sister’s height.

The more you know, the better. But you don’t need to collect spreadsheets—plural—of data.  Don’t track your family’s personal measurables (height, weight, speed) like a sports team sifting through potential players. Focus on these questions to collect the most critical information:

• • What significant medical issues have they faced? (This includes diseases and even major injuries.)
  • At what age did these issues start? (Knowing when they were diagnosed with an issue tells a lot about what you can expect and whether something is hereditary.)
  • For relatives who have passed, what was the cause of death?
  • What’s your family’s ethnic background? (Some issues are specific to an ethnicity or carry increased risks in certain populations.)
  • How has the environment they lived in impacted their health?
  • What mental health issues have they dealt with? (This includes everything from addiction to anxiety and depression.)
  • Is there a history of complications with pregnancy? If so, what were they?
  • What lifestyle habits have they participated in? (Heavy drinking, smoking, drug use, or healthy habits, like marathon running, can shed some light.)

3. Decide the best place or way to talk to your family members. Use family events, like reunions, to talk about health history or set up times to call or email about it in the future. Talking face-to-face is always a good option. But sometimes the impersonal nature of email provides enough removal to allow honest conversation.
4. Approach each conversation by explaining why you want this information. There’s a reason why health privacy laws exist. Discussing health issues is delicate and intensely private. Not everybody wants people to know they dealt with a medical issue or experienced mental-health problems. Letting your family members know how important it is to know this information is a good start.

If you can get everybody onboard, it’s also possible to share your collected information with your family. That way you aren’t just doing the family health history for you, but completing some of the work for others, too. But don’t share any information with others unless you have explicit permission to do so.

5. Be a good, respectful listener. Make the conversations as simple or expansive as the family member wants. Sometimes that means asking to-the-point questions and getting simple answers. Other times you might have a longer discussion where your relative opens up a lot. Listen. Be supportive. And thank them for their time after you’ve wrapped up the conversation.
6. Keep an easily updated electronic record. There are forms and tools to help simplify the process of gathering and tracking your family health history. Seek them out and use them. Most are free. And they offer a fill-in-the-blanks approach that makes it easy. Once you have a document of your own, remember to update it regularly.
7. Don’t get discouraged by obstacles. This process, like life, isn’t likely to be perfectly smooth. But there are usually still ways to get what you need. Here’s some common obstacles and how to get around them:

• • Deceased relatives: If nobody in your family knows the health history of someone who has passed, public records can help. Death certificates are typically available to the public. Obituaries can shed light on the circumstances of a person’s death. Some family medical records could be acquired, too.
  • Adoption: If the adoption is open and the person is in contact with the biological parents, a conversation will suffice. But if that’s not the case, adoption records or the adoption agency might be the best resources available.
  • Estrangement: Use the family members you have connection with to reach out to those who you don’t. If your doctor will send out questionnaires, that is an option to explore. And turning to available records is another way to get what you need.

Remind Yourself Why Health Knowledge is Power

Following the steps above will guide your process. But knowing what to do and having the motivation to do it are two very different things.

Sometimes it’s hard to get in contact. Or your relatives may not be as forthcoming as you’d like. During those times, give yourself a reminder of why you’re collecting the family health history.

It all comes down to building the biggest base of knowledge possible. The bigger the data set, the better the predictive capabilities. But even the most extensive health history will not tell your future.

It’s not like glancing into a crystal ball. Health is a complex web. Lots of factors are involved in every health outcome. So, just because your family has a history of an issue, that doesn’t doom you. And you aren’t free and clear because you don’t see a problem on your family health history.

But knowing what has happened allows you and your doctor to monitor, test, and adjust your lifestyle. It can help you understand what risks you might be dealing with. That knowledge can shape a life that does everything to reduce the potential of encountering the same issues.

Some genetic disorders may require testing at specific intervals. There could be situations where early detection of a condition is easier and plays a big role in treatment options. The effectiveness of some drugs is even tied to genetics. And it’s important to know what you may pass to your children.

Your family health history also draws your doctor’s attention to important places. If more than one blood relative has a condition, that’s a place to focus medical or lifestyle interventions.

Use Your Family Health History to Fuel Action in Your Present

Information is nothing without intervention. That’s the action that makes the information so valuable.

