Thursday, November 26, 2009

Keeping Up With the Youngsters

By Landon Corton

I always thought that'-23 was my prime. I was out with the ladies and worked out all the time and felt generally good overall. I played sports at the time as well and was a fairly good athlete both in high school and in college. I never thought it would come to this.

A typical sports practice will prove to many how important being in shape really is. The practice schedules are designed to keep players moving around the field and working at a high level during the practice and then at the end they use a "conditioning period" to focus strictly on getting the players into shape. It is a really good idea from a coaching stand point because you want the most out of your players during the games.

Prior to ever making it to the field we were asked to participate in pre-season training. This was typically weight lifting and plyometric workout (jump training) coupled with regular sport drills. All of this was designed to get into shape and to hone your athletic skills. All of this activity put me in very good shape and I was ready to play my chosen sports.

Get out on the field and participate with some of these younger guys and I think you will surprise yourself. If you have taken good care of yourself and put your fitness knowledge to good use you should perform better than most of the younger guys. Many of them just lack the short cuts and think that working harder will make up for working smarter. You are proof you can workout smarter not harder.

The first smart workout I learned dealt with intensity in my workouts. The level of intensity you bring to your workout will determine the results you get, especially the older you get. Intensity is an interesting thing because you can struggle to get results without it. Far too often people go to the gym to look pretty and just to say they went. They don't actually care about the results as much as they think they do, they care about their actions.

Eating whatever I wanted used to be my solution to eating right! I learned the hard way that eating is how you get the energy you need to get into shape. No one told me that carbs are bad and protein is good. Making the right choices with your food was my second secret to a great workout.

With these few secrets in your hip pocket you can now go confidently into the recreation center for a pick up game or join a local league. You will be in awe as you play up to the level of your team even if they are younger than you are, just avoid injury it takes longer to heal. - 16887

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