Do you know that training the same systems repeatedly actually impairs your performance? Do you have enough variety to train to your sport? Are your workouts making you more athletic? Or do they make you bigger, stiffer, and slower?
Being an active athlete for most is not about being the biggest or strongest. Sure, that can help with some sports, but being more mobile, flexible, and agile is a better way to increase athleticism and reduce injury risk. Training your body and mind in a variety of ways offers the best benefit for long term performance.
Most recreational athletes have similar goals. To go out there, perform well, have fun, and stay safe. Even professional athletes want the same outcomes. They just want the performance to be exemplary compared to their peers. Whether recreational or professional, athletes all need to be...athletic! Athletic means having strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, and energy to perform a set of tasks. Not all sports have the same athletic requirement, but all sports require training to each characteristic individually.
Training only one trait of athleticism leaves another area deficient. During training or competition, that deficient area may become the point of failure, and that can result in fatigue, injury, or losing. It's important to vary your training to give yourself the best opportunity to be successful with the unforeseen challenges. Professional athletes have mastered a certain skill set that got them to the level they are at, but it's learning, training, and refining the details of the skills that separate them from the competition. Even as a recreational athlete, we can find clues of how to train like a pro, and perform above our own prior levels.
When training for recreation or competition, if we are committed to our activity, we have to be committed to our preparation. We have to learn to challenge ourselves appropriately, and often that can best be done by someone on the outside looking in. We don't know what we don't know. The best way to get over an obstacle, is to get help. Find someone who knows something you don't, and have them share it with you. This mindset can apply to all aspects of our lives. Find someone who knows what you want to know, who has been where you want to go, and then watch them, follow them, ask them how you get there. #snowbeastperformance