This action takes different forms. Some will lead to tests for diseases that can be inherited. Others could be dietary, nutritional, or fitness-related.

For example, if you have a family history of heart problems, it’s even more important for you to monitor your blood pressure, heart rate, blood composition, and live a heart-healthy lifestyle. This information might make it easier for you to opt for the side salad instead of fries. It might even push you to hop on the bike or go for a walk.

The most important thing is to use what you know. Your healthcare provider can help you know how to act on your family health history. But you have to put in the effort.

While you stare in the mirror at the nose your parents stuck you with, remember the other things they passed on. And start doing something about them. Because—outside of costly, painful measures—there’s nothing you can do about your nose. But there’s plenty you can do about your health.

Your body has a large, complex, and well-trained security force protecting you from the constant barrage of foreign invaders trying to get in. You call it your immune system. And it’s a network of cells, tissues, and organs working together to provide full-time, full-body protection. Without your knowledge, your immune system identifies and attacks a wide variety of day-to-day threats. All while distinguishing these pathogens from your healthy tissues. But this amazing system is sometimes tripped by less evil objects, like pollen. And that’s where your seasonal allergies start.

The symptoms of allergies—running nose, watery eyes, and sneezing—make sense when you consider the role your nose, mouth, and eyes play. They’re easy entry points for invaders, so your tears and mucus are equipped with an enzyme called lysozyme. It’s capable of breaking down the cell walls of numerous bacteria. Your saliva is armed with antibacterial compounds. And your nasal passages and lungs are coated in a protective shield of mucus and lined with mast cells—a type of white blood cell.

Any bacteria or virus that wants to gain entry through these passageways must first successfully navigate through these important defenses. Harmless substances—those that do not pose a threat to your health—also get caught up in these defenses. They are mistakenly targeted for destruction by your immune system. And that’s only the most basic answer for what causes allergies.

But there’s so much more worth exploring, especially if you’re familiar with the runny, watery, sneezy world of allergies. Let’s dive deeper.

Seasonal Allergies: What They Are and How They Happen

An allergen is typically a harmless substance that can trigger an immune system response that results in an allergic reaction. This is considered a type of immune system error.

A seasonal allergy (also called allergic rhinitis or hay fever) is your immune system overreacting to harmless substances in the environment during certain times of the year. Hay fever originally received its name because of the symptoms that people experienced during the summer months when hay was harvested.

Pollen is the most common allergen in sufferers’ seasonal allergies. This fine, powdery substance is produced by trees, grasses, weeds, and flowers mainly during the spring, summer, and fall. Pollination is the transferring of pollen grains from a male part of a plant to a female part so that reproduction can occur. This works when pollen is released into the air, picked up by wind, or carried by insects, bats, and birds to fertilize other plants of the same species.

Pollination is a very important step in the life cycle of many plants. But pollination can be miserable if you experience seasonal allergies.

These tiny, harmless pollen grains float around in the air and can find their way into your nasal passages. This can trigger an immune response inside your nose. That could lead to sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, teary eyes, and an itchy nose, or throat. While these symptoms may sound and feel like a cold, they are not caused by a virus. It’s just your immune system overreacting to that “harmless” plant pollen.

While it can be confusing to determine if you have seasonal allergies or a cold, there are some unique differences:

• Seasonal allergies do not cause a fever.
• Any mucus secretions you may experience are typically thin, runny, and clear.
• Your nose, throat, and ears may feel itching and you may have rapid bouts of sneezing.
• Seasonal allergy symptoms usually last longer than seven to 10 days as they are tied to pollen production and counts.

How Do Seasonal Allergies Develop?

You weren’t born with seasonal allergies. But you can develop them over your lifetime.

It all begins with exposure to an allergen (molecules with the potential to cause allergy). You’ve been around them all your life without difficulty. But suddenly your body decides a certain allergen is an invader that must be destroyed.

When this happens, your immune system studies the allergen and makes highly specialized proteins called IgE antibodies to act against it. That’s just in case another exposure occurs. Once your body is sensitized, your immune system maintains a lasting memory of that allergen. This process is called priming.

