3 Things Athletes Should Have Done This Summer

Hello Everyone!

There’s no sugar-coating this blog post. It’s the end of August which means the end of summer and back to school. Let’s look back on three things you should have done this summer if you were truly trying to become a great athlete in the sport you love.

#1) Created a Schedule of Best Practices

You should have taken the time to plan out your days with the “best practices” for each part of your day. Best practices such as waking up after 8 hours of sleep and starting the day by addressing one of your weaknesses. It’s well documented that our mental willpower diminishes throughout the day. The more choices and decisions we have to make the more we drain our willpower’s strength. Guarantee you’ll make progress towards improving one of your weaknesses by tackling it first thing in the morning. For many athletes a 20 minute yoga or stretching routine to improve flexibility, first thing in the morning this summer, could have dramatically improved their range of motion and movement.

Photo Credit: http://usafootball.com/blogs/health-and-safety/post/11750/yoga-helps-athletes-of-every-age-improve-flexibility,-balance-and-strength

#2) Learned How To Prepare Healthy Foods

You should have taken the time to either learn how to cook and store healthy foods that you like or simply to research what are the safest, healthiest, and best food supplements for your goals. In today’s world there is an abundance of healthy options that you can keep on hand. The more you surround yourself with the right foods the more often you’ll eat the right foods. Just imagine if you would have eaten healthy foods all throughout the summer? How much better would you look and feel about your body now?

#3) Read Autobiographies about your Sport Heroes

With all the extra time you had this summer you should have filled your mind with the true stories of successful athletes in your sport. You can learn so much about the road you have ahead of you in your sport by reading the autobiographies of your favorite athletes. Please realize that these athletes have climbed the mountain, made it to the top, AND THEN taken the time to write about it for you to learn from! Do you understand what a huge competitive advantage it can be to learn from success athletes...in their own words?!

Photo Credit: http://harriscomm.com/catch-a-star-tamika-catchings.html

Now you can’t go back in time and add all of these “should haves” to your summer, but thankfully you can prevent future guilt and regret by adding these to your upcoming fall. I’d suggest picking one of these “should haves” and make it your primary focus for fall (September through November) and then pick a different to add in the winter, etc.

Keep Training!

Coach Amanda Kephart