Tag Archive: goal setting

1. 11 questions every aspiring athlete should ask themselves

   29th May 2014 8:16 am 6 Comments

   “If you ask me how I want to be remembered, it is as a winner.

   You know what a winner is? A winner is somebody who has given his best effort, who has tried the hardest they possibly can, who has utilized every ounce of energy and strength within them to accomplish something.

   It doesn’t mean that they accomplished it or failed, it means that they’ve given it their best. That’s a winner.” 

   Walter Payton NFL Running Back

   In the current climate of “because I’m worth it” generation of young athletes who expect a lot, but maybe don’t realise the work involved here are 11 questions every athlete should ask themselves.

   1. Do you have a goal or a wish? Lots of athletes have idle day dreams, but taking the time to write down your goals and set up a plan is crucial.
   2. Do you have self -discipline? That is the discipline to make every training session, to do the little things well, consistently. The discipline to follow a plan even if you are tired or busy.
   3. Do you get quality sleep? Sleep is the foundation from which you can recover. It is also an indicator that there is balance in your life: too much stress, poor diet, or poor lifestyle can all impact on sleep quality.
   4. Do you fuel yourself properly? After sleep, this is an easy way of distinguishing between those who are serious about performance and the also-rans. The 3 step approach to fuelling properly will ensure consistency.
   5. Do you have the 4 cornerstones of training in place? It is easy to do what we are comfortable with, or what seems most urgent. However, you need to have all 4 cornerstones in place to be most effective.
   6. Are you mindful: of others, of your body, of your strengths and weaknesses? Mindfulness allows you to focus on one area at a time. It will help boost your immune system and reduce blood pressure. Being mindful in training means you are less likely to get injured and more likely to improve.
   7.  Do you train to gain an edge? It is often easy to get the big things in place, but the little things accumulate over time and soon add up. If you are doing them daily, then you will be gaining an edge over your opponents who are resting.
   8. Do your sessions have purpose? Or are they organised despair? There is a big difference between doing “stuff” that gets you tired and training with a purpose so that you get better.
   9. Are you getting stronger? Strength in some form underpins all athletic movement: posture, stability, power, balance and pure strength all require a strength training plan of some form.
   10. Do you challenge your technique? “Skill is technique under pressure” so do you seek to improve and develop your technique in different circumstances and environments? It is easy to be good when training at your own club: very different in the maelstrom of away fixtures under pressure.
   11. Have you given it your all? This may be hard to quantify, and you can only give the best that you are capable of at that time.  If you look in the mirror at the end of the day and say “I had a little bit left” then how will you be able to cope when that choice is taken away from you? Sometimes you have to empty your tank and train beyond your reserves.

   Walter Payton is an NFL legend, who knows if you are going to be as good as him? But , as an aspiring athlete, if you answer Yes to all of these questions, then you are well on the way to making the most of your ability.

   (Pictured are Dan James, Jenny McGeever and Tom Baylis: 3 of our current athletes who answer these questions).

   Further reading

   What is Athletic Development?

2. Walk before you run, sports nutrition guide: Andrew Hamilton

   4th March 2014 1:54 pm 2 Comments

   If I had a quid for every time I’ve been asked ‘”What’s the best supplement to take for performance?” I’d be a rich man!

   To some extent, the confusion over sports nutrition is understandable; at its cutting edge, nutrition is a complex and constantly evolving science involving huge numbers of variables and sometimes it’s hard to see the wood for the trees.

   Probably the most common mistake people make when planning out their nutrition is to worry about supplements such as exotic sports drinks and creatine before putting the fundamental building blocks in place. It’s a bit like a cyclist agonising over whether to shave a few grams of weight by splashing out £200 on super-light carbon fibre pedals shoes while still carrying a spare tyre of excess body fat round the waist!

   Getting started

   A good way to develop a successful nutrition strategy is to think in terms of a ‘hierarchy of nutritional needs’. You can think of this as a pyramid, with the widest layer at the base representing the most fundamental dietary needs and successive layers above representing progressively more specialised needs.

