It’s that time of year again. Everyone will be posting their 2018 compilation videos and setting their new year’s resolutions for training and how they want to improve. But how often do you hold yourself accountable to the challenges you’ve set each year? If you want to take your training to the next level it’s time to take another approach. This article will go over a few improvements to make in 2019.
1. Keep a Training Journal
If Max Henry and Alex Honnold keep training journals to track their progress you should too. It’s a great way of documenting how you feel when you’re training and to understand the improvements you’ve made over time in a deeper sense than just your Instagram gallery.
It’s a great opportunity to write about what you’re grateful for and to check the negativity in training by celebrating what you did accomplish rather than what you didn’t. Keep detailed notes of how much you slept, ate and trained to see a difference over long periods of time. So pick up a cheap journal and get writing!
2. Get Your Training On Schedule
Not everyone reading this is a parkour coach with a built in schedule that they’ll have access to a gym. The rest of us have to make time to put in for our training or it doesn’t happen with any regularity. But combine that with the right conditioning and workout plan and you’ll start seeing real improvements. The weather and your bank account won’t always permit the training schedule you dream of so do what you can to make sure it’s consistent.
There’s a reason why Darryl Stingley and all the Storm athletes lift regularly, it makes them stronger athletes. I just started Tom Taylor’s Movement Power Conditioning Plan and it’s great to have a built in schedule for working out alongside my training (when the weather permits). Show Tom some love and try out his conditioning plan if you’re looking to get stronger this year and want to try the plan that athletes like Tim Champion and Ed Scott have used to podium across the globe.
3. Pay Someone Else To Coach You
If you are an athlete pursuing competition or stunts or any manner of professional athleticism you should be strengthening your weaknesses with the best in the game. If you want to fix imbalances in your movement you have to find expert coaches that can help you break down those barriers so you can move better. Training with each other at jams is one thing but it’s completely different to have some focused on helping you improve specific issues and habits.
I did a private lesson with Max Henry in New York a few months ago and walked away having a much better understanding of my vault technique. I also learned that what I thought was my limiting factor with my movement was actually incorrect and I needed to focus on other parts of my form to improve. It always helps to have a second opinion but it’s really helpful when it’s literally that person’s job to assist you for an hour or more. Take the iniative and support a coach you respect and want to move more like.
If you want to work on awkward movement go to Swift Movement. If you want to be well rounded go to Apex. The point is find the athletes that are good at what you can’t do and train with them – and pay them money to hone your weaknesses until they become strengths. Have fun.
4. Read/Listen to Books/Audiobooks
This goes for podcasts as well. The more knowledge you have about your mind and body the more likely you are to excel past your current abilities. You don’t have to listen only to parkour sources either because a lot of motivation and fitness advice is fairly universal so get your information from a variety of sources if you have the time to explore a bit.
If you’re looking for quality books on training make sure to check out The Parkour Road Map and Parkour Strength Training. Both will optimize your understanding of how you use your body when you’re doing parkour alongside lots of inspiration from other athletes. If you want to hear from the athletes themselves check out podcasts like Parkour EDU, Height Drop and MüvMag.
5. Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
Are you someone that still writes in your Instagram description that your movement sucks or your jumps aren’t good enough? Because it’s almost 2019 so please cut that shit out. Be grateful for your movement and if you aren’t happy with it then work harder. But no good comes out of a negative mindset. You won’t improve unless you allow yourself to flourish.
You won’t become a better athlete until you allow yourself to be one. So eat better. Drink more water. Foam roll regularly. Talk to yourself more kindly. Sleep more often. Be grateful for what you have and stop comparing yourself to other athletes. Because you’ll only ever be you and you’re the only one who gets to say that. So enjoy it while it lasts.
Thanks so much for reading! Don’t forget to vote for our upcoming piece 30 Under 30 Most Influential People In Parkour. We’re so thankful here at Parkour Entrepreneur for all the support we’ve had the past few months and we’re looking forward to starting the new year strong. What improvements are you making? How will you achieve your goals? You keep asking questions and we’ll keep searching for the answers for you.
One thought on “All I Want For Christmas Is To Be A Better Athlete”