Getting In Shape in the New Year
It’s time to say goodbye to 2022 and hello to 2023. This time of year, most people take a few minutes to pause and reflect on what they’ve accomplished this year. Then, they create a resolution for the upcoming year. Without a doubt, one of the most common resolutions is related to getting in shape.
As an athlete, improving your physical fitness is critical. You need to be in shape so that you can take on all the demands and challenges related to your sport. You never want to experience a time in which your body is holding you back from being able to accomplish the task in front of you. This is why so much time is spent in the weight room and on conditioning drills. Depending on your sport, you need to be strong, explosive, agile, adaptive, and have the endurance to last through the possibility of a long battle. You make sure that you are physically in shape, but what are you doing to ensure that you are in shape mentally?
Your brain needs training and conditioning, just like your body. It needs to be adaptive in facing various situations. It needs to be agile in making decisions using split second information. It needs to shift from one task to the next and only include the information that is important to the task at hand. Your brain needs endurance to last the entire match and not walk away or give up after the first quarter.
You would never expect your body to just “be in shape” without intentionally training. So why do you expect to be in shape mentally without any training? This is why the skills and tactics we train our athletes are so important. It’s also why we do our best to integrate mental training into physical training so that you get the most impact of the time that you have to put towards your sport. While you can do mental training outside of the time you spend on the field or court, it’s also imperative that you train your brain while you are in your sport activities.
Success in sport is never guaranteed. It’s one of the reasons we love competing. But you want to do all that you can to put yourself in the best position to achieve that winning outcome. You do this by being physically fit, developing your technical skills, AND ensuring that you are in shape mentally.
Ready to start 2023 with a focus on being in shape mentally? Get started today!