The world’s greatest athletes, as you might imagine, are constantly under duress. Their opponents do their best to gain an advantage over them. Their coaches and managers watch them closely to make sure they are at their optimum.
Even their own teammates try to supplant them. No pressure. In order to stay at the top of their game when they perform, there are certain things all athletes commonly do.
They practice diligently, continually study the game they have already mastered and push their bodies to their physical limits. Beyond these shared traits, the greats all seem to have idiosyncrasies that set them apart.
They develop pregame rituals that, while they are unique to the individual, fall into certain shared categories.
Intaking Energy Through Food & Supplements
Martina Navratilova, your may recall, famously carbo-loaded on nights before her big matches and consumed fruit juices in the moments before play began.
Baseball great Wade Boggs ate chicken before every game. Athletes understand that food converts to energy and, based on their own experiences and scientific research, they develop routines that allow their bodies to achieve peak performance at just the right time.
The most recent developments in this category have to do with supplements that seem to be able to supercharge your abilities and provide additional health benefits as well.
You can check the literature on this by reading documents like the Le-Vel Thrive reviews.
Resting Up Before the Big Game
One of the reasons teams are so eager to celebrate after a rousing victory is because they have put off partying prior to the game.
The finest athletes do not simply have a nourishment regimen they follow but also a work/relaxation/sleep schedule and they pay close attention to that part about sleeping.
One expert on high-level athletic competition writes, “Athletes who are training for a competition needs to sleep 10 hours daily to recharge and improve their performance. . . . Taking a 20-minute nap a few hours before the competition will also help increase your energy.”
Categorical adherence to a set schedule is key as well. Today’s coaches, managers and trainers find themselves in the position of serving as buffers between the media and well-meaning fans and their athletes, who need the rest.
Staying in the Game Mentally
Caring for the body is obviously a necessity for those who must compete at their highest degree of ability. Another category of preparation, however, has to do with mental readiness.
A young reporter covering a state championship high school football game was stunned to walk into a team’s locker room two hours before the game and find the players lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
A manager quickly ushered the reporter out, explaining, “This is part of the ritual. They spend an hour playing the game in their minds.”
What do top athletes do to get mentally prepared?
• Meditate with a concentration on breathing
• Listen to music that promotes the mood you want to experience during the game
• Learn self-affirmation that defeats negative thoughts
• Visualize yourself performing at your best
Hanging Onto Your Good Luck Charm
The final category of practices followed by top professional athletics is by far the least scientific. Virtually all the best pros have superstitious rituals that they follow.
You may notice teams of guys who make it to the playoffs in one sport or another and refuse to shave as long as they keep winning. Many famous athletes have peculiar rituals.
For instance, Serena Williams was known for wearing the same pair of socks throughout the course of any tennis tournament as long as she kept winning.
When you see an athlete wearing plenty of bling during a game, however, it may not be an attempt to look flashy or even a good luck ritual. It might be to circumvent bad juju.
South American soccer players are known for wearing charms during contests to ward off the voodoo spells opposing fans cast on them. Athletes do what they have to in order to perform their best.
