Most people who are passionate about sports and physical fitness are not involved in athletics professionally. They are regular folks, just like you.
They are the early morning runners, the weekend climbers, the volunteer coaches, and the amateur athletes who are passionate about their health and athletic pursuits.
Just because you don't have access to the licensed nutritionists, physical therapists, personal trainers, and professional coaches that an elite athlete has, doesn't mean you can't adopt some of the powerful habits they develop.
Here are a few things you can borrow from the pros to up your game.
Nutrition
Professional athletes know that what they put in their bodies is as important as their training regimen. You can maximize your nutrition without the help of a dietitian or individual chef by adopting a healthy diet and supporting nutrition with quality supplements.
Supplements
Both professional and amateur athletes ask a lot of their bodies and many choose to support a healthy diet with supplements. When it comes to supplementation, quality matters.
Choose an established brand that is backed by science like USANA. Thousands of world-class athletes choose this brand, and USANA athletes have access to an impressive array of high-quality products.
Remember that supplements are just that; they are meant to support an already healthy diet, not replace it. Focus on food first.
Diet
When it comes to diet, focus on these precepts:
- Cut out processed foods
- Increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables
- Eat lean meats like fish, chicken, and turkey
- Include generous amounts of good fats like virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil
- Consume whole grains, nuts, and seeds
- Dial up your water intake, especially when you're working out
If you want a blueprint for your diet, avoid fads and check out some eating programs that have been proven to be healthy.
Healthmatters.nyp.org reports that the Mediterranean Diet has a long history of health success and has been recommended by doctors for years.
Goalsetting
Don't roll your eyes. Goalsetting has been a hot topic for years because it works. Forbes.com reports that athletes like Michael Phelps and Gabby Douglas credit setting achievable goals as an integral piece of their success strategy.
The trick to setting effective goals is to make sure you write them down, make them very specific, include detailed action plans, and make them challenging but also achievable.
Be sure to celebrate and reward yourself for achieving a goal, and then immediately set a new one to work toward.
Mindset
Having the right mindset is the key to success in most endeavors, including athletics. Elite athletes know that the power of their minds can help their bodies achieve incredible results.
Athletes have confidence in their own potential, and if they don't, they use self-talk and affirmations to "fake it until they make it." There is no place for self-degradation if you're seeking a higher level of achievement.
The best athletes are detail-oriented. They understand that the perfect flick of the wrist can sink the ball, the right start position can win the race and a small change in the angle of a racket can result in an aced serve. They are persistent and patient in pursuing excellence.
Perhaps the most important quality that elite athletes cultivate is resilience. They understand that when you compete, losing is an unavoidable part of the equation.
They see obstacles and even failures as an opportunity to learn and improve. Professional football players don't spend hours reviewing game footage to punish themselves. They are doing a clear-eyed study of what went wrong and developing a strategy to correct it.
You may not have access to the resources that professional athletes do, but you can adopt many of their most important strategies on your own. Take control of your nutrition, set goals, and improve your mindset.
These lessons from elite athletes can make you better in your physical pursuits, but they will also help you in your job, your relationships, and most other areas of your life.
