There's a huge reason why so many athletes choose to focus on maintaining a holistic level of health to improve their performance: your high-intensity training sessions are just as important as your recovery days. In order for you to better your performance, you need to prioritize balance in your life. However, as a busy athlete, that can sometimes be easier said than done. Here's a couple of ideas to help you out.
- Take care of your brain
As important as your physical health and training is, we will keep it out of our list for now. It's what you do outside of practice and competing that levels out your life. To no surprise, mental health is a key focus for a balanced life. Just as you would prioritize your physique, your mental health check-ins should be frequent. If you feel you've been very negative, you've had struggles with your sleeping or feel irate, you need to keep track of what things affect you mentally so you can manage them and prevent them in the future. A great way to maintain a good control is to journal, many athletes journal after practice or competition to ensure their cues and mental notes are remembered.
Related: 6 Tips and Tricks for being a Well-Rounded Track & Field Athlete
- Be a social butterfly!
Another important aspect to prioritize is your social life. Remember to have fun and put the time into things you enjoy. You should see your friends and family a healthy amount. Make sure to attend the meetings of your extracurriculars that you joined because you enjoyed them. This will help you balance your time being focused on work and creating memories that will stay with you. Just as they say, work hard, play hard.
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- Communicate with your team
Lastly, an important point to make life easier for you is communication. Specifically with your coaches and teammates. Properly communicating with your team when you're having a hard day or struggling to stay positive, can help them understand where you're coming from and work with you to find a way to get out of it. As long as you are on the same page, you can avoid confrontations and use the support system that is available to you.
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* Originally published on May 30, 2022, by Catherine Light
