How many youth athletes have you witnessed go from the rising superstar to hanging up their sportswear before they even reach their twenties?

How many professional athletes look so promising only to slowly fade away or never perform as well as you know they can?

Personally, I have witnessed more than I can remember. There are many variables that can attribute to these unfortunate outcomes but there is without question a common theme.

Outside their 1-2 hour of daily training, people stop performing. 22 hours a day of thinking the hard work is over. They don’t want it badly enough.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TODAY TO PREPARE FOR TOMORROWS PERFORMANCE?”

Let’s break it down. For the most part, training sessions last roughly anywhere from 30-120 minutes daily depending on the sport and schedule of the individual.

During this time every athlete in the squad or athlete in the sport does a similar form of training. For the sake of the example let’s assume that all variables are equal.

All have the same standard of coaching, same training sessions and use of the same standard of equipment/facilities. The reason I make it a level playing field is because I hear all of the above from many athletes as excuses to why they can’t perform well.

Now, if all opponents and/or team mates are exposed to the same 1-2 hours session every single day during their career, what is going to determine who consistently performs to the best of their ability during those sessions and even more importantly, competition time?

Of course, what is done outside of those training hours.

Looking at the four pillars of performance; movement, mindset, nutrition and recovery it is obvious that all of these aspects can’t be effectively covered completely during a 1-2 hour session.

Can you move, have peri-workout nutrition, focus 100% and perform cool down/recovery methods in that session? Sure. Can you do enough that the rest of the day has no bearing on your performance tomorrow?

No.

Can you reach your full potential by not focusing on the rest of the day? Definitely not.

Most athletes don’t give the remaining 22 hours as much respect as the 2-hour session and tend to have an excuse for their circumstances such as not being in the team, being substituted, finishing fourth or having a poor game.

Most tend to end up with niggling injuries, which they blame on luck or some other outside factor they couldn’t control. In some rare cases this is true, but for the most part they don’t want it bad enough and haven’t treated their body or mind well enough to maintain high performance, avoid injury or recover from one.

 “TENNIS IS A MENTAL GAME. EVERYONE IS FIT, EVERYONE HITS GREAT FOREHANDS AND BACKHANDS” – NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Cristiano Ronaldo, Novak Djokovic, and Stephen Curry weren’t necessarily suggested to be the next best thing at a young age but they are athletes who trained at 100% every day AND also treated every detail of their performance for the rest of the day like it was still part of that training session. The results speak for themselves.

They still do extra practice, they eat foods that they know fuel their body for the energy demands of their sport. They recover effectively by sleeping well and doing extra recovery/regeneration sessions when others have the day off.

Most importantly, they respect the power of their mind just as much as their body. They take time to de-stress, focus on what is important to them, believed in themselves and took responsibility for their own success.

Some may argue here that the variables earlier mentioned are going to play a part in the development of a youth athlete and the success of a professional.

However, I just see excuses. Sure, one individual can be technically better or naturally stronger, does that stop you finding a way to defeat them? Out work them, or at the very least attempt to match them? You can have excuses or results. Not both.

The fact of the matter is that many athletes look for shortcuts or are happy with what they have already achieved. They may say they want it but their actions prove otherwise.

Very few are willing to do whatever it takes to become the best they can be on a daily basis. It is not by luck that those that do this become the greatest in the sport.

The minimum standards must be raised. With so many of the general population, in particular children, watching athletes as the pinnacle of health and fitness it is essential that they see role models on and off the field.

Let them see what is possible with 24 hours of focus on performance. Let them attempt to emulate their role models to not only improve the standard of athletes but the standards of health and performance around the world.

“HALF THE EFFORT = HALF THE RESULTS”

Here are some basic tips to improve your performance outside of your training session – 90% of what we do is habitual. Practice good habits daily.

• Sleep a minimum 7 hours and get an afternoon nap in when you can. Keep your room as dark as possible and eliminate electrical devices and wi-fi from the room.
• Drink minimum 2.5L of water. Eat whole foods with a balance of protein, fruit/vegetables, complex carbohydrates and beneficial fats at least 80% of the time. Pre and post workout nutrition should always be priorities to fuel your body for optimal performance.
• Include additional daily movement, mobility and soft tissue work for recovery and regeneration.
• De-stress and visualize successfully achieving your performance goals daily to develop a successful and healthy mind.
• Minimise your weaknesses and look to maximise your strengths.

If you are unsure what you need to be doing outside of training hours then our 1 on 1 coaching or online coaching is perfect for you.

Not only do we prescribe training according to your schedule we individualise what you have to do every day to ensure YOU are at your peak performance come game day.

To find out more email us at conditioning@kikoff.com.au and don’t forget to FOLLOW US on Instagram at kikoffconditioning.