Once in awhile one of the group exercise or spin junkies will wonder over to my weight training floor or over to the mma side and take a class but they'll rarely come back.
You see you can flirt with group exercise classes without committing anything more than an hour. But if you're going to weight train or do martial arts you have to live the lifestyle in and out of the gym. You have to commit to being an athlete. And the commitment is more than being a fitness enthusiast and the hour you spend in class.
I came up with a list of 10 things athletes should commit to outside the gym to be a successful athlete.
1. Stretch likes it is your full time job and it will pay you in dividends. If you don't stretch your muscles they will shorten and pull on...well, everything: ligaments, joints, other muscles and bones. You don't have to become a yogi but find 10 good stretches and do them frequently. If you're 20 and you cannot do a bridge, you're in serious trouble.
2. Eat. You can't be an athlete and survive on a 1500 calorie diet. Protein and movement are metabolic. So many people have painted themselves into tight food choice boxes and they don't eat. Or they've been told to exercise more and eat less to the point they have no energy and a tanked metabolism. You can't repair muscle tissues with magic. You repair muscle tissues with amino acids from proteins. Carbohydrates provide energy and fats provide hormone function and joint lubrication. You need a balance of these three macronutrients; and let's not forget...we need food to live. Period.
3. Successful athletes don't mind being "big". They don't worry about six packs abs, or thin thighs, or being a size 2 or 4...or whatever. Sometimes you have visible abs, sometimes you don't. You're self worth doesn't hang on these aesthetics and a magical thing happens when you stop obsessing over them...they appear.
4. Athletes don't get wrapped around the number on the scale. They focus on the number on the bar. The scale tells you how much your skin, bones, organs, fat, muscle and hydration weighs. Trying to decide if you're "fat" by this machine is insanity. You want dense bones, healthy organs, and good hydrated skin. Your body will literally cannibalize your organs and bones when you starve it. Like I said, you need food to live.
5. Sleep. You may not need 8 hours a night. But if you're trying to function on 3-4 hours a night and wonder why you're a walking zombie and don't have motivation, try getting more sleep. Your sleep is more important than TV or the Internet.
6. Stretch...it's so vital it needs a double mention.
7. Gear. If you need knee sleeves or a weight belt buy a good one. They make these things for a reason. They're investments in your long term fitness health.
8. Rest days. A dedicated athlete understands rest is part of the program. Cardio is not as muscle taxing as the breaking down of muscle tissue weight training causes and demanding your body repair it IN conjunction with everything else we do in a days time. Gains aren't lost on programmed rest days; there made.
9. Clinics. Committed athletes make time to go to clinics to work out any links or flaws in their have form. This is can be a frustrating process. It can mean dropping down in weight in certain lifts or even starting over. But if you're using your body mechanics incorrectly or need to work on flexibility you have no other option to fix it or you will get hurt.
10. Committed athletes know when they're the big fish, and find a new pond. If you're the strongest, smartest person in the room...find a new room or you severely limit your growth potential. It's a huge ego booster to be the best in your group, it's naive and foolish to think you can't get better; or worse...shouldn't.
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