Simple Strategies for Athletic Success
By Elizabeth Quinn
I've worked with athletes and studied sports performance for over a decade and in that time I've noticed some basic characteristics that many of the top athletes share. Of course, there are exceptions: I've known elite cyclists who have awful diets and party late into the night and win races the next day. I've also seen the most disciplined and regimented athletes have mediocre results year after year. So while not all of the following characteristics are essential to achieve athletic success, this list comprises many of the strategies used by some of the world's best athletes and it is a sure-fire way to start recognizing your own sports potential.
What Is Your Sports Potential?
If you haven't yet practiced these principles you may not even know your true sports potential. That's perfectly fine. In fact, that's the point. The concept of discovering your potential is not a fixed concept. Potential in anything is always relative to where you are now. For this reason, you will have to adjust your goals as your abilities improve. Remember the saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step? That is how you find your potential. One step at a time.
Ten Ways to Discover Your Sports Potential
1. Love Your Sport
A major theme in human psychology is based upon the concept that success is a by-product of doing what you love and humans struggle when we attempt to apply the principle in reverse; mistakenly believing that success will bring happiness. This fundamental theory is also applied to sports success. If you love your sport, you will easily find pleasure in every aspect of it from training to racing -- and this is what brings success.
2. Develop Training Discipline
Elite athletes have extremely rigorous training, dietary schedules and skill development routines. While you may not have the luxury of training full time, if you want to reach your potential, you'll need to set aside a specific amount of time to train each week. Sometimes finding time to train amid conflicting priorities such as work, family and social obligations can make it a challenge. For this reason, developing a structured training plan or routine can help.
3. Build More Strength
Building strength is a simple way to improve your performance in nearly any sport. More strength equals greater power, speed, stability, and endurance, while reducing muscle fatigue and reducing the risk of injury.
4. Eat Right and Stay Hydrated
Proper nutrition is often overlooked as a way to reach your peak sports potential. But consider how the right food and drink at the right time can be the difference between feeling strong through a race or bonking. Good nutrition alone may not win you medals, but poor nutrition is definitely going to lower your success potential.
5. Have the Right Parents
Yes, it's true, your genetics are important when it comes to determining overall sports ability, but they are not the only thing. What you do with your genetic gifts are entirely up to you.
6. Get Enough Rest
Adequate rest is a largely ignored component of most athlete's training programs. But more evidence is supporting the idea that it's the quality, not the quantity of your training that will have the largest impact on your performance. In fact, there are some many problems related to overtraining, that it actually has becomes a condition. It's called overtraining syndrome and it's an athlete's enemy because it saps not only your energy for your sports, but it robs you of your passion and enthusiasm for your sport as well. Remember that adding appropriate rest and recovery days into your training is critical for success.
7. Work With a Qualified Coach or Trainer
Not everyone needs, wants or can afford a coach or trainer, but if you really want to find your potential it's not a bad idea. Think about it. Every elite and professional athlete has a coach or trainer. Why? Because a qualified professional makes it his or her job to help you find your strengths and weaknesses. They provide objectivity and sees things you don't. They fill that gap in your training knowledge and offer variety, expertise and motivation when you can't find it. They also figure out the details and let you focus on doing your best. Who doesn't want that?
8. Take Advantage of Technology
Whether it is an aerodynamic bike wheel, blister-resisting socks, a heart rate monitor or shaped skis, taking advantage of the technology that is available in your sport can often help save seconds or improve your accuracy. Not every product delivers what it promises, though, so do your research and talk to experts before you drop you dollars on products that are mostly hype.
9. Practice Specific Skills Until They Become Automatic
The more your train the more efficient you will become. If your sport requires specific skills, such as a serve in tennis or cornering at high speed while cycling, you need to spend time honing these skills so they become natural and automatic. Nothing will lower your performance faster than analyzing your actions while you are competing. Take time to train sports skills exclusively and perform repeat drills once a week. This is another area where working with a coach or trainer is essential.
10. Consider Honing Your Mental Game
Sports psychology isn't just for elite athletes. While they may be more likely to work with a sports psychologist, the benefits of visualization training and guided imagery, relaxation training, and mental rehearsal can be used by anyone to increase confidence, reduce pre-race jitters and anxiety and help you avoid psyching yourself out during training and competition.
