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Newton’s First Law of Motion is that a body in motion tends to stay in motion and a body at rest tends to stay at rest. Ever try to get motivated to hit the gym after sitting on the sofa and watching back-to-back episodes of “Seinfeld?” Although you may have gotten mentally motivated, you never physically got up and did it. When it comes to training jogging around the block or hitting the nearest gym the hardest part can be getting there. The second challenge that confronts most people is staying on a consistent schedule. Physics aside, here are some ideas on how to start and keep the momentum. First, let’s take an inventory of your activity level and look at your commitment. If you’re in a sports league, how often does it meet? Once, twice or even three times per week? Are you trying to win the big championship or simply looking to stay active and have fun with friends? Looking at the commitment side of the coin, how many days per week are you willing to participate in a fitness-based activity? Only after you’ve answered these questions can you formulate a plan. When you have the plan, it’s simply a matter of execution. Now let’s work to keep you competitive, healthy and maybe make you the MVP. The total package The next step is to get your training plan together. Based on my favorite summer movie, we will call this “The Fantastic Four.” The first area is strength training, which is the foundation for your athletic pyramid. The next area is fitness. We can’t have you running out of steam before the final whistle. Coming in at No. 3 is flexibility. The inability to get in and out of your car without pulling a muscle is a red flag. The final area is sports training. If you want to be asked back for next season, you will need to practice. Those of you currently on a strength program must remember to stay consistent. Nothing is more frustrating than having to start over again with the soreness and some light weights because you couldn’t spare 30 minutes to train during the holiday weekend that stretched itself into two weeks. And never be afraid to experiment. That will allow for continuous change and better physical adaptations whether they are strength-based or for some additional lean mass. Getting started is the tough part. Like work or school, it is a daunting task to start with your least favorite exercise. So don’t start that way. Training should be fun. Start with the exercises you love, and with any time and energy left, hit the more challenging exercises. Love, not hate Unless you are trying out for the NFL, don’t make working out a chore. This is where you’ll start missing days. Some of the best training days will start with little or no enthusiasm and flourish into killer workouts based on this concept. Go in with the intention of getting 15-30 minutes of great lifting or fitness. Anything beyond that is gravy. Odds are, the majority of the time you will stay motivated much longer and get more productive work done than you expected. Even if you’re there for only 25 minutes, at least you made it in and did something to make yourself more fit. My favorite saying as an athlete has always been, “Fatigue makes a coward of us all.” There is no excuse for burning out during a game. You can’t hustle to make up for the lack of fitness. That’s the whole point. When you are tired, your skills diminish. When it comes to your cardio routine, remember that this has the greatest return on investment for both today’s game and tomorrow’s health. A healthy cardio-respiratory system can contribute to a solid afternoon of flag football as well as a longer life. Here, more than anywhere, variety is the spice of life, and consistency breeds results. Too many athletes say, “I don’t understand why I am stuck at 8-minute miles I run every day!” The answer may lie in the answer: Don’t run every day. Try mixing it up a bit. Living in Southern California, the options are endless, so dust off your Rollerblades, get out your volleyball, put the surfboard in the car and do some cross training. Use all those crazy settings on your gym’s treadmill and bikes. Here’s a thought for all of you adults with low attention spans try moving to a different piece of equipment every 3-5 minutes. Doing a couple of rounds on different machines will help to keep enthusiasm high and let you work at greater loads. S-t-r-e-t-c-h Stretching is such an afterthought that you probably won’t even read this section. Still here? Well, let’s try to adjust your thinking. A single solution exists to jumping higher, running faster and longer, with less wear and tear and decreased fatigue. It will also help to get you stronger quicker and recover faster. The answer means improving your flexibility. The trouble is that stretching is boring and often seems to yield minimal results for the effort you put forth. The first part doesn’t have to be true, and you can make a difference with some diligence and a daily approach. Most people just don’t put in the time. It should be an everyday activity. Just ask your neighborhood yogi. It is not like strength and fitness where you need recovery days. It is not generally taxing enough to necessitate a need for you to take breaks. You may think of lunges as an exercise, but they’re also a great stretch for the majority of your lower body. Straight leg marches are another great stretch that are also active in nature and will help to break through to those stubborn hamstrings. Arm circles and trunk twists should not be overlooked for the upper body. The key is finding an exercise you like and doing more than 2-3 reps. Use it as a chance to get your mind ready for activity and break a sweat. No sweat equals no train. They work together. The last area is sports training. If you play on a softball team, try getting in a couple of days at the batting cages. Do some field sprints to help you with football or soccer. If Saturday morning is the only day you see your golf clubs out of your trunk, then I wouldn’t expect too much from an improvement standpoint. This principle holds turn in almost every facet of life. No matter what catchphase you pair it up with, “practice makes...perfect, permanent, prevents poor performance, etc.” It is also a great addition to your fitness plan. Throw the old pigskin around or shoot as many free throws as you can in one minute (getting your own rebounds). Make it fun and you’ll want to do more. If playing sports is what you do for fun and fitness, then make the commitment to get the most out of them. The best way to start feeling old is to slow down. Keep moving, because as the saying goes, “It’s better to wear out than to rust out.” Joshua Aycock, CSCS, USAW, can be found at Velocity Sports Performance in Irvine, specialists in training young athletes as well as adults. Information: 949.387.7333. |
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