TheUnstitchd
We all want to look like professional athletes are all muscles. However, there is one thing we often forget to consider: fitness success does not easy and it does not come fast. Top athletes of today have started their careers as children, so they have had decades of rigorous training sessions to reach their current level of fitness.
Building an athletic body, therefore, start in the head. You need to break the illusion modern advertising had created that ripping your body is easy with the right pill or powder. Looking like an athlete is a painstaking process but if you adopt a few tips and tricks, then there are shortcuts to success.
A bit of research
The first thing you need to know is that there isn’t a single top athlete of a coach that knows it all. Building an athletic body is foremost a process of learning new skills. Don’t think that seasoned athletes don’t use online tools to learn about dieting or check out new exercises. Feel free to go online to learn how to reach your fitness goals in the most efficient way possible.
There, you will find various tools and apps that will help you achieve your fitness goals. A calorie counting app can help you adopt the right diet and proper programming will give you a schedule to stick to. Furthermore, you might learn a thing or two about food preparation, allowing you to get the most out of a healthy and balanced diet.
Adopting a warm-up routine
You are probably aware of the main benefit of warming-up, which is injury prevention. If you stretch your body well-enough, then the chances of getting injured are severely reduced. In addition, a good warm-up that lasts at least 10 minutes will mentally prepare you for exercising.
A typical warm-up should not come hard on the body which had been inactive hours and days prior to the training session. That is why a single set of 6 reps of the following exercises is more than enough. When it comes to engaging the upper body, T-push-ups are by far the best. They engage the chest, arms, shoulders, and back in a way that they warm up quickly and are ready for more intense training.
When it comes to the legs, there are several exercises that help you warm up. A quadruped fire hydrant is one such exercise that includes hips as well but perhaps squats are best for the legs. They engage the entire leg, including the foot. You can combine squats with foot pull-ups that can either be performed on a stepper or on the stairs.
Speaking of footwork, jumping the rope can do wonders for coordination, agility, and general stamina. The feet and the ankle benefit from jumping the rope because the Achilles tendon becomes ready for fast movements like jumps, sprints, and all the other explosive activities.
The dynamics of success
There are several types of exercise, like bodyweight or stamina ones but if you want an athletic body then dynamic exercises are mandatory. These include bench press, front squat to press, rows, deadlift, and kettlebell swings. All of these exercises are aimed at improving your athletic performance by working the joints. Apart from increases dynamics, this will protect your joints from injury. Oh yeah, these dynamic exercises will help you lose any extra fat.
Weight is not everything
A common fallacy among novice bodybuilders is that the heavier you lift, the more athletic you are. However, the more weights you add does not necessarily mean progress, because there are many other aspects of fitness. For once, bodybuilding and explosiveness are two segments of exercising that professional athletes incorporate in their exercise routines. Large biceps mean nothing if they aren’t styled well and useful.
Actually, lifting heavy in an improper way can result in several symptoms that resemble a stressful job. You start suffering from sleep deprivation which results in the intake of coffee and energy drinks. These are liquids that athletes give a wide berth to because they decrease their fitness level in the long run. Furthermore, lifting too much will decrease your testosterone levels and increase cortisol levels, which will lead to a weakened immune system, general body weakness, and a decrease in energy.
Reps, not loads
Decreasing weight should be accompanied by an increase in the number of repetitions. This will help you achieve leaner muscles and better muscle tonus. If you think that a high number of reps is boring to exercise, then you can add extra resistance in the form of bands.
Furthermore, explosive exercises should also enter your training schedule. Their main trait is moderate weight, including snatches, jerks, med ball throws, and kettlebell swings. The latter is especially important because they engage the body laterally, preventing torn muscle during lateral motion.
Sticking to the end
Believe it or not but motivation can be the biggest obstacle to building an athletic body. As we have pointed out earlier, athletes spend years exercising, so you are right to conclude that consistency is the keyword. Many people are off to a great bodybuilding start but they lose momentum after just a couple of weeks and quit due to exhaustion or loss of interest.
Another common problem is not sticking to the schedule and skipping practices. After a while, this leads to decreased stamina and endurance which can lead to injury. In order to prevent this burnout syndrome, you should mentally prepare for months of training. By setting realistic goals and adjusting your expectations, you are ensuring that you won’t quit early on. Looking like an athlete requires you to stick to the end of the exercise program.
In addition to the tips listed here, you should add plenty of sleep and rehydration to the equation, once you attain the perfect workout routine, you will be one step closer to building an athletic body. Just be aware that aren’t any fast racks and magic pills that will help you look like an athlete in weeks’ time.