When I was growing up my dad’s ideas of building myself into the best athlete included eating right, going to bed early, practicing every day and managing aspects of life that did not interfere with my sport. When I began to achieve consistent results in my sport it was clear that his general life philosophy coincided with what worked for my success on and off the track both short and long term.
Yesterday’s Toronto’s Globe and Mail featured an article on Number One draft pick in the NHL Connor McDavid. The author of the article discusses Connor’s discovery of eating right, taking naps and how training every day for 10 weeks this summer has resulted into his physically transformation of 5 foot 11 / 175 pound 15 year old, into a 6 foot 1 inch 197 pound 18 year old in 2015.
See the complete article here:
Great Habits will get you Great Results
The article discusses “The Importance of Rest”.
Rest is not just important for all of us it’s valuable. Future Edmonton Oiler Mr. McDavid has discovered the value of taking daily naps and how it can give you the energy you need to train harder 5 times a week for 10 weeks in a row.
Here are two examples of things you can do today discover the value of rest (so you can unleash your own personal superstar self every single day in or out of the gym)
- Naps can be 5 minutes or 55 minutes = I know naps don’t work for all of us. But have you tried the power nap of 5 to 10 minutes? You don’t need to fall asleep. Simply close your eyes and let yourself recharge. Try it. Or lay your head down somewhere you find comfortable. Take some time to re set yourself. Naps can help you re energize yourself and shore up more energy for things you wish to do in a day.
- Nutrition = learn to eat foods that energize you. The less processed a food is the easier your body can deal with it. Drinking lots of water helps hydrate us and keep our insides clean. The right kinds of proteins in palm sized portions rebuilds us. The more you learn about the foods that work best for you the easier weight control will be and the healthier you will feel.
What is your training plan?
A training plan can be as simple as going out every day to routinely perform a warm up and practice some of the aspects of your event that you perform for competition.
In 2002 we invited an athlete to live in our home and feature her in a real time video showing others what a daily routine might look like for a end of high school aged athlete. Therapy, nutrition and other aspects affecting an overall plan were discussed in “Project Jane” to help other coaches and athletes see how to set up a plan.
Is there value in Testing?
Knowing how you match up against your competitors is important. But don’t be afraid to take the information from testing with a grain of salt if it’s not consistent with some of the things you know for sure about your talent or ambitions to pursue an event or sport. Sports Journalist Marty Klinkenberg explains in the article above how one successful NHL veteran of 17 years almost never got a chance based on poor testing.
Summary
The track world that I have lived in for the past many years has taught me so many cool and interesting lessons I feel strongly about trying to help others find their way. I am only an expert about what I have done. I hope this article might show that there are patterns of great habits that work well for everyone, even when athletics might not be your thing.
Good luck.
Best,
Angé