Many people would love to be a professional athlete and believe that it is all about physical skills. They may not realize that there are also mental skills that are needed to become successful. Physical and mental preparation is the key to become a successful athlete. Different athletes have their own self preparation going into a competition. I have mine as well. There are two preparations that I think are very important to do: Preparation ahead of the event and on the day of the event If you want to become a great athlete, you definitely need to plan well ahead of time. When I have a big swim competition coming up, I will plan a week ahead of the actual racing day. I will slowly reduce my training schedule when getting closer to the meet and a week before the meet will also increase the amount of sleep that I get. I want to make sure I am in the best shape as possible as I don’t want to go into the meet with a injured arm or sore shoulder because that might make me perform poorly. When the competition date gets closer, I also need to change my diet. I will stop eating red meat 48 hours before the meet, and only eat healthy vegetables and white meat like fish and chicken instead of beef and pork. I will also increase the amount of carbohydrates and water before the meet so that I can get all the acid out of my body. Again, preparation ahead of the event is very important. This will help a lot going into the competition date. Even more important than the competition pre-planning will be the preparation on the day of the meet. If you’re an athlete, you will know that competition is much more tiring than all the training before. You’re always in a stressed and nervous mood throughout the day, so the preparation on the day of the competition is very important. First of all, the arriving time on the racing day. You want to be at the area you’re going to race 75 mins before your actual race event. This can fully wake your body up. For example, in a swimming competition, if you go to the pool too early, you will feel more tired because you put yourself in that stressed condition earlier than everyone else. If you arrive too late, your body won’t have time to warm up so you will have a higher chance of getting more injuries and not performing well. Second of all, the nutrition before and between the events is critical. Nutrition will make you maintain your stamina and energy. I will eat a granola bar 30 mins before my race and eat some light fruit in between my events. Lastly, if there’s prelim and finals, I will sleep for an hour in between the sessions in order to relax my body and to make me feel fully prepared for the final swim at night. If you have had good preparation, you can perform better and will be faster in your race. To conclude, preparation is one of the top keys to become successful. Planning ahead of the time will make you feel more confident and fresher than you normally do, and preparation on the race day will allow you to focus on your swim and give a higher performance. Your best performance is for you and everyone else.
Eric T
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