"Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best."
Michael Johnson

We are all given opportunities to shine. These opportunities come ever so seldom in our lives and if we are not paying attention we might miss it! But much like the quote says, between these moments is plenty of time to prepare for it. The best way to do this is through training. Be it for a competition, a recital, a concert. It doesn't matter. Practice is how you improve your abilities, and you can't get better unless you practice appropriately. This means putting your heart and soul into all the aspects: The technique, the mindset, and the motivation!

Most people spend most of their time worrying about their technique, the physical side of their training. All that has to do with actually completing the actions as efficiently, powerfully and quickly as possible. This aspect of training is important in that without actually doing and practicing the skill set, you can't perfect physically your capability of performing at an elite level. If you want to get better at anything, you need to do it. You want to be a faster runner? Run. You want to lift more weights? Lift some heavy weights! It's fairly simple in that respect, but remember to also pay attention to form, ask some coaches for help, perform drills that help perfect the different phases of your sport, but most importantly... DO THAT ACTIVITY.

Your mindset is more valuable than you give it credit for. Back during the 60's and 70's The Soviet Union was in pursuit of creating the most dominant team of athletes to send to the Olympics and show up the world in as many ways as they could. They devised a test to see what kind of training was the best kind. They had 3 groups, 75% Physical training and 25% mental training, 50% Physical 50% mental and 25% physical and 75% mental. Take a guess which group performed the best in competition? Group 3 with 75% mental training. The study actually showed that with mental training focused on competition and technique, it acted as a nervous precursor to actual movement. Very slight nervous impulses were recorded priming the muscles to then act accordingly during actual physical training. Your mind has a great deal in helping you perform optimally! Some food for thought.

Emotional response and motivation is the next part of training that is also key to success. Some might consider this mental training, but I consider this emotional training, reduction of anxiety, proper motivation, excitement, and confidence. You can't walk into a competition with enough self control over your emotions or you will lose not because of the competition, but because you will beat yourself. A lot of this training comes from just enjoying what you are doing. When all is said and done, if you don't enjoy your sport or activity, it's not worth your time. Keeping a good attitude about exercise and fitness sets the tone for how your approach your mental and physical training. It needs to be based off a positive approach or you won't reap the maximum benefits of your training in any facet of your training.

The lesson for today is to remember all the many sides of training, keep a balance on the way you approach your sport or training. Success in anything is dedicating yourself. Don't sell yourself short by only doing part of the work you need to do!

Every Day... A Little Stronger