motivation Archives

Fitness, Gym, Sports Performance, Workouts

Unlock ELITE Athletic Potential with Effect Performance Training

Your athleticism is the foundation of your sport specific skill. Without some level of athleticism, athletes are not able to effectively execute the skills that their sport demands. As competition increases, this becomes even more apparent. Look at the difference between a D1 basketball player and a D2 or D3 basketball player. Although there may be slight differences in skills, the biggest difference between the level of play is the athleticism and genetics of a D1 player compared to a D2 or D3 player. D1 players are typically taller, longer, and more athletic.

So, if we know athletes with superior genetics have the competitive advantage, how do we level the playing field? In full transparency there are multiple factors that contribute to athleticism. Genes are a huge factor in the way that your body stores and produces elastic energy which is responsible for your explosive power and strength. Other factors that contribute to your athleticism include movement efficiency, mobility, strength, and your central nervous system. Without getting too technical, there are factors that you can control that contribute to your overall athleticism, and there are factors that you cannot control, like genetics. The good news is, with proper training, you can maximize your personal capabilities with a sound comprehensive program.

Comprehensive and Progressive Programing

I see a lot of performance programs that are based on random high volume routines that make athletes tired and leave them feeling depleted each workout. Although this type of training may get an athlete in shape short term, eventually this approach will cause training plateaus, burnout, or even injury.

An effective sports performance program that is designed to maximize athleticism should be comprehensive and progressive with effective periodization. A comprehensive program is one that is detailed and touches on all aspects of athletic ability (mobility, stability, coordination, agility, speed, strength, power, cognitive ability, and restoration to prevent injury). Touching on all of these athletic qualities daily and or weekly will allow athletes to fill each bucket, which will then enhance overall athleticism that will transfer to sport activity.

The other important aspect of an effective performance training program is progression. It is easy to get caught up in short term gains but unless an athlete plans to retire or quit in the next 3 months, it is extremely important to think about the big picture. You have to know and understand what is the long term goal and work backwards from there. If a 15 year old athlete aspires to play college sports but just started taking training seriously and doesn’t have much training experience, he or she has to focus on building a foundation of core strength, coordination, and mobility. The adage “you can’t build a house on toothpicks,” couldn’t be more true in this situation. Learning proper technique and improving movement efficiency early on, will go a long way and will increase the ceiling of an athletes athletic potential if they lay the foundation properly and early on in the training stage.

Once a foundation has been set, progressive overload is the key to long term sustained results. That means every 2-4 weeks there has to be an adjustment to the plan because our bodies are designed to adapt to stimulus. Once an adaptation occurs from completing a program consistently for 2- 4 weeks, the next phase of the program should increase volume (sets and reps), load (weight), or intensity (exercise selection or rest period). This same method should be followed with each new training phase in order to continue to progress toward maximizing athletic potential.

Best approach to training

Improve coordination and movement efficiency (“can’t build a house on toothpicks”)
Develop work capacity and endurance
General strength
Max strength
Sport specific speed and power development
Progressive overload

Fitness, Sports Performance

Self Talk: The Real Motivator

A huge part of motivation is what we tell ourselves, or self talk. Having positive self talk is key to success when it comes to fitness goals. According to expert neurologist we average 70,000 thoughts a day. These thoughts include both conscious and unconscious. Conscious thoughts are dictated by our surroundings and environment, along with past experiences. Our views, outlook on life and perception of ourselves is determined by our different upbringings and life experiences. these experiences will dictate whether you have positive or negative self talk.

What is self talk?

Self-talk is the act of talking to yourself either outloud or mentally. The messages you tell yourself will encourage and motivate you, or they will limit you if they are negative. It’s important to recognize your inner voice so you can identify when you’re having positive or negative self talk.

Here is negative self talk that you want to avoid

Mind reading: assuming we understand what other people are thinking without any real evidence.
Overgeneralization: the habit of telling ourselves that a negative event is bound to continue happening in the future.
Magnification: when we take our own errors or flaws and exaggerate them.
Minimization: the mirror image of magnification, being dismissive of our strengths and positive qualities.
Emotional reasoning: the habit of making decisions based on how we feel rather than what we value.
Personalization: assuming excessive amounts of responsibility, especially for things that are mostly or entirely outside our control.
Fortune Telling: the mental habit of predicting what will happen based on little or no real evidence.
Should Statements: are a kind of self-talk we use to try and motivate ourselves by always telling ourselves what we should and should not do.

In order to combat negative self talk use these positive self talk strategies

Have a purpose higher than yourself
Cut negative people out of your life
Be grateful
Don’t compare yourself to others
Use positivity with others
Believe in your success
Don’t fear failure
Replace negative thoughts with positive one
Positive affirmation
Don’t dwell in the past
Visualize your success
Limit your intake of news and media
Help others
Be physically active
Dream and set goals

When and how to be effective at self talk?

In order to be effective at self talk you must make it a habit. To start, Every morning think of something that you are a grateful for and give thanks. Then give yourself positive affirmation such as:

I am determined and successful
I am confident
I am strong
My life has meaning and purpose
I am in control of my choices
I am not afraid to fail because it will help me grow

How is self talk is critical to building confidence?

Do you feel shy in front of a big audience? Do you have little belief in your talents and skills? Positive self-talk can Positive self-talk can make you feel more confident in these situations Negative self-talk will hinder you from performing at your fullest by allowing doubt to come into your thoughts. With positive self-talk, you can put your doubts aside and focus on accomplishing your feat successfully. Confidence and success go hand in hand. Those who are successful at what they do, truly believe in themselves and their abilities. Confidence is so important to success that many psychologists believe that it is one of the primary prerequisites to personal and professional success. Be confident in everything you do by lifting yourself up with positive self talk.