At your next exposure, your previously made antibodies recognize the allergen and turn on special immune cells to fight and destroy it. These IgE antibodies are specific to a particular antigen. For example, if it is ragweed pollen, the IgE antibodies produced by your immune system only attack the pollen from ragweed.

The chance of developing an allergy starts in your genes. While you can’t inherit specific allergies from your parents, the tendency toward developing allergies is passed down. Children with one allergic parent can have up to a 50-percent chance of developing allergies. And with two allergic parents, it can be an 80-percent chance. Anyone can experience allergies, but children tend to be affected more often than adults.

Allergies can take years to develop. And having one allergy can make you more likely to get others. There’s also a threshold for people who have allergies. So, you can handle a small exposure, but too much launches your body into an allergic response. That activates mast cells in nasal tissues and triggers the release of the histamine from basophils and eosinophils (types of white blood cells).

Histamine is an organic compound that causes the symptoms most often associated with allergies. They’re responsible for the itchy nose, throat, or skin; watery eyes; sneezing; cough; and a runny or stuffy nose.

Seasonal allergy sufferers are familiar with antihistamines. These medications are often used to block the effects of histamines. And it’s the most popular way to deal with the symptoms of seasonal allergies.

The Dreaded Season of Allergies

Allergy season is determined by where you live, and what you’re allergic to. Those with pollen allergies likely dread spring, summer, or fall seasons when pollen counts are at their highest levels.

But what pollen producers are most closely tied to what season? Here’s a quick, simple guide:

• SPRING: Trees (like oak and birch) are the significant source of pollen during spring months. In some areas, they can begin producing pollen as early as January.
• SUMMER: During the summer months, grasses (like ryegrass and timothy-grass) are a top source of allergy-causing pollen.
• FALL: Weeds are the top allergy offenders during the fall. This is especially true for ragweed, which grows in almost every environment.

Having one allergy makes you more likely to get others. So, if one year your ragweed symptoms seem more severe than usual, you may also be reacting to another allergen that’s sharing the air.

How Seasonal Allergies Can Cross Over to Food Allergies

Allergies can interact in other unexpected ways. For example, up to a third of people with certain pollen allergies also develop allergies to foods that contain similar proteins. This is called pollen-food syndrome, or oral allergy syndrome.

It’s caused by cross-reacting allergens found in both pollen and raw fruits, vegetables, or even certain tree nuts. It means that you could experience an itchy mouth; a scratchy throat; or lip, mouth, throat, and tongue swelling.

The symptoms of pollen-food syndrome are usually confined to the mouth and throat. That’s because these proteins are sensitive to gastric enzymes, so they are rapidly degraded upon ingestion. That limits the extent of the reaction. In addition, these proteins are sensitive to heat, so cooking the offending food doesn’t cause the same reaction. In most cases, the symptoms subside once the offending food is swallowed or removed from the mouth.

Although not everyone with pollen allergies experiences pollen-food syndrome, the following are the commonly associated pollen allergens and foods:

• Birch pollen: apple, almond, carrot, celery, cherry, hazelnut, kiwi, peach, pear, and plum
• Grass pollen: celery, melons, oranges, peaches, and tomato
• Ragweed pollen: banana, cucumber, melons, sunflower seeds, and zucchini 

All About Allergy Testing

You may have a guess about what causes your allergic reactions. But testing is the only way to know for sure.

Allergy testing can be done as a skin prick or through blood testing. Both methods are used to help determine what substances you may be allergic to. These tests are provided by medical doctors specializing in the immune system and the treatment of allergies. And they are given in addition to a thorough physical exam and health history.

Skin allergy testing is the most common. It’s considered a reliable method to test for certain types of allergens. For this procedure, a tiny amount of select allergens are put into your skin by making a small indentation “prick or scratch” on the surface of your skin.

The skin allergy test determines specific allergies based on how your skin reacts. And the results show up pretty fast. Reactions on the skin occur within about 15 minutes.

If you have allergies, a little swelling and redness will occur where the allergen(s) were placed in your skin. For example, if you are allergic to birch pollen, but not ryegrass pollen, only the birch pollen will cause redness, swelling, and possible itching. The spot where the ryegrass pollen was applied will remain unaffected.

