5 Tips

By Jim Borell

1. Dedication: you have to remember that for professional athletes, training and practicing is their job. They have gotten to where they are because of their dedication and work ethic so if you want results, you need to take your workout seriously! Hanging out by the water fountain and talking to people at the gym or standing around staring at other people working out isn’t going to cut it. Enter your workout with the attitude that you’re there to get work done and to accomplish something. Just like in a game, I zone out everyone else in the gym as if I’m zoning out the away crowd during one of my games. Nothing is going to come between me and getting a good workout in. Another way to focus is to listen to your I-pod when you work out. Try listening to music with an upbeat tempo, something that will keep you moving and keep your heart rate up throughout your work out.

2. Get a trainer: It is difficult for the majority of individuals to push themselves working out alone. It’s always those last few repetitions or that last lap on the track that is the most difficult. A good trainer can not only correct any bad form you might have, but can help motivate you and push you through those tough times. Doing those extra reps is what makes the difference between a pro and a regular ’ole Joe. All professional athletes work out with a trainer or strength and conditioning coach. These trainers are there to push them to the limits and to make them the best.

3. Eat like an athlete: If you are going to workout like a pro athlete, you better eat like one. So guess what… you better kick that “no carb” diet to the curb. The primary sources of energy for the body are Carbohydrates and Fats. At rest, the body uses about the same percentage of each as energy. As the intensity of the exercise increases the body uses a much greater percentage of carbohydrates than fats as energy. If you’re working out pretty strenuously from an hour to two hours a day, then you should be eating around 3 grams of carbohydrates for every lb. of body weight you have. Not having that energy readily available will hurt both the intensity and duration of your workout

4. Physical toughness: There are days when pro athletes are sore, tired, hurt, but they still go in and work out. If you’ve taken 2 to 3 days rest and your hamstrings and gluts are still on fire from doing lunges, do them again! They have most likely recovered by then but still probably have some lactic acid build up in the muscles, so working those muscles again will help break up the lactic acid in those muscles and get the soreness out.

5. Mental toughness: As the Navy Seal’s put it: the body can take all the pain in the world; it’s the mind that often isn’t tough enough. If you’re working out correctly or whether you’re doing resistance training or cardio, your muscles should burn. That pain can be intense sometimes, but it’s that mental toughness to keep going. That is what separates the professional athletes from recreational athletes, that mental toughness to grit down and keep going when things get tough.

Jim Borell is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and plays professional indoor and outdoor lacrosse for the Philadelphia Wings and Los Angeles Riptide, respectively.

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5 Steps To Better Health By Jim Borell

Health - 5 Tips

1) BE ACTIVE!!!
Get off the couch and stay away from the treadmill. It’s summer time, so get your cardiovascular workout outside. Your metabolism, heart rate, and blood pressure are all at their lowest first thing in the morning. There is no better way to jumpstart your day. Boost your energy for your long workday by doing a cardio workout first thing in the morning. A nice 30 minute jog in the morning gets your blood flowing and will help you to be more mentally sharp for your upcoming workday. It’s summer time so make your lunch break an active one. The weather is perfect for going for a walk/ run/ bike/ swim. Your cardiovascular workoutshould be at least 30 minutes in length and the longer you exercise, the higher your resting metabolic rate (calories you burn at rest) will be for the rest of the day and into the next morning. In other terms, you’ll burn more calories over the next few hours doing absolutely nothing compared to not exercising at all. If you have an office job, take 5 -10 minute breaks throughout the day to go walk around, stretch, or climb some stairs.

2) Fuel your body!

If you haven’t gotten the memo yet, there is an obesity epidemic in America. Cut the soda and fast food out of your diet. Both are extremely calorie dense and packed with sugar and empty calories. Diets are a fad and a dime-a-dozen. Everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon of the newest “low carb” diet. Instead of worrying about carbs, (which you need for energy if you’re going to live an active lifestyle) eat 5 smaller meals a day rather than 3 big ones, stay away from foods with high fructose corn syrup, and focus on eating foods that will give you lots of energy such as organic foods, whole grains, lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, and low fat dairy.

3) LIFT WEIGHTS!
Resistance training has many physical benefits from strengthening the bones and skeletal muscles to improving physical appearance. You don’t necessarily have to be the meathead in the weight room doing 10 sets of one rep with 405lbs. in the squat rack to see results. Focus on doing 3-5 sets of 8-15 repetitions of an exercise and your workout should last 30-90 minutes. Start your workout doing total body exercises such as squats or lunges, or for more advanced lifters do power/hang cleans. Then move onto exercises working larger muscle groups such as the chest, shoulders, and back muscles. Lastly, you can focus on those smaller muscles, such as biceps, triceps, calves, and abs.

4) Strengthen your core!
our core includes your abdominals, obliques, and lower and middle back muscles. Your core is
where your center of gravity is and holds your body together. The rest of your body can only be as strong as your core. Core strength is key for good posture and eliminating lower back pain. Work your core at work by getting rid of that office chair and using a stability ball (55-65cm) instead to sit on. If you’re going to be sitting all day, you might as well work your stabilization muscles in your core.

5) Change It Up!
If you’re looking to see serious changes in your body, you have to change up your workout. The human body is a very efficient machine, so it will adapt quickly to your workout routine and you won’t see the fast gains you are looking for. By changing up your workout routine you will shock your body, and force it to adapt. This is when you will see the results you are looking for. Changing your routine is also a great way to keep your workouts interesting and fun.Try circuit training where you’re doing around 15 repetitions of an exercise and between 5-10 exercises with minimal rest in-between exercises, and repeat the circuit 2-3 times. Circuit training allows you to make the most of your time in the gym by getting both an aerobic and an anaerobic workout.

By Jim Borrell >>Read more

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