How to stay fit

 Getting ready for next season: Better, Faster, Stronger

HOW TO STAY HEALTHY AND READY

    Talent and wanting to win will get you so far, it is up to you to keep your diet, mind and body right for the next upcoming season. Taking out the guessing work of what workouts to do or what to eat will let you focus on your craft

ASSEMENT

    

    It is important to take a step back and go over your most recent season because that is what is going to help you going forward. Having the ability to asses your own season, your own mistakes is going to help you during the offseason and during game adjustments. A trainer can give you as many workouts as you want but you the athlete knows what makes you uncomfortable so you have have to do the first step to greatness, know yourself.

AIMING FOR GOALS

    It is important to know what kind of goals you are trying to accomplish because it is essential to the progression and improvement of your growth. It is important to know that there's two types of goals that you have to set up so you can stay motivated and constantly improving at a realistic pace so that you won't  get discouraged when you don't meet your unrealistic goals. The effect will result in low morale low confidence which will translate into poor performance. 

    Set up 5 short term goals and 5 long term goals to keep you on track. Your short term goals will set you up for your long term goals they will correlate with each other. The effects of having correlating goals between short and long term are to keep you motivated so you can keep the light at the end of tunnel close. One step at a time one goal a time. If you have 10 long term long term goals then you are going to feel like your'e working out forever and not getting close and end up quitting. 

GETTING STARTED

    

    Once you have assessed yourself and set your goals now you can start working out. It is essential to do the prior steps so that you know what's coming and be prepared for your offseason work. Now that you assessed yourself and set up goals it is important to set up a schedule a routine for yourself so that you have enough time to work on your craft and rest to optimize the 24 hours 7 days of week. If you don't have a schedule to follow you might be finding yourself under or over working yourself which both can affect your performance during season. Your best performance shows when it comes from muscle memory because of the repetition you've been doing. The importance of having a schedule will develop muscle memory and it is one less thing you have to worry about during the games. 

WHAT TO DO  

-Interval Training 

    Interval training is essential to have apart of your workout plan because it stimulates several physiological changes that lead to better performance because it improves your stamina and speed. Interval training also helps you deal with experiencing lactic acids more efficiently, allowing you to exercise and stay in the game for a longer period of time. You'll experience fatigue later in the game which is an advantage over your opponents. 

- Strength Training  

    Strength training will increase muscle mass which will have an increase in longevity of your career because muscles with age decrease naturally but you'll slow down the trend. You'll also increase bone density and thats important because it reduces the risk of fractures which would result in more minutes in your games. Strength training also improves your flexibility and can help reduce arthritis. 

-Technique and weakness

   This is where your assessment comes in because you will work on whats uncomf It is important to train the technique in playing your sport, I gravitate more to soccer so you would be practicing on your weak foot, passing in close spaces, and touch on the ball. Those are some techniques that any position on the field can improve and it will result in you becoming a better soccer player. 

    

DIET (What to eat)

    Athletic ability is not only the factor of having a long successful body, one must also invest in learning whats going inside your body. A well balanced diet will supply you nutrients that will help you work effectively and improve your performances. Digesting the proper foods for maximum energy levels is the same reason why you don't put cheap gas in your brand new Ferrari. An unbalanced diet will take you a life of being prone to diseases, infections, fatigue and low performances which is what you want to avoid. 

REST

    In the strongest, healthiest athlete one common denominator to every athlete despite the height, age, talent or weight it is important to recover. Recover is essential to replenish the nutrients and energy for your body to keep you going during your workouts and most important time game time. During the pre- season you should aim to workout 3 times a day for 4-6 hours a day and rest the other 5. During season it would obviously change because you would train about 3-5 days depending on the schedule. Ice baths is another exercise that can be added to your resting routine because it helps reduce swelling and allows the body to heal at a faster pace and countless of stretches. 

YOU

    You are the only that has the power and will to stay in shape and improve in the off season. There are no coaches no scouts looking at you during the offseason so you have to take it upon yourself to become a leader off and on the field. You will become a better leader, player and teammate if you work on your craft. It is time for you to stop searching for easy outs and get to work and put in the time.