If you’re tired of the seasonal allergen battle, these tests can help determine which allergens trigger your symptoms. And testing can help determine what steps you need to take to avoid your specific triggers. It also helps identify prevention measures or treatments likely to work best for you.

Train Your Immune System

Depending on the type of allergy you have, it’s possible to train your immune system to become less responsive to certain allergens over time—with the help of an allergist or immunologist. Desensitization or immunotherapy is a preventive treatment for allergic reactions to certain substances, including pollens.

Immunotherapy involves giving gradually increasing doses of the immune-offending allergen either under the tongue or as an injection into the skin. The incremental increase in dosing changes the way your immune system reacts to the allergen over time. This can help reduce the symptoms of an allergy when the allergen is encountered by your immune system in the future.

Before starting treatment, it is important for your allergist to help you identify which pollens or other substances trigger allergy symptoms. Skin and sometimes blood tests are performed to confirm the antibodies to specific allergens before therapy can begin.

For those tired of seasonal sneezing fits and constant doses of antihistamines, immunotherapy is a long-term way to address the way your immune system responds to allergens.

Tips for Seasonal Allergy Avoidance

If your nose is driving you crazy, what can you do? Pollen can be difficult to dodge. But avoidance remains one of the best ways to control exposure to allergens during allergy season.

To minimize your exposure to pollen:

• Stay informed of your local pollen counts by checking the internet or other community sources
• Remain indoors when pollen counts are high
• Avoid exercising outdoors early in the morning
• Keep car windows rolled up while driving
• Avoid gardening or yard work when pollen counts are high
• Wear a pollen mask when outdoors
• Consider investing in a home air purifier
• Stay indoors on windy days and during thunderstorms
• Keep doors and windows closed
• Wear sunglasses while outside to keep pollen out of your eyes
• Vacuum often to keep allergens out of your home

Beat the Allergy Season Blues

One of the best ways to combat the impact of seasonal allergies is through knowledge, preparation, and action. Knowing what pollens you’re allergic to, controlling exposure, and treating the symptoms before they become overwhelming can help you navigate the perils of pollen season.

A shining smile shows off your teeth and brings your oral health to the center of attention. Practicing good oral hygiene keeps teeth and gums sparkling and strong so you can flash your smile with confidence.

But that’s not all. Your oral health can be a sign of your overall health, too.

The ties between oral health and the rest of your body run deep. There are links between your teeth and your cardiovascular system. A healthy weight can be shaped by good oral hygiene. And the health of your joints can be manifested in your mouth, too.

Examining the connections between your body and your pearly whites can help you see why the health of your teeth and gums are so important. Crack a smile, because your oral health just got a lot more interesting.

Say “Ah”—The Mouth is the Doorway to the Rest of the Body

You use your mouth to tell others how you feel. But without saying a word, your mouth can give clues to your overall health.

Think of your mouth as a door to your body. It opens and shuts for important visitors like food and drink. And it keeps out harmful germs and bacteria. A lot of things enter through this gate. So, it’s necessary to keep it healthy.

You can see how your body is doing from this doorway. When teeth are shiny and breath is fresh, all is more likely to be well. But when teeth are missing or decaying away, that can signal trouble inside.

By knocking on this door and seeing what’s inside, you can catch a glimpse of your body’s overall health. Take a look at how the following factors are connected to your oral health.

Maintain a Healthy Weight by Taking Care of Your Oral Health

The connection between oral health and weight might be the strongest link the mouth has with the body. That’s because the health of your teeth and gums has a close relationship with the food you put in your body.

You know what can increase your weight. Sugary foods like candy and soda chip away at your healthy weight and wear down your teeth. The sugars in these foods feed bacteria that can erode the protective layer of your teeth and cause tooth decay.

When teeth are compromised, eating becomes uncomfortable. Try crunching on something healthy like carrots or apples when your teeth are aching. That’s why it is so important to choose healthy foods for meals and snacks. They protect your teeth and make it easier to keep eating well.

Think of healthy teeth as another benefit of eating wholesome foods. Your waistline will thank you and so will your smile. You might be surprised to know that other healthy habits like exercise can keep your teeth and gums in good shape, too.

Adding regular physical fitness to your schedule can also boost your oral health, according to a Japanese study. Increasing your activity level has been shown to lower the likelihood of developing issues in the teeth and gums.

