The 3 H’s for Athletes

There are lots of qualities and characteristics that are important elements of athletic performance and achievement.  Ability, skill, and talent are, obviously, what every athlete aspires to develop.

But there are also intangible — effort-related — attributes that can improve any athlete’s performance.  Every team needs these athletes.  Persistent kids who work hard to get the most out of their talents and abilities.

Here are three of those attributes that will make any athlete hard to beat.

The 3 H’s for Athletes:

1. Hard Work.  Get in the weight room.  Improve your strength, speed, agility, and athleticism.  Practice your sport-specific skills.  Improve your ball-handling, hitting, skating, foot skills, or whatever your sport requires.  Have a plan and work smart.
2. Heart.  Believe in yourself.  Play with aggressiveness, confidence, and energy.  Hard work begets confidence.  Be confident, but not cocky.  Be positive, and have a “can-do” attitude.  Expect to succeed every time you’re on the field or court.
3. Hustle.  It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re the most talented player on the field or court.  Never allow yourself to be out-worked.  Whatever your 100% looks like, give it.

Your thoughts?

WE BUILD STRONGER ATHLETES!

We provide motivated athletes with a simple, customized training plan to help them improve performance and reduce injury risk.

The 3 H’s for Athletes

There are lots of qualities and characteristics that are important elements of athletic performance and achievement.  Ability, skill, and talent are — obviously — what every athlete aspires to develop.

But there are also intangible — effort-related — attributes that can improve any athlete’s performance.  Every team needs these athletes.  Persistent kids who work hard to get the most out of their talents and abilities.

Here are three of those attributes that will make any athlete hard to beat.

The 3 H’s for Athletes:

1. Hard Work.  Get in the weight room.  Improve your strength, speed, agility, and athleticism.  Practice your sport-specific skills.  Improve your ball-handling, hitting, skating, foot skills, or whatever your sport requires.  Have a plan and work smart.
2. Heart.  Believe in yourself.  Play with aggressiveness, confidence, and energy.  Hard work begets confidence.  Be confident, but not cocky.  Be positive, and have a “can-do” attitude.  Expect to succeed every time you’re on the field or court.
3. Hustle.  It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re the most talented player on the field or court.  Never allow yourself to be out-worked.  Whatever your 100% looks like, give it.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

The 3 H’s for Athletes

There are lots of qualities and characteristics that are important elements of athletic performance and achievement.  Ability, skill, and talent are, obviously, what every athlete aspires to develop.

But there are also intangible — effort-related — attributes that can improve any athlete’s performance.  Every team needs these athletes.  Persistent kids who work hard to get the most out of their talents and abilities.

Here are three of those attributes that will make any athlete hard to beat.

The 3 H’s for Athletes:

1. Hard Work.  Get in the weight room.  Improve your strength, speed, agility, and athleticism.  Practice your sport-specific skills.  Improve your ball-handling, hitting, skating, foot skills, or whatever your sport requires.  Have a plan and work smart.
2. Heart.  Believe in yourself.  Play with aggressiveness, confidence, and energy.  Hard work begets confidence.  Be confident, but not cocky.  Be positive, and have a “can-do” attitude.  Expect to succeed every time you’re on the field or court.
3. Hustle.  It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re the most talented player on the field or court.  Never allow yourself to be out-worked.  Whatever your 100% looks like, give it.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

The One-Percent Rule

You’ve probably heard of the 1% rule (or something similar).  It’s all about accountability, responsibility, and self-improvement.  The 1% rule means you should try to be 1% better today than you were yesterday — in the gym, at practice, as a competitor, at work, at home, and in life.  But improvement involves (requires) change and change requires work.  Basically, there are three types of change:

• Steady-state change
• Incremental change
• Quantum change

Steady-state change is about maintenance.  Although there is little or no change, work is required.  For example, if you want to keep your house looking a certain way, you have to do dishes, wash clothes, vacuum the floors, etc. on a regular basis… and that’s just to keep it looking the same way, day after day.  The same applies to your strength & conditioning and sport-specific skills.  You need to commit yourself  to working out and practicing just to maintain your level of performance — consistency is the key.  Failure to work will invariably lead to a decline in your performance (and the appearance and condition of your house).

Incremental (small-scale) change is the key to improving performance.  This is the type of change to which the 1% rule applies.  Incremental change is realistic and attainable.  It obviously requires effort, but incremental change also encourages progress.  If managed properly, incremental change can lead to significant results.  As with steady-state change, incremental change requires consistency and discipline.

• Healthy Weight Management.  If your goal involves losing a few pounds, break it down into a reasonable weekly or monthly goal.
• Diet and Nutrition.  To improve your diet, don’t completely overhaul your eating habits all at once.  Try changing one thing per day (or week) — for example, eliminate one sugary drink per day or add an apple every day.  Then, aim to change (add or eliminate) more things over time to create better habits.
• Strength and Conditioning.  In order to improve your strength and speed — or your overall level of fitness — you must do something differently than you’re currently doing.  That usually means increasing the overall intensity level of your training (more resistance, sets, reps, and/or volume).
• Sport-Specific Skills.  Want to improve your ball-handling or shooting?  Find some new drills, instead of  — or in addition to —  the ones you’re currently doing; and commit more time and effort (more repetitions) to your skills practice.

The new year is a time of change for lots of people.  My first blog post of 2013 referred to new year’s resolutions.  I’ve read that most people give up on their new year’s resolutions by the end of January, and that trying to accomplish too much, too soon (unrealistic goals) is the primary reason.  Challenge yourself, but take “baby” steps, and you’ll find the change process much more manageable and attainable.

Quantum (large-scale) change takes time, and is the result of lots of incremental change.  Regardless of your goals, it’s unrealistic to think you can make huge gains in performance in a relatively short time.  If you want to achieve big things, you need to do diligence to the incremental change process.  Be aggressive and realistic.  And be patient.

What will you change, and how will you improve, today?

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

4 Keys to Success in the Weight Room

Want to improve your athletic performance?  Practice your sport-specific skills, eat right, and get in the weight room (see 3 Pillars of Athletic Performance).  Developing your strength, speed, agility, and athleticism can help you create a competitive advantage.  Get STRONGER, Get FASTER isn’t just a tag line; it’s a requisite component of your preparation for your sport(s) of choice.

Don’t waste time in the weight room.  As the saying goes, “plan your work and work your plan.”  Be productive, challenge yourself, and strive for quality and efficiency.  Follow these 4 keys to achieve success in the weight room:

Accountability

It’s on you.  You are responsible for your development.  No one can do it for you.  What you achieve (or fail to achieve) is largely a matter of choice.  Showing up is half the battle.  Get in, do work, get out, repeat.

Discipline

Your actions should be consistent with your goals.  Consistency is the key.  Do what needs to be done, as well as it can be done, and do it that way consistently.

Competitiveness

It’s you vs. you.  There’s no need to compare yourself with anyone else.  Be internally competitive.  Strive to be 1% better today than you were yesterday.  Same goes for tomorrow.  The results, over time, will be impressive.

Motivation

Refer to your goals frequently.  Reflect upon your inspiration.  Think about why you’re doing what you’re doing every time you train.  Dedication.  Determination.  Desire.  You gotta want it.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?