How to be better at ANY Sport

I think every little boy has a phase where he wants to a pro at something.  My "pro phase" was all throughout high school.  Buddy, I wanted to be better than Michael Jordan.  I also wanted to out run Carl Lewis.  Honestly, I just knew I could knock out Mike Tyson with a single punch and drop bombs all over Roger Clemens.

I played hard during my high school career and had an opportunity to play at the college level but "things didn't pan out."  By "things didn't pan out" I mean,  I wasn't good enough to dunk on Michael Jordan.  However, not dunking on Mike let me focus on what I think is my passion in life: helping people through personal training.

I ask myself all the time, "How would I have helped High School me?"  The short list that follows is what I would recommend to myself back in the good old days.  I can promise you this list would have made me better at any sport!

How to be Better At Sports

1.  Lift weights.  I know this is VERY general but I went to private school and we didn't have a weight room.  Being able to throw 300lbs over your head is a huge confident booster when stepping onto the field.

2.  You have a coach for every sport out there so why not hire a strength coach? So, hire a strength coach or a personal trainer with knowledge.  I know that everyone has an EXPERT in the family that is willing to volunteer their time in the gym.  However, listen to me on this, it is super hard to un-train years of bad form.  It is much easier to start with a blank canvas.  I'm not saying that uncle Tommy "is not as good as he once was" but lets be honest... there are some really good coaches out there.  Invest in yourself or your child to get a great foundation built EARLY.

3. Run Track.  Most schools have a track program... JOIN IT.  I skipped out on track one year and really really regret it.

4.  Be an expert at the basics.  I never knew what a dead lift was until college.  I never knew what a clean and jerk or a Olympic snatch was until after college.  I knew about weight lifting machines and that is about it... Guess what?  The best in the world do the basics very well!  The basics are with dumbbells and barbells.  Learn it. Love it.

5.  Work on Work Capacity.  What does this mean?  Hit high intensity workouts at least twice a week.  Push yourself in training so when you need to call upon the "push" in a game, it will not be a new thing.

This is just the short list... but All 5 of the things I have listed go on at Versus Strength and Conditioning on a daily basis.  We lift weights under supervision, we run track style repeats on a weekly basis, we hammer the basics all the time and we nail high intensity workouts 3-4 times a week.

Come by and check us out!