Hints and Tips for the Developing Athlete
April 27th 2008 21:44
The following are a few ideas i think might come in handy for any aspiring athletes, enjoy!
Don’t place training above competing.
It sounds stupid but a lot of athletes think competing doesn’t produce a training effect – it does! Many American Collegiate athletes do no speed training during the season because they compete so often – they effectively race themselves fit. If you are racing every weekend it is entirely possible to do one speed session a week and still improve loads.
If you’re a girl don’t be afraid to life weights.
Many girls don’t like lifting weights because they believe it will make them less feminine. This simply isn’t the case! Nearly 100% of professional female athletes lift weights and whilst some of them look like body builders the majority don’t! Lifting weights will not sacrifice your femininity – but it will make you better at your event.
Warming up
Nearly all athletes understand the importance of a good warm up before competing but few understand that it’s more than your muscles that need warming up. If your nervous system isn’t ready to run you won’t get very far. Many of the best sprinters do a fast run, usually about 50-75% of the race distance, about twenty five minutes before a race.
Practice tunnel vision.
So what if it’s windy or raining? So what if it’s cold? So what if you have a better athlete than you in the competition? The conditions are the same for everybody, everyone has to run the same distance or throw the same implements etc. Train yourself to forget the competition or the environment and focus only on your lane or attempts. Nothing else should exist.
Recovery is paramount.
The improvement doesn’t come during training but afterwards when your body repairs itself during your recovery. Training is in fact a stimulus for your body to set itself up to run faster, jump higher or throw further. Further more decent recovery allows you to perform at your best day after day. Improve your recovery by having massages, stretching, light exercise on your off days to increase blood flow, contrast showers, Epsom salt baths and plenty of sleep.
Stay positive.
In any season you will have good competitions and bad competitions. The mark of a true athlete is persisting when things go wrong. Keep your self belief at all times and trust yourself. Do not shy away from competitions since it can only take one good run to give you your confidence back and start a hot streak of good performances.
Don’t place training above competing.
It sounds stupid but a lot of athletes think competing doesn’t produce a training effect – it does! Many American Collegiate athletes do no speed training during the season because they compete so often – they effectively race themselves fit. If you are racing every weekend it is entirely possible to do one speed session a week and still improve loads.
If you’re a girl don’t be afraid to life weights.
Many girls don’t like lifting weights because they believe it will make them less feminine. This simply isn’t the case! Nearly 100% of professional female athletes lift weights and whilst some of them look like body builders the majority don’t! Lifting weights will not sacrifice your femininity – but it will make you better at your event.
Warming up
Nearly all athletes understand the importance of a good warm up before competing but few understand that it’s more than your muscles that need warming up. If your nervous system isn’t ready to run you won’t get very far. Many of the best sprinters do a fast run, usually about 50-75% of the race distance, about twenty five minutes before a race.
Practice tunnel vision.
So what if it’s windy or raining? So what if it’s cold? So what if you have a better athlete than you in the competition? The conditions are the same for everybody, everyone has to run the same distance or throw the same implements etc. Train yourself to forget the competition or the environment and focus only on your lane or attempts. Nothing else should exist.
Recovery is paramount.
The improvement doesn’t come during training but afterwards when your body repairs itself during your recovery. Training is in fact a stimulus for your body to set itself up to run faster, jump higher or throw further. Further more decent recovery allows you to perform at your best day after day. Improve your recovery by having massages, stretching, light exercise on your off days to increase blood flow, contrast showers, Epsom salt baths and plenty of sleep.
Stay positive.
In any season you will have good competitions and bad competitions. The mark of a true athlete is persisting when things go wrong. Keep your self belief at all times and trust yourself. Do not shy away from competitions since it can only take one good run to give you your confidence back and start a hot streak of good performances.
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