With so many sports and outdoor activities out there, its hard to choose which ones we want to get after, and which ones we may need to build ourselves up to. For myself, improving on my climbing is my goal for this year, but I have done little to none at all this year and really need a refresher. Stepping up to the plate may be difficult, but here are a few basic guidelines on how to work yourself up to your goals!
Make a plan, set goals: This is the easy part! We’ve all done this before and know how easy it is to blow off, but this time lets take a few objectives into the game. First off, do research. If your goal is to be running 5:30 miles this summer, read some articles (check out the lululemon site), go online, sus-out how other people have started their training, and what you might be able to take from that.
Keep your expectations at bay and know your body and your limits: The goal of training is to build off of the last session and get your body used to the increasing level of exertion. Start by setting small goals, such as “every day I am going to do 50 crunches and 50 pushups”. Keep track of your workouts! After doing this for a few days, you may notice your body first getting sore, and subsequently becoming less resistant to the exercise and more able to preform. Congrats! You just passed your first tier of training!
Consistency/Holistic Approach: Be consistent with your training. Try to get out at the same time every day to do your exercise and you will find that it’s way easier to get out and go than it was when you first started. You really want to work your training into your everyday routine. This way, it will start to become second nature, and your body will establish a new “homeostasis” when performing your activity. Be very mindful of how your body feels after performing your exercises, and cognizant of the muscle groups you are working out. Often times in exercise and training, we can overwork a particular muscle group because we are not taking a “holistic” approach to our training. Lifting weights is great for upper body strength, but without developing your core strength as you train you will begin to experience poor posture, pains, and muscle aches. Think of it as overcompensation for the muscle groups that you didn’t work out.
Eyes On The Prize: It’s always best to keep your positive motivation as your end goal. Want to win a marathon? Keep your eye on the prize and don’t give up. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast so start slow with the mindset of working out all the kinks in your training upfront and gradually increasing your speed and attitude as you improve.
Eat Right: Paramount to just about everything mentioned above. Remember, we are taking a “holistic” approach here to improve our performance. What you eat and what you drink correlate directly to the level at which your body can perform. Vegetables, things with high amino content, proteins and carbs are all the right kind of fuels to be putting in your body for training. Check out this website for help planing your diet. Be sure to replenish salts with salty snacks or energy supplements when on the go. H2O, H2O, H2O! Be sure to drink before, during and after your activity and listen to your body as you preform. If you are feeling dehydrated, stop, rehydrate, eat and come back later. You’ll thank yourself and feel better going in with the best possible mind set and body state you can!
Take these tips and use them! Get out there and do what you love!
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