Southampton - As the Hamptons begin to thaw out and the golf clubs and tennis racquets get dusted off and the bikes get checked over and tuned up, there's another very important piece of equipment that may need some attention - your body.

Whatever your sports of choice, being fit can keep you competitive year after year, help you avoid injury and even make it easier for you to branch out to new activities with confidence. If your performance drops a little each year or you're just not improving beyond a certain level, it might not be your equipment. If you find those same nagging aches and pains waiting for you each season, your conditioning could be the culprit.

As golf grows in popularity more and more people realize that it's not only a really tough game, it can be really tough on your body. Between elbow, shoulder and spine injuries golf is a high impact sport, especially considering that many people come to the game later in life. A proper "pre-season" conditioning program addresses strength imbalances, lack of stability and balance, unequal strength and of course unbalanced and non-existent flexibility.

Hitting the links after six to eight weeks of focused exercise will improve your game without a doubt. Golf relies on physics. Mainly, how much force can you consistently exert on that damn little ball. Being stronger and more stable in the legs hips and torso, having more range of motion through the lower back and shoulder girdle and having more stamina for the back nine will help bring your scores down and help you enjoy an injury free season.

Tennis presents it's own set of challenges and the better conditioned you are when your season starts, the more successful you will be. Whether you rip it up on the singles court or spin and drop balls at the doubles net, being fit will make you more versatile and consistent and keep you playing longer with fewer injuries.

Tennis is now a 12-month game and the key to improving from year to year is following a conditioning program that starts with your wind. Running a mile or two is great but does little for the type of stop and go anaerobic fitness needed for tennis. Cardiovascular power and recovery is square one. Golf is a tough game but at least the ball sits still for you. Ninety percent of tennis is getting to the ball so angular stability, power and resilience is particularly important. Once you get there, a strong consistent strike is what keeps you free of gel packs and ice bags. This is where improved upper body strength tied into core stability and leg power separates the athletes from those waiting for their next hamstring pull.

Golf and tennis are both games of skill. Sinking an eight-foot putt or slicing a backhand inches above the net have little to do with fitness and likely come from years of practice. This is one reason these games have stood the test of time and continue to gain in popularity. That being said, superior fitness and conditioning can do more than give a player an edge in competition. Being fit can lengthen your years of enjoyment, improve your consistency, reduce the risk of overuse injuries and make a wider variety of techniques and skills available to you.

Spring is definitely the time to gear up so when you're out at the store buying some new running sneakers, don't forget to buy a new pair of Achilles tendons. If you get the clubs re-gripped this year, pick yourself up a new more youthful lumbar spine; and don't forget, if you're out shopping for a mega-oversized racquet and a few elbow gel packs just toss some new forearm tendons and a pair of ACLs in your cart too. This year, spare no expense on your most important piece of sports equipment; you're worth it.