This is because regular exercise can influence other health-conscious behaviors. Choosing to exercise daily means you’re more likely to make other choices that positively impact your oral health. Examples include abstaining from drugs and alcohol, eating healthier meals, and brushing and flossing more often.

But diet remains as the biggest link in the chain between weight and oral health. So, do your teeth and your waistline a favor and trim away the junk food from your diet.

Help Your Heart Health with Good Oral Hygiene

The surprising tie between your heart and mouth may make you think twice before you skip brushing your teeth. Unhealthy teeth and gums may be a precursor to more serious heart issues.

Protecting your heart from harm is essential to staying healthy. That’s why it is important to keep the bacteria in your mouth under control with regular brushing and flossing.

Taking good care of your teeth and gums is an important way to support your heart health. By keeping your mouth clean and free from contaminants, you can support heart health. And all while you’re flashing a beautiful smile.

4 More Interesting Overall Health Connections to Teeth and Gums

Discomfort in the teeth and gums can also be symptoms of problems elsewhere in the body. You know poor oral hygiene can lead to decay and tooth loss. But there’s more ways your teeth and gums connect to your body.

1. Tooth loss may adversely affect joint health. Researchers noted the remarkable link between oral health and joint health in a 2012 study.

The study showed that having all 32 teeth made participants eight times more likely to have healthy joints than subjects with fewer than 20 teeth. These results led the researchers to establish a correlation between oral health and joint health. So, the more teeth a study participant had, the healthier their joints were likely to be.

2. When you eat for oral health, you’re also helping out your bones and joints. That’s because some of the same nutrients that support joint and bone health also help maintain the health of your teeth.

And it makes sense, because while teeth aren’t bones, they have a lot in common. One of the main similarities is calcium. Bones and teeth both have a lot of this mega mineral. But calcium isn’t the only nutrient you need in your diet for oral, bone, and joint health. Also make sure you’re getting magnesium, vitamin C, and vitamin D.

3. Oral and joint tissues act a lot alike. The cell-signaling molecules that initiate normal, healthy immune responses are the same for joints as they are for teeth and gums.

There’s also a genetic component to the link between your mouth and joints. Certain gene markers are prevalent in people with joint conditions. These same genetic sequences can be spotted in the DNA of those with poor oral health, too.

4. Your gums share several surprising things with your skin. To start out with, they’re both pretty effective barriers. Gums keep foreign objects (even the food you eat) from getting into the other tissues of your mouth. And your skin is your body’s barrier against the outside world.

Both barriers also require collagen for good health. This structural protein is the most abundant in your body, but is very important to skin and gums. And when you talk about collagen, vitamin C frequently follows. That’s because the essential vitamin and antioxidant helps support healthy collagen synthesis. So, you need to get enough vitamin C to help maintain both skin and gum health.

Your skin is always replacing itself. The same is happening in your gums. But the cellular turnover of your gums happens even faster than your skin. About twice as fast, actually.

And one more thing that explains the color of your gums: Both your skin and gums get their coloration from melanin.

Since your body has so many connections to your teeth and gums, it’s important to keep an eye out for changes in your oral health. Be vigilant in your care for your bones, joints, skin, and your mouth. That way your teeth, skin, and skeletal system will work for you long into the future.

Smile and Show Off Your Healthy Body

The mouth-body connection demonstrates how intertwined the systems of your body are. The wellbeing of your heart, joints, bones, and even your weight are all linked to your oral health. Taking care of your teeth and gums can help support your overall health. That way a strong, beaming smile will be an outward display of just how healthy your body is inside.

About the Author

Sydney Sprouse is a freelance science writer based out of Forest Grove, Oregon. She holds a bachelor of science in human biology from Utah State University, where she worked as an undergraduate researcher and writing fellow. Sydney is a lifelong student of science and makes it her goal to translate current scientific research as effectively as possible. She writes with particular interest in human biology, health, and nutrition.

4:59… Tick, tock, tick, tock… BAM! 5:00. Elation. Freedom. Adventure. The moment you never thought would come finally arrives each Friday at 5:00 p.m. You’re released from your 40th hour of duty and ready to leave work behind and tackle the adventures that await. But, as a weekend warrior, your pursuits have an expiration. And the buzzer will sound in a mere two and half days on Monday by 9:00 a.m.