By Elizabeth Quinn
I've worked with athletes and studied sports performance for over a decade and in that time I've noticed some basic characteristics that many of the top athletes share. Of course, there are exceptions: I've known elite cyclists who have awful diets and party late into the night and win races the next day. I've also seen the most disciplined and regimented athletes have mediocre results year after year. So while not all of the following characteristics are essential to achieve athletic success, this list comprises many of the strategies used by some of the world's best athletes and it is a sure-fire way to start recognizing your own sports potential.
What Is Your Sports Potential?
If you haven't yet practiced these principles you may not even know your true sports potential. That's perfectly fine. In fact, that's the point. The concept of discovering your potential is not a fixed concept. Potential in anything is always relative to where you are now. For this reason, you will have to adjust your goals as your abilities improve. Remember the saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step? That is how you find your potential. One step at a time.
Ten Ways to Discover Your Sports Potential
1. Love Your Sport
A major theme in human psychology is based upon the concept that success is a by-product of doing what you love and humans struggle when we attempt to apply the principle in reverse; mistakenly believing that success will bring happiness. This fundamental theory is also applied to sports success. If you love your sport, you will easily find pleasure in every aspect of it from training to racing -- and this is what brings success.
2. Develop Training Discipline
Elite athletes have extremely rigorous training, dietary schedules and skill development routines. While you may not have the luxury of training full time, if you want to reach your potential, you'll need to set aside a specific amount of time to train each week. Sometimes finding time to train amid conflicting priorities such as work, family and social obligations can make it a challenge. For this reason, developing a structured training plan or routine can help.
3. Build More Strength
Building strength is a simple way to improve your performance in nearly any sport. More strength equals greater power, speed, stability, and endurance, while reducing muscle fatigue and reducing the risk of injury.
4. Eat Right and Stay Hydrated
Proper nutrition is often overlooked as a way to reach your peak sports potential. But consider how the right food and drink at the right time can be the difference between feeling strong through a race or bonking. Good nutrition alone may not win you medals, but poor nutrition is definitely going to lower your success potential.
5. Have the Right Parents
Yes, it's true, your genetics are important when it comes to determining overall sports ability, but they are not the only thing. What you do with your genetic gifts are entirely up to you.
6. Get Enough Rest
Adequate rest is a largely ignored component of most athlete's training programs. But more evidence is supporting the idea that it's the quality, not the quantity of your training that will have the largest impact on your performance. In fact, there are some many problems related to overtraining, that it actually has becomes a condition. It's called overtraining syndrome and it's an athlete's enemy because it saps not only your energy for your sports, but it robs you of your passion and enthusiasm for your sport as well. Remember that adding appropriate rest and recovery days into your training is critical for success.
7. Work With a Qualified Coach or Trainer
Not everyone needs, wants or can afford a coach or trainer, but if you really want to find your potential it's not a bad idea. Think about it. Every elite and professional athlete has a coach or trainer. Why? Because a qualified professional makes it his or her job to help you find your strengths and weaknesses. They provide objectivity and sees things you don't. They fill that gap in your training knowledge and offer variety, expertise and motivation when you can't find it. They also figure out the details and let you focus on doing your best. Who doesn't want that?
8. Take Advantage of Technology
Whether it is an aerodynamic bike wheel, blister-resisting socks, a heart rate monitor or shaped skis, taking advantage of the technology that is available in your sport can often help save seconds or improve your accuracy. Not every product delivers what it promises, though, so do your research and talk to experts before you drop you dollars on products that are mostly hype.
9. Practice Specific Skills Until They Become Automatic
The more your train the more efficient you will become. If your sport requires specific skills, such as a serve in tennis or cornering at high speed while cycling, you need to spend time honing these skills so they become natural and automatic. Nothing will lower your performance faster than analyzing your actions while you are competing. Take time to train sports skills exclusively and perform repeat drills once a week. This is another area where working with a coach or trainer is essential.
10. Consider Honing Your Mental Game
Sports psychology isn't just for elite athletes. While they may be more likely to work with a sports psychologist, the benefits of visualization training and guided imagery, relaxation training, and mental rehearsal can be used by anyone to increase confidence, reduce pre-race jitters and anxiety and help you avoid psyching yourself out during training and competition.
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