Just Minutes per Day

The short-cut to becoming a better athlete. 

by Mike Mejia, CSCS 

In the fitness industry, overblown promises of "amazing results" with "little to no effort" are a about a dime a dozen. In fact, it seems like everywhere we turn these days we're being inundated with ads for the next "can't miss" workout program, or dietary supplement. Here's the sad part though...it's often exactly what we want to hear. 

Thanks in large part to the "need it yesterday" mindset that's so prevalent in today's society, kids tend to have very little patience when it comes to working towards a particular goal. It doesn't matter whether it's a washboard stomach, or a faster time in the forty, if there's a path of least resistance, most young athletes will opt to take it. 

And who can blame them? Given today's increasingly hectic scholastic schedules that leave little time for anything besides homework and sports practices, it's no wonder so many kids are looking for some kind of short cut.  

Well, what if I were to tell you that there was in fact a way to improve both athletic performance and overall health and well being in just minutes per day? A relatively simple approach that wouldn't take you much time at all, yet still yield some significant changes in the way your body looks, feels and performs.

Would you be interested? If the answer is yes, you're definitely going to want to keep on reading. Because I'm about to share with you some of my favorite strategies for building better athletes. They may not seem like much on the surface, but trust me when I tell you that these five components are capable of producing some truly mind-blowing results, when applied consistently. 

So do yourself a favor and commit to making time to follow through on at least one of these tips each and every day. Just make sure it isn't the same one all the time. For instance, one day you could do strength work and the next you could foam roll. As long as you're making an effort to turn each of these into a regular habit, it won't be long before you start playing and feeling a lot better!

The 5 Step Plan:

1. Start stretching more: While each sport places it's own unique demands on the body, I've found that young athletes tend to be tight in a lot of the same areas, regardless of their chosen sport. For instance, many of you have really tight quadriceps and hip flexors; which is undoubtedly a byproduct of all the running you do, combined with long hours of sitting in class. Other areas that tend to be restricted include the calves, the glutes, the muscles surrounding the groin, as well as the lats and pecs. 

Opening up these areas by stretching on a regular basis can get you moving and feeling a lot better. In case you're not familiar with how to stretch some of these areas, you'll find some great examples here. 

*Note: Static stretching recommendations are aimed at athletes beyond their peak growth spurt years (typically 13 and older). Younger kids should stick to dynamic stretching and full range of motion body weight strength training as a means of improving movement efficiency. 

Total time investment: About 10-15 minutes.

2. Get yourself a Foam Roller: If you're engaging in lots of intense practices and competitions and you're not using a foam roller, what are you waiting for? Regardless of how young and invincible you may feel, you aren't immune to the knots, adhesions and scar tissue that result from repeated physical activity and minor injuries. 

A foam roller can be an athlete's best friend, by allowing you to "get into" your soft tissues and break these things up. They'll also help by increasing blood flow and restoring lost range of motion. You can find a variety of foam rolling drills in the video featured above. 

Total time investment: About 10-15 minutes

3. Pay constant attention to your posture: Here's a simple technique you can use several times throughout the day that will essentially help re-program your postural muscles and get you sitting and standing up much straighter. You can either do it seated (in class), or standing, virtually anytime, anywhere. Just make sure to do it several times throughout the day to help make it a habit. 

From a seated position, begin lifting your torso up straight and tall, so that your bottom rib is held up, away from your waist. Next, lightly brace your core as you pull your shoulder blades together and down. Finally, hold your chin parallel to the ground and tuck it towards the back of your head. Then simply hold the position for 30-60 seconds. If you're standing, do all of the above and add in a slight posterior pelvic tilt to eliminate any excessive arching in the lower back. 

4. Get stronger where it counts: No, I'm not talking about going to gym and cranking out repeated sets on the bench and the 45 degree leg press. Here, I want you to focus on the muscles that are going largely overworked in most common strengthening programs, as way of helping bring your body back into balance. 

Hip Bridges

Plank elevation changes

Stability Ball Prone Cobras

Split Squat with rotation

Clamshells

Shoot for anywhere between 1 and 3 sets of each exercise for 10-12 reps per set. Examples of most of these drills can be found in the "best exercises you aren't doing" videos that were featured issues 5 and 6 of the newsletter. You can access the archives here.

5. Prepare meals and snacks ahead of time: Like the saying goes, "failing to plan, is planning to fail". So, if you rush out of the house in the morning without enough water, a good lunch, or a couple of healthy snack options, that's on you! Don't whine that the deli, or the school cafeteria doesn't have anything you like to eat. Or, that you can't go to after school sports practice because your stomach hurts from eating a bunch of crap. Believe me, your coach doesn't want to hear it! 

Take the time to set some food up the night before. And if you can't bring a cooler with you, make sure it's non perishable stuff that doesn't need to be refrigerated and can be easily stored in your bag. Granola bars, some nuts and dried fruit, Horizon chocolate milks and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole grain bread are all excellent options and will give you the kind of quality nutrition you need to get through a busy day. 

Total time investment: About 10 minutes. 

So there you go. Five seemingly insignificant strategies that can add up to a major change in your athletic performance. They may not be as flashy as some gizmo you'd see on a late night infommerical, or a glossy supplement ad in a magazine, but unlike either of those, they will actually work. And relatively quickly too- as long as you're diligent about putting them into practice.