What’s a Weekend Warrior?

Weekend warriors are “everyday athletes.” They’re not quite professional athletes, but they train nearly as hard and do so in the short window of time when they’re not tied to a job. Pressed for time to pursue their athletic goals during the work week, these folks maximize their weekends. Scientifically speaking, weekend warriors pack most, if not all, of their recommended physical activity into one or two days out of the week. This often looks like adventure sports, endurance races, or other sports and playful activities—both solo and team-oriented.

Weekend warriors are the go-getters. They’re the people who work nine-to-five, Monday through Friday, (or any schedule, really) and are intent on making the most of their time off. But weekends might also feel bittersweet because they’re so short. So, how can you maximize those two days? Dive into some tips, tricks, and takeaways to milk each weekend for all it’s worth!

Weekend Warrior Training Tips

The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly encourages adults to engage in regular aerobic activity and strength training (twice) every week. If you prefer moderate aerobic physical activity, you should hit at least 150 minutes per week. If you prefer vigorous, intense aerobic physical activity, your goal at least 75 minutes. (Check out this article to see how to build a proper workout.)

As a weekend warrior, you likely pack those minutes of activity into a day or two instead of spreading them out over a seven-day span. This truncated type of schedule was not the original intent of the WHO guideline. So, does this consolidation exclude you from the benefits of exercise?

Not at all. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Internal Medicine puts those worries to rest. Researchers surveyed more than 60,000 people over a 20-year span. Based on their exercise habits, participants were considered active (three or more exercise sessions), weekend warriors (hitting the guidelines in one or two sessions per week), or insufficiently active (less than guidelines in one to two sessions per week).

The study concluded that active adults, including weekend warriors, had significantly better health outcomes. Specifically, being sufficiently active for at least one day (or more) per week lessened health risks by 30 percent. The takeaway is that it doesn’t matter how you get your activity done, so long as you get it done.

So, it’s OK if your busy work-week forces you to choose the weekend warrior life. But there are ways you can maximize your training efforts. This could mean warming up and cooling down sufficiently, adding in cross-training, and re-examining the structure of your workout. Here are some ideas (with more to come in the safety section):

Dynamic Stretching

Stretching dynamically means your stretches coincide with movement rather than remaining static. Dynamic stretching allows your muscles to elongate while increasing your heart rate and blood flow. Try walking lunges with an added stretch. Once you step into a lunge, pause long enough to sink down into the bottom of it until you feel a gentle stretch and raise your opposite arm overhead. This will allow for movement in the shoulder joint while stretching out your hip flexor on the same side. Switch sides and repeat.

Build Your Efforts

Ramp up the intensity throughout your workout. This means you don’t start out hard. Instead, you gradually increase your efforts over time. For most athletic pursuits, you can measure this in a number of ways: time splits, weight carried, heart rate, power metrics, and more. Time may be the easiest to measure with the simplest equipment, so start there if you’re new to training.

As you continue warming up in the early stages of your activity session, use time as a measure of effort. For example, if you’re running you could measure the time it takes you to complete a lap or section of a route. As you progress through your workout, aim to decrease that split time. This means you run faster each time you repeat the lap or segment of your run.

If your activity of choice doesn’t lend itself to timing in the same way—say, weight training—you can employ a different strategy. Assign yourself a set time interval for a weighted movement. Start with light weights. With each new interval, increase the weight so your body has a chance to warm up slowly.

High-Intensity Interval Training

Consider high-intensity interval training (HIIT) when you’re especially pressed for time. Or add a HIIT session to your regular routine if you’re looking for something new. HIIT is a workout session made up of short, powerful rounds of cardio activity with minimal recovery periods in between. A great example of HIIT is Tabata training, named for Dr. Izumi Tabata, a Japanese scientist. Tabata workouts are typically eight rounds of 20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest. The idea is to work as hard as you can for 20 seconds before moving into the short recovery. Such interval workouts can support muscle mitochondrial function (basically how your muscles make energy), which is a marker of athletic prowess and good health.

