Winning Starts with Your Habits
What makes a strong athlete? If you think it's just about putting in the work day in and day out, you're only half-right. There's a lot more to becoming a disciplined, successful athlete than you might realize, and it all starts with your habits and mindset. If you're constantly overtraining or pushing yourself even through injury, you're doing it wrong. Here are 10 habits that make you a stronger athlete, and 10 that will only weaken you.
1. Setting Realistic Goals
If you want to be a stronger athlete, you need to ensure you create realistic goals that help you grow. A mistake that rookies may make is setting goals that are nearly impossible to achieve, which often makes them lose motivation and interest. By having measurable objectives, you give your training purpose without wearing yourself too thin.
2. Consistent Training
Successful athletes have excellent discipline, meaning they know to get up and go even on days when they don't feel motivated enough. Getting into the rhythm of training consistently also builds endurance, strength, and resilience, which are all traits a strong athlete should possess.
3. Getting Enough Sleep
This might sound obvious, but getting enough sleep is crucial for good mental and physical performance. Strong athletes know to stick to a consistent schedule and to get a good amount of shut-eye each night, so that they can rest, recover, and come back sharper.
4. Knowing How to Fuel Your Body
Atheletes often know to work with a nutritionist and trainer to find out what their body needs and the best way to fuel it. This might mean tracking their macronutrients, such as their carbohydrates, fat, and protein, and balancing their intake so that their bodies stay strong.
5. Tracking Your Progress
Just as important as it is for athletes to set attainable goals, it's also important for them to track their progress. This helps them see how they've improved and what areas they still need to work on. Logging each session helps to easily spot patterns and understand how to adjust training, too.
6. Mental Toughness & Resilience
Not every day is going to be easy. Some days will feel impossible and like the world is against you. Athletes with strong mental toughness know this, and that's why they're able to stay resilient, focused, and confident, despite any setbacks they may face.
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7. Continuous Learning
Good athletes know that it's not enough to learn how to do something one way. After all, the landscape of the sport they're in is always shifting, which is why they need to continually adapt their training and strategies to stay competitive and in the game.
8. Staying Hydrated
This might seem like another obvious one, but strong athletes make sure they're always well-hydrated. Drinking enough water helps ensure that they have enough energy to get through their training sessions, and that they're always performing their best.
9. Being in Tune with Your Body
Good athletes also know to listen to their bodies and understand exactly what they need. This means knowing when to pause training and take frequent breaks to prevent potential injuries, and when to push to reach the milestones they've set. The key is finding a balance that suits you.
10. Believing in Yourself
Another good habit strong athletes have? Confidence. Remember: confidence isn't the same as arrogance, where you think you're better than everyone else. Instead, successful athletes believe in themselves 100% and that they're capable of whatever they put their minds to, and that mindset is what drives them to always do their best.
Now, let's flip the script. What habits weaken you as an athlete? Here are 10 you should always make sure to avoid:
1. Skipping Warm-Ups
Warming up your body is essential for getting your muscles ready before jumping into training. By doing lighter exercises and stretches to start, you increase blood flow and make your body less prone to injury. Think of your body as a rubber band: without warming up, you're much stiffer. But if you give your muscles a chance to get ready, they'll be more flexible and elastic.
2. Inconsistent Sleep Schedules
We've already mentioned how important it is to get enough sleep, but it's worth repeating. Athletes who don't get enough shut-eye regularly are more likely to lose motivation and focus, which can significantly affect their discipline and performance. You also don't want to be sleep-deprived before a big game!
3. Poor Nutritional Habits
Good athletes know how to refuel their bodies and ensure they get the nutrients they need to stay strong. But those with bad habits may neglect this or overlook the importance of tracking what they eat and how much should be on their plate. This can harm their performance and lead to muscle loss.
4. Overtraining
It's not a good idea to overtrain, either. You might think this helps you build momentum and keeps your body strong, but it can actually make you much more prone to injury. Your muscles need to rest and recover, and successful athletes know to listen to their bodies.
5. Training Without a Plan
It's important to go into training with a clear plan and specific goals. If you start exercising blindly, you may lose motivation much more quickly and feel lost on which areas to focus on. Plus, without a trainer to guide you, you might accidentally put excessive strain on your body, leading to more injuries.
6. Training When Injured
Some athletes may think that pausing training when they're injured can stunt their progress and make them come back weaker. But the opposite is true. Your body, especially when it's injured, needs ample time to rest and recover. If you force yourself to push when you're not at 100%, it may only lead to prolonged setbacks.
7. Lack of Cross-Training
A strong athlete knows to cross-train and incorporate various exercises into their routine to build a stronger foundation. If you neglect this and stick to the same regimen every day, you're less likely to develop better stamina, strength, balance, and flexibility, which may affect your overall performance.
8. Relying Too Much on Supplements
To be a stronger athlete, you not only need to know how to fuel your body, but you also need to know how to do it in the right way. If you're always relying on supplements—protein powders and multivitamin pills—you won't get the strength you need. Supplements can't replace the nutrients you get from regular food, so always make sure to keep a healthy diet.
9. Neglecting to Track Progress
As mentioned earlier, tracking your progress is key to helping you spot patterns and adjust your training accordingly. It also allows you to see your improvement and how far you've come along, which gives you opportunities to celebrate your milestones, no matter how big or small.
10. Comparing Yourself to Others
A strong athlete is confident in themselves and their abilities. A weak one will constantly compare themselves to others and overlook their own achievements. If you're always putting yourself down, this negative mindset can set you back and hinder your progress, push you into unhealthy training patterns, and affect your performance. Even if you think you still have a long way to go, it's important to believe in yourself.
