How to To Improve Your Training
Are you feeling less motivated to
exercise than you used to be? Less keen to put on your gear and get out of the
door?
Every athlete experiences downtimes in their training . This is both a mental and physical condition. You often feel you just don’t have enough energy to get back on track.
The following tips will help raise your level of motivation and performance.
1. Set Some Goals.
One of the best ways to keep yourself motivated is to set goals that you can attain in a specific period of time. People do workouts for different reasons. Some do it for the exercise and the other health benefits you get from it. Others plan to lose weight through regular training. Think about why you want to exercise, be it running, cycling, walking etc. Then set a goal accordingly. Be specific in your goals; if you want to lose weight, you can focus on losing 10 pounds in three months; if you are planning to run a marathon, think about how many miles you need to run each week in order to build up stamina and endurance for the race.
2. Record your progress.
When you take the time to record your workout details in a log, you'll have a clear idea of where you're at. You can make comparisons in your weekly performances and if your recent efforts fall short of the previous ones, then you can see how much more you have to do to achieve your current goal. Keeping a log will also show you the progress you've made and that could be enough to make you push harder. Checkout our personalized logs for different activities at PersonalLogs.com.
3. Do cross training exercises.
Try to find time to participate in other sports, like cycling or swimming if you are a runner for example. This will strengthen different muscles that can help you with your main sport. Your body will welcome the change in your daily routine and the variety of training exercises can also help improve your overall endurance.
4. Try more intense workouts.
A speed workout routine involves doing faster laps, alternating with slower ones. The important thing to remember is not to overdo the fast laps all at once. For example, if you are a cyclist try accelerating for 30 seconds, then reduce the effort for 30 seconds. Repeat this 12 to 20 times during your ride.
Make sure to build up the intensity level slowly if you haven’t tried this type of workout before. Otherwise you could easily end up with an injury.
5. Exercise with others.
Don’t be a loner! Meeting other people in your sport is always a good way to help you improve. Try joining a club. This is great for finding advice from others who are more experienced in your field. If you are doing long workouts over two hours then training with a buddy is a great help.
6. Enter a race or competition.
Participating in a race can bring out the competitive spirit in you and can help you focus on your goals. This is also another way of pumping up your stamina and improving your endurance. However, proceed with caution and don't overdo the training.
7. Take a break!
Most athletes in any sport will experience some burn-out from regular training. Sometimes the only way to get back on track is to take a "holiday" from the routine. Spend a few days doing minimal or no exercise at all. You will see how energized you'll be when you get back to it.
These are just a few tips that you can try that will improve your performance. It's also a good idea to record your goals and actual workout details in a log.