Fast and Friendly Fuel On-The-Go

Weekend warriors don’t have time to waste. So, they’re constantly on the move during their precious weekend hours. When you’re scrambling to maximize your days off, it’s important to save time on food preparation. But you also don’t want to skimp on the fuel you need to get after your goals.

Since you’ll be on the move, your calories should come from foods that are easily eaten and digested while in motion. This means simple carbs that your body can easily use as fuel. Energy bars and chews are easy to pack and easy to eat. If you prefer something homemade, work in food prep time the night before your big day out to create your own quick snack.

Hydration is also a key component of proper fueling. Don’t show up to work hard without being properly hydrated or you’re starting at a disadvantage. So, add this easy trick into your routine: hydrate early, and continue to do so often.

And don’t forget your electrolytes or salts. You can turn to your favorite sports beverage mix that you can add to water or a ready-to-drink option. Look into which suits your activity and taste buds the best, and, of course, keeps you exercising at peak performance.

But make sure you get those electrolytes for longer bouts of exercise. You lose salts in your sweat, and it’s imperative they’re replaced. For instance, sodium determines how much water your cells can hold. And if its concentration is off balance, your body’s cells can’t maintain proper regulation.

Properly preparing with pre-workout food and drink is important, too. Luckily, there’s a whole story on that topic to help you out.

Stay Safe, Stay Strong

Each weekend-warrior discipline (mountain biking, cycling, running, climbing, skiing, dominating the gym, and more) comes with unique safety considerations. Whether it’s injury prevention or safety gear, there are many ways to maintain your safety in pursuit of your athletic goals. You’ll see those tips and tricks below.

Injury Prevention

Injury prevention is a broad topic. So, let’s consider outdoor pursuits as an example. Below are several considerations for a handful of different weekend warrior outdoor activities.

From the clothes you wear to the accessories you carry, there are a lot of options that can help fend off injury.

Imagine getting started in the dark hours of an early fall morning. If you’re hopping on your bike, it’s imperative to wear warm clothing to protect you from the elements and make sure your apparel is reflective, too. This is especially true if you’re riding and might cross paths with, or bike alongside, traffic. Make sure others can see you so they can safely avoid you. Strap forward-facing and rear lights to your bike to serve the same purpose. The lights help alert other motorists of your presence.

Let’s continue with the cycling example. You’re wearing your protective, reflective gear, and you make it through the busy roads safely. But now that you’re further away from home, you pop a tire. This could spell disaster if you don’t have a repair kit (or you’re unsure of how to use one), especially if you don’t have cell-phone service.

Make sure you do the following: plan your route with cell coverage in mind, carry a well-equipped repair kit, and understand and practice how to use your repair kit. Without these precautions in place, you may be carrying your bike a long way home. And that journey comes with its own potential dangers.

Now let’s move further out of the city. Perhaps instead of the pavement, you’re hitting the trails. It doesn’t matter if it’s a long trail run, hike, or approach to a place to climb, the potential dangers are unique and require your attention. Be aware of the weather forecast. It becomes especially important if the terrain may be easily influenced by it (think: rockfall, washed out trails, slick footings, flash floods, etc.).

Additionally, depending on the trails in wilderness areas you enter, you may need to be familiar with the wildlife inhabiting those spaces. Do your homework and understand what kind of animals live there. Then study their habits and how to keep yourself safe should you have an encounter.

Quality Recovery for Weekend Warriors

You went out and crushed your weekend goal. Perhaps you biked that beast of a trail, climbed a daring route, or reached a summit by foot-power alone. Now that you are enjoying the afterglow and sense of accomplishment after finishing your workout, it’s time to talk about how to recover properly.

You’ll sense a theme here, because the tenets of recovery aren’t breaking news. There are some main to-dos that should be on your radar, things you should check off your list as each weekend winds down: muscle recovery, hydration, diet, and sleep.

Muscle Recovery

When you’re out there working hard for long bouts of time, your muscles take a beating. Intense exercise breaks down your muscles. It creates microtears in the muscle fibers, which actually allows them to build back up even stronger. But in the interim, the physical sensation manifests as soreness and tightness.

This is the time to slow down and be gentle with yourself. Consider which muscle groups need the most work to narrow down which stretches and movements will best support your recovery. Also invest in some recovery gear. Think: foam roller, massage ball, resistance band, or professional massages to aid in the process. Not sure what this gear looks like and what they do? Let’s find out.

