I think that one of the most important things to do during an athlete's sport season is to stay in prime condition. Many athletes think that simply just going to practice will be enough, but to be at your physical peak you have to do things off the field/court as well. This blog will hopefully help you become a better athlete and perform at your maximum potential during your season. As an athlete, one should realize that during the season you do not necessarily want to build muscle, but rather maintain what you had already previously built up pre-season. During the off season it is important to work on muscles that you will actually use. For example, I play soccer so working out on upper body would not be very beneficial when it comes to my performance on the pitch. It is important not to slack during the off season but rather get yourself in top form, so you can maintain that form during your season. Personal workouts are a great way to stay in the best condition during your season. This is because most sports have very rough pre-season workouts and if you stop that vigorous exercising it can lead to performance deterioration. When you completely stop training, your results from all that hard work you put in might vanish. Click here to view the image better. It is important to have diversity in your workouts so that you are not spending too much time on a specific muscle. A lot of athletes typically forget about how essential cardio is for them. Cardio gets the blood pumping in your body and is a good workout for your heart. During the summer, before my soccer season, we do conditioning workouts a lot. We spend a majority of the practices running and doing other forms of cardio. Once the season starts there is a significant drop in the amount of cardio that goes on at practices. I can always eventually notice this near the end of my season, when I can feel myself getting out of shape again. This is why it is crucial to do cardio during your season as well. One big point I want to bring up is that it is important to not push your limits during your personal workouts. Muscles can only do so much before they become fatigued and overusing them is a one way ticket to an injury. Before you begin a workout, it is important to stretch thoroughly in order to loosen your tendons and reduce risk of injury. To read more on in season training click here. Getting injured is every athletes worst nightmare, so it is important to follow all of the tips given above when you are doing your workouts. An important tip to reduce the chances of injury is to replace worn down equipment, such as cleats or shin guards. To read more tips click here. I hope the information found in this blog helps all of you athletes perform at your highest potential during your seasons.
3 Comments
Almost all athletes are always worried about their physical condition, but one thing that many forget to focus and reflect on is their mental condition. A mental mindset can be defined as a collection of thoughts and feelings going around in one’s head. Having the correct mental mindset is important for every single person in the world, but it is especially crucial to athletes. It is essential for athletes to have a consistent mindset all throughout the season, because it truly does affect their success and how they perform. In a way, you could compare a mental mindset to flipping a light switch, you just have to flip it on. An article I read focused on three mindsets athletes typically have: aggressive, calm, and clear. These mindsets are all short term and happen right before your event or game. It takes a long time to master these mindsets yourself but there are a tips and tricks to help. An aggressive mindset does not mean wanting to hurt the opponents or cause harm to certain people, but rather to have a strong, direct and forceful mindset. There are many conditions athletes must face, whether it be the opposing team, the weather/environment, or even the referee, all athletes deal with at least one roadblock. When wanting to conquer one of these barriers it is important to have an aggressive mindset, so you can hype yourself up and drive through. You can use high energy movements and positive self-talk to develop an aggressive mindset. The next big mindset is known as a calm mindset. A calm mindset is most typically found in athletes who get nervous before events. Say you have a really big game coming up in the next couple days and whenever you think about it you feel nervous or even afraid, a calm mindset would really benefit you in this situation. The main three ways to develop a calm mindset are to relax your body, picture yourself being calm, and reassuring self-talk. The last of the three main mental mindsets is a clear mindset. Clear mindsets are most typically used by athletes who do not have to think a lot about their event in order to perform well. Having a clear mindset means you are focusing on anything except your performance. In a sense, having a clear mindset is basically just distracting yourself from your upcoming event. The easiest way to create or have a clear mindset is by talking to someone before your performance in order to distract yourself. You can read more about a clear mindset here. The last thing I want to discuss is having the correct mindset over the entire season, or in a sense your long-term mindset. What I mean by this is having the right mindset weeks before your event. One of the easiest ways to have the right mindset is to picture yourself being successful in your event and performing well. This will always make you perform better because if you have a negative mindset and picture yourself failing it will only hurt your performance. If you want to read more on negative mindsets and how to overcome them click here. Having the correct short-term and long-term mindsets is an easy way to make you perform better not only during your event, but also in your daily life. One of the most overlooked things by athletes is how to eat and drink right during their sports season. Many athletes feel like as long as they drink fluids the day of a big game or match they will be fine. This is not true. Athletes should be drinking fluids every day and need to be drinking above the amount that is recommended for the average person. The average person is recommended to drink eight 8 oz glasses per day, which is equal to about 2 liters. Athletes should drink around 3 liters on non-training days. On days when you will be training or have an event, you should be drinking more water throughout the day and 90 minutes before your workout it is recommended to drink at least 1 liter of water. After your workout it is recommended to drink at least a half a liter.
Many people think that water is not super effective when preventing cramps, but this not the case. Water is a key component when the body needs to process nutrients and without it the body would just not work correctly. Dehydration is another problem many athletes face during the season. The brain is actually the most impacted when someone is dehydrated. Things such as concentration and being able to think correctly are both affected when someone is dehydrated. Dehydration happens because fluids are lost from the body by sweating. It is important that athletes drink water during their workouts as well as before and after to recount for those lost fluids. Another thing athletes needs to watch for is what they are drinking. Water is obviously the most beneficial fluid to drink during the season, but there are also alternatives. One big alternative to water is coconut water. Coconut water is very high in sodium and potassium, which are both key minerals lost during workouts. Coconut water also has way less sugar than sports drinks such as Gatorade or Powerade. Click here to learn some more benefits of coconut water. Although they are incredibly high in sugar, sports drink are also another substitute for water. Sports drinks are especially effective before, during and after a workout or game, because they contain electrolytes. One of things lost through sweat is electrolytes, so drinking sports drinks can help restore them in the body. Eating healthily and correctly during the season is also very important. The two most vital things to focus on eating during your sports season are carbohydrates and protein. It is a proven fact that carbohydrates delay fatigue in athletes and help them perform at a higher level for longer durations. The most important meal for athletes is dinner the night before a big game or event. Carbohydrates should be the main focus in that dinner. Throughout my soccer season, my team does pasta parties the night before big matches. As you can tell from the name, pasta is the main meal served at these parties to get all of my team’s carbohydrates intake up. Along with carbohydrates, protein is also an important thing to eat throughout your season. Athletes need protein to repair existing muscle tissue that is getting strained day to day. It is also noted that athletes should avoid foods high in saturated fats, because the body can make any saturated fats that are necessary; so any more saturated fats are just unhealthy for the body. Click here to read more about saturated fats and their effect on performance. |
Details
Please click on the Read Now tab to view the blog.
|