   However, these more specialised needs should only be considered once the (more basic) layers below have been put in place.

   At the base of the pyramid, the most fundamental layer is about ensuring your overall diet is healthy, with ample carbohydrate and fluid to support your training needs and enough high quality protein for recovery and muscle growth as well as plenty of vitamins and minerals (see here if you need guidance).

   The next layer up is about tweaking your day-to-day diet to help your body resist illness and breakdown.

   This is achieved by ensuring that your plentiful fruit and vegetable intake emphasises those particularly rich in antioxidants (to counter the ‘oxidative stress’ that intense exercise can produce in the cells of the body). A

   Also ensure you consume plenty of health- giving omega-3 oils.

   With levels 1 and 2 in place, you’re ready to start attending to the nitty-gritty of sports nutrition.

   However, before you reach for a tub of sports drink or similar, you need to think about something more fundamental – manipulating your basic diet to optimise fluid intake for optimum hydration and carbohydrate intake for energy.

   It’s only when these first three layers are in place that you should consider thinking about level 4 (consuming sports drinks such as energy, recovery, weight gain etc) or the top tier (supplements like creatine, beta-alanine etc.). Remember, sport is just like life – learn to walk before you run!

   Andrew Hamilton BSc Hons, MRSC, ACSM is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the American College of Sports Medicine and a consultant to the fitness industry, specialising in sport and performance nutrition. Visit www.andrewmarkhamilton.com for more information and a library of ‘free to download’ articles

3. New Year’s Resolutions- Healthy Eating

   19th December 2013 9:13 am Leave a Comment

   I always like to get a step ahead of my competitors by ensuring that I start training before they do.

   December is an ideal opportunity to do this as most people are switching off and over indulging.

   They then have a longer uphill struggle in January.

   I have uploaded a useful guide on How to eat like a champion

   If you are trying to lose weight, maintain weight or improve body composition, then it is better to be consistent, then trying to do it in a hurry.

   Much easier to cut down on mince pie intake than trying to burn them off later (but still have the odd one otherwise you will be a weirdo who has a psychotic episode later on in life).

4. Milk makes you run faster

   2nd June 2010 12:28 pm Leave a Comment

   I don’t think it was milk that made Marion Jones run fast.

   Be careful before setting someone up on a pedestal and working with young people.

   Everyone is only human.

5. Why you should eat local produce that is in season

   1st March 2010 9:38 am 1 Comment

   Boost your immune system with fresh local produce

   There is a desire for a better way of eating healthily and safely, eating plenty

   of fresh vegetables is an important dietary requirement to improve and maintain our health.

   Carol Farley, a local producer has given some tips here on what to look for.

   Aim for at least 5 different portions of fruit or vegetables a day. 

   Organic farming systems rely on natural nutrient cycles to provide crop nutrition and more natural and preventative methods of pest, disease and weed management.

   Crops are grown extensively and traditionally with no fertilizer, pesticides or herbicides.  With almost all vegetables, freshness makes a marked difference in flavour, unfortunately so many of the vegetables sold in our shops have been held in storage for too long, or have been flown so far, that they have lost much of their flavour and freshness.

   Eating seasonal food is important

   “Seasonality” is a word that many of us have forgotten or have chosen to ignore. A growing awareness as to “where our food comes from” through the media, and food agencies has led to questions being asked as to why we require our food to be transported around the world?

   On many occasions a sufficient, varied and nutrient rich alternatives are already being grown on their very doorsteps and are readily available through many different outlets like: Box schemes, Farmers Markets and Farm Shops. 

   To taste any vegetable or fruit in its correct season can be quite amazing! – Flavour, texture and overall freshness makes its eating qualities far superior.  Many of us are now more aware that by eating fresh locally grown seasonal produce which contains the correct vitamins and nutrients at that relative time of year will ultimately benefit our overall health profoundly.

   In season in March: spinach, swiss chards, kale, cabbages, winter cauliflower. Stored and still edible: potatoes, carrots, parsnips and swede. 

   Carol  Farley: Culm Valley Organic Vegetables.