• Foam rolling. If you haven’t already heard of this muscle recovery strategy, take note. Foam rolling is a way to release tight, knotted muscles by utilizing focused pressure. The rollers take numerous forms—hollow or solid cylinders, small or larger spheres, and textured options of the same shapes. Let’s say you have a tight calf muscle. You can place a foam ball under your calf and utilize your bodyweight to apply pressure to the tight muscle. Then by rolling back and forth slowly, you can work to release the muscle tension. An added benefit of this type of movement is increased circulation for proper recovery. There are numerous guides available online for working out tricky spots in various muscle groups.
• Stretching (with and without resistance bands). After exercising and foam rolling, your muscles are sufficiently warm for stretching. Earlier, you read about warming up your muscles with dynamic stretching. But after completing an activity and beginning the wind-down process with light foam rolling, your body doesn’t require dynamic stretching. Now you can focus on static or stationary stretching. Pick a stretch and hold it for at least 15 seconds to allow your muscle to release slowly. If your flexibility is limited, grab a resistance band to extend your reach. The Mayo Clinic has a simple guide to basic stretches.
• Massage. When foam rolling and self-stretching doesn’t cut it, turn to a professional. This could be someone well versed in sports massage or a specialist in body work. Thai yoga massage is a good example. (This type of massage is a fully clothed session in which the practitioner utilizes their own body and weight to apply appropriate pressure and traction to release your tense muscles). Massage therapists understand anatomy and kinesiology (the science of body movement) on a deep level and can provide more insight, advice, and relief. There are also massage therapists that specialize in combinations of traditional massage and guided stretching.

Hydration

Be sure to replace the fluids and salts you’ve lost by hydrating well. This means drinking water and electrolytes. Now that you’re done with your activity, there’s no need to beef up your drink with extra calories (like the sweetened examples above). Just make sure you’re getting in the electrolytes and salts you need for optimal muscle recovery.

Diet

Immediately following your workout or adventure, you want to take advantage of your body increasing glycogen production to fuel your week and next workout. Within 30-60 minutes following your workout, make sure to get a healthy ratio of easily digestible carbohydrates and protein. Somewhere around 1:1 or 2:1 carbohydrate to protein should do. Also, try to avoid fiber and fat immediately during this time. These two macronutrients can slow the absorption of the carbohydrates and protein.

Following this period, and starting at your next meal, get back to your normal healthy diet. Fill up on antioxidant-rich fruits and veggies—blueberries, nuts, peppers, oranges, and leafy greens. Include healthy, lean proteins like chicken, fish, nuts, and beans. Reach for healthy, fiber-rich carbohydrates, generally referred to as “complex” carbohydrates. These include whole grains and vegetables. And lastly, don’t forget the healthy mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, especially omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish, walnuts, and flax seeds.

Sleep

Sure, you always need sleep. But when your weekend-warrior body has taken a beating, the necessity is even stronger. Allow for ample rest after your athletic efforts. If possible, begin a wind down routine an hour earlier than normal. It may sound difficult, but once you hit the sheets, your body will thank you.

Sleep is the time our bodies do the majority of repair work. Getting an extra hour of rest will allow your body to begin the repair process. Sleep gives your body time to heal broken-down muscles and replenish energy supplies. It’s also a period in which your mind can relax and regroup. This is an essential period if you want to have enough energy to charge through to the next weekend.

Get Out There and Dominate the Weekend

As a weekend warrior, you have your own sports to enjoy, mountains to conquer, and objectives to achieve. But now you have more tools to do so safely and more efficiently. As you plan your next weekend adventure, consider the tips you’ve learned here. Your preparation, safety considerations, fuel plan, and recovery are the tools that will help achieve your goals with more ease and peace of mind.

About the Author

Jenna Templeton is a health educator and freelance science writer living in Salt Lake City, Utah. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Virginia Tech, Jenna spent five years as a research scientist in the nutritional industry. This work fueled her interest in personal wellness, leading her to pursue a graduate degree in Health Promotion & Education from the University of Utah. Outside of work, Jenna enjoys live music, gardening, all things food, and playing in the Wasatch mountains.