The Journey to Athletic and Fitness Performance: 3 Tips for success
The journey to athletic and fitness performance starts with habits. Habits are the foundation of success, yet often, patience is the greatest obstacle. Athletes may want to change their habits overnight, but this approach often leads to quitting within a few weeks. A similar phenomenon occurs with New Year’s resolutions: overnight, there is a commitment to working out, improving nutrition, and changing poor lifestyle habits. While the sentiment is great, changing and committing to these habits takes time. It took a certain amount of time to create your current habits, and it will take a committed amount of time to change your lifestyle.
Small Changes for Huge Results
Drink more water, increase protein intake, start working out, or join a group/community focused on health habits (such as boxing, a workout class, or a walking club). Pick one and commit to it. Changing an entire lifestyle can be challenging, so starting by adding one new habit is easier to commit to. Once you see results from this new habit, the lifestyle change will become more realistic and desired. From there, you can gradually add more habits, as the desire for change will already be in place.
Committing to Lifestyle Changes
Committing to lifestyle changes can be challenging, but it’s also possible. It’s easy to commit to a six-month goal, but lifestyle changes often feel overwhelming. “I can’t eat anything yummy anymore?” “I have to work out 3-4 times a week?” “I have to do this forever?” Yes, but it doesn’t have to be a negative thing. Don’t compare yourself to The Rock or supermodels—unless that’s genuinely your goal. The Rock and supermodels live a lifestyle that requires hard work and commitment. Look into the lifestyle they live, and ask yourself, “Can I commit to this?” Not for a week or two, but for the long term. They have been doing it for years—it’s a lifestyle for them. Be realistic about what you can commit to. It might take 2-3 years of consistent work to get there. Is that worth the effort? This is where an experienced personal trainer and performance coach can be especially helpful.
Workout and Nutrition Progression
Building off the previous tip, if you walk into the gym and decide to run 10 miles, but you’ve never run 1 mile, how do you think that will go? Bad idea. Set yourself up for success. Assess where you are, and increase the intensity gradually, week by week, or month by month. Success takes time. Create a strong foundation first, and then build from there.
Becoming healthier and increasing performance begins with an honest look at the lifestyle you’re willing to commit to. If going out with friends, eating, and drinking is important to you, you don’t have to stop altogether. However, your goals must align with your lifestyle. Most people quit within a few weeks because they haven’t honestly assessed what level of commitment is realistic for them. The excuses will sneak in: “I haven’t seen that friend in a while,” “I had a huge dinner and a bunch of drinks,” or “I couldn’t wake up for my workout because I hung out with them until 2 a.m.” These are legitimate excuses, but still excuses. Holidays, birthdays, and other events will always provide reasons to skip your goals. The key is to create sustainable lifestyle changes—habits that you can commit to and that will lead to long-term success.
#unleashthepotential
Written by:
Kirill Vaks
BA, CSCS
Take action… Now!
Voorhees Flyers Training center.
The Hollydell ice arena, in the main building.
