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6 Wellness Tips for College Athletes 

Everyone knows that sports activities are great for building character and learning how to work with a team, whether it’s in little league or in a competitive college environment. Most high school and college athletes know that it’s important to make sure that they fuel up for the day ahead. However, with the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to overlook all the things that can ensure good health and wellness before hitting the field or the court. This is especially true for athletes who are going through a big transition—such as high school players who are heading off to college.  

Learning to manage a whole new independent lifestyle while keeping up with practice and studying is a huge learning curve. College athletes have to juggle a lot of different responsibilities while keeping their diet, health, and routine in check. So how can they do it? Here are 6 ways young athletes can stay healthy and in top condition during their years in college. 

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4 Tips for College Athletes to Be More Successful

Are you getting the most out of your time as a student-athlete? College days consist of practice, classes, training, eating, studying and – when possible – having fun, but mostly it’s a lot of work.

Some student-athletes with the gumption to do it all use day planners to manage their lives. They know that, for now, excelling on the field and in the classroom is their job, and they’re determined to succeed. With willpower and planning, student-athletes make their mark on the world and prepare for the road ahead.

Read on for 4 tips that can help student-athletes navigate these and other challenges.

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Why Holm vs Rousey is Not MMA vs Boxing

With the growing popularity of MMA and its personalities like Ronda Rousey, there have been more and more comparisons between it and other martial arts. Wrestling has been compared to boxing and someone always has to come out on top. Like in a contest, there has to be a winner in the eyes of the public. When Holly Holm defeated Ronda, it wasn’t really Holly vs Ronda in the eyes of many. They saw it as boxing vs MMA, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. In fact, it was Holly vs Ronda

If you wanted to really break it down, it would be judo vs boxing, but Holly would be the first person to tell you that she’s a mixed martial artist now. While Ronda competed in the Olympics in judo, she also knows that one discipline is not enough to be champion nowadays so she also is a mixed martial artist. While the two have a strong background in one discipline, using that last fight as support in an argument between which is superior just isn’t enough. 

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Workout Smart: Speed vs. Contraction and Form

Working as a trainer in a gym, I see all kinds of people working out. Some are experts, some are beginners, and some are just plain doing it wrong. I never like to judge: people workout and train for all kinds of purposes and goals, which means they workout differently. However, there are still ways you can workout the wrong way, despite training differently for various goals. It’s not just annoying to see this, it worries me. Working out the improper way doesn’t just make you look silly, but you could seriously hurt yourself too.

This is where the topic of today comes in: speed versus contraction and proper form. Some guys and girls, usually teenage boys (but sometimes 60+ men which is the most worrisome), will try to do reps of exercises–whether it be curls, rows, pull-downs, you name it–as fast as they can. I’m not sure if it’s because they can’t properly handle the weight so they try to get it done as fast as possible or they are trying to show off their abilities. They are wrong in both reasonings. They might even think that doing it as fast as possible is the right way to do it–WRONG. 

Proper form

Proper form

Don’t get me wrong, I will give an exception where fast training is okay. Plyometrics. Athletes. Competition trainees. These are the few exceptions. Athletes need to use plyometrics (training muscles to exert maximum force in the smallest amount of time possible with the most power possible) to get better at their sport. They improve their speed and power this way. You will see athletes doing plyometric jumps or lifts as well as other agility drills. This is okay! People who are training for certain competitions also need to do power-lifting, in which you will see a lot of jerks and snaps for getting their weight up. This is also okay!

I’m talking about the people who aren’t training for competitions, but just working out to achieve certain goals. The average gym-goer. Form is my #1 priority with my clients and they know it! They learn so well that they are able to point out others’ bad form in the gym while we are training. And because I love good form so much, I hate bad form even more. Attention weight lifters: you do not look cooler, sexier, or fitter when you yank that bar down so fast you pull a muscle.

Us in the weight room

Us in the weight room

Weight-lifting is all about control. Control is power. It’s not even all about not injuring yourself (although working out in jerky, fast motions without proper muscle control is a quick road to injury), it’s about maximizing gains and muscle strength. We could get very detailed about how fast repetitions should be based on what you’re looking for (muscle endurance, hypertrophy, strength, power, etc.), but that’s for another post.

Let’s just go to the basics. You will “feel” the reps more when you slow down. You will feel your muscle working, breaking down, and getting stronger. If you don’t believe me, try it out for yourself. Try a set of bicycles (lay on your back, knees up, elbow to opposite knee, repeat). Do 30 seconds of it fast, and then try 30 seconds slow. I’ll bet your abs will feel it a lot more when you go slower. I always have my clients slow down, for example, doing rear delt flyes, even on machines like leg extension, you will get such a better workout if you just slow down. 

Just think about it. When you slow down, and thus get the full repetition, you are allowing your muscle to go all the way through the motions, feeling it at each range of motion. Also, another quick note: don’t skimp out on the “negative” motion of a muscle action (aka the release, the elongation, the extensionof a biceps curl, not the actual curl). Many are tempted to quickly let go of the muscle tension and let it “fall down” to the starting place rather than controlling it. Again, we control it, we gain strength, we show power. If we cut it short, then we don’t get to strengthen the muscle at the most important part: the elongation of the muscle where it feels it the most.

Gunz from lifting with CONTROL

Gunz from lifting with CONTROL (haha jokes)

Next time you hit the weights or the machines, remember about good form and slowing down. Don’t hunch, keep your shoulders back, and your heart strong. Use these tips to stay hungry and fit! Cheers!

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