Aside from your basic abilities in agility, strength, control, and endurance, if you want to take your athletic performance to the next level, having a solid plan that incorporates training, nutrition, supplementation and recovery is required in order for you to be a healthier, fitter and stronger athlete. Becoming a high performing athlete doesn’t happen by accident. It takes some planning.
Moreover, you need an easy to follow program to gain the most competitive edge when it comes to you versus you.
If you desire to master your particular sport, physique or physical endeavor has landed you here right now, then read on… Our simple Intel tips may just be the answer to help you go that next level you’ve been seeking to hit and truly excel athletically.
Training Habits You Can Adopt from Professional Athletes
Schedule Training sessions 3 or More per Week
To be the best you, why not follow some of the protocol of your favorite athletes. You’re a professional or semi-pro, it is understandable to train every day because it is kinda your job. If you fall under organizational or recreational sports, however, take a page from the experts by training at least 3x a week. This creates good habits for strategic training, allowing you to master your moves, challenge various body parts in different sessions, while giving them ample rest and recovery time.
Improve your Mental Toughness
Pro-athletes have the ability to dig deep, so they can push through mental barriers that impede performance whether they’re on training or when competing. There are many techniques you can try depending on your preference. You can try NLP [Neuro-linguistic programming], Self-talk, Hypnosis or even hire a mental coach! Whichever you end up using, study findings show that psychological resilience have protective factors on athletic individuals in withstanding the pressures and stressors that they experience during training and competition.
Avoid Training Too Hard Too Often
Current fitness programs have latched on all things HIIT. While high intensity workout sessions serve a purpose on your training plan, it cannot be your sole focus. Athletes can employ high-intensity training periodically to improve cardiovascular function, but not too often since it can go the opposite way and increase injury risk and raise stress hormone levels.
Nutrition Advice to Increase Your Competitive Edge
Strategic Carb Loading
Stop seeing carbs are the enemy and start using carbs to your advantage. Did you know that every person you see right now on Instagram that you believe looks in top shape eat carbs. They have to to fuel their muscle because muscle actually has around 70% of carbs stored within them the rest being up from proteins such as connective tissue, bone mineral, blood and cellular material. The difference is, they know when to take them and what kinds will yield them the greatest athletic performance or physique results. Carbs are an athlete’s main fuel. Period. Your body changes them to glucose, and stores it in your muscles as glycogen. During training, your muscles convert glycogen into energy. According to Sports dietitian Joy Dubost, PhDCarbohydrate loading for 3 or 4 days before an athletic event can help top up your glycogen stores. Reload on carbohydrates after intensive exercise, too. Since you don’t need quick energy, it’s best to choose complex carbohydrates like veggies and whole grains.
Optimize your Protein Intake
Energy and protein needs vary depending on the intensity and frequency of athletic training. The US and Canadian Dietetic Association recommend 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for athletes, depending on training. Protein intake should be spaced throughout the day and consumed after workouts to accelerate muscle repair.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Intense exercise, especially in hot weather, can quickly leave you dehydrated. Lack of fluids, in turn, can hurt your performance and, in extreme cases, threaten your life. Restoring fluids maintains normal muscle function, helps prevent a decline in physical performance and reduces the risk of heat stress.
Top Supplements for Your Competitive Edge
Creatine
Athletes, pro and leisure alike, are familiar with the effects of Creatine as a nutritional aid for sports performance. Red meat and seafood are rich in Creatine, but it is also available as a supplement.Studies demonstrate that supplementing with creatine can increase muscle mass and improve strength when a person combines it with strength training.
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic herb, widely popular as an adrenal tonic and testosterone booster. An effective adaptogenic, A 2015 study has proven the herb’s augmenting effects on endurance in healthy athletic men and women.Subjects who received the root extract showed a significant increase in physical endurance after 8 and 12 weeks of treatment compared to the control group.
Cardio Shred® (GW0742)
Cardio Shred® (GW0742) stimulates the biochemical pathways initiated when a person undergoes a cardiovascular workout. A Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist, Cardio Shred breaks down fats and utilize fatty acids to fuel the body, power up the mitochondria of muscle fibers, thus enhancing physical endurance and delaying exhaustion.
Researches show that PPARs have a positive association with the potential to achieve elite status in human physical performance in strength and power, team, and aerobic sports. Specific agonists like Cardio Shred® (GW0742) activate these genes, and may bring a beneficial effect to achieving maximum sports status.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31881714/ Pro-Tips on Athletic Recovery
Cryotherapy. Have you watched a video of an athlete diving into an ice bath? It’s not some kind of spoof, athletes do it for real! It may look horrible, but they actually make it to accelerate their recovery to allow them to train harder and faster sooner. Cryotherapy chambers operate at -110°C to -190°C temperatures, which sports and fitness buffs expose themselves to for just a few minutes. This helps them recover from the day’s rigorous training session –including a reduction of systemic inflammation and lowering concentrations of markers for muscle cell damage.
Contrast Water Therapy
Contrast bath therapy comprises alternating cycles of submerging in very warm water and very cold water. The body’s exposure to changing intervals of extreme temperature stimulates the contraction and dilation of the blood vessels and stimulates the body’s circulation.
Lab studies found that contrast bath therapy may help reduce muscle soreness post-workout, facilitating to offset the negative effects of strenuous exercise.