How to train like a professional athlete
You may not have time in your busy schedule to train 4 – 5 hours a day like a professional sports star, but you can certainly take note of some of their methods, add them into your fitness training, and see if you can step up your work out sessions.
Multidiscipline approach
A professional athlete will never train only using their chosen sports discipline, i.e. a runner will never train by only running, a footballer will never train by only playing practice matches, a swimmer will never only swim laps in the pool, the reason being that although its important to train in your chosen sport, by not incorporating other exercises into your workout, you may be missing out on strengthening parts of your body that will aid your chosen sport, but may not necessarily be increased by your chosen sport alone.
Boxing Training
For example, boxing is extremely popular with professional athletes, as it offers a cardio aerobic workout, that is fun, but not as repetitive as other cardio disciplines, such as running or jogging. Just because a professional athlete takes boxing classes, does not mean they necessarily want to be fighting fit and ready to spar, but it may just be that they understand that the movements of boxing are different to how they normally train. Boxing increases upper body strength, while also increasing the heart rate, and is a high energy alternative to regular weight training. By mixing up their usual activities, they are giving their body an all over workout.
What is Ankorr?
You may have seen footage of professional athletes wearing the vests attached to the resistance straps, as they scramble forward with all their might - this is called Ankorr, and is a resistance apparatus that offers a completely different work out that you would have ever had before. It works by putting pressure on the muscles from the opposite direction that they are used to, for example, an arm curl works by you pulling a weight towards your body, but Ankorr involves you trying to engage your muscles while they are receiving pressure from the other direction, this is a form of conditioning training, and is effective for really engaging your muscles.
Dedication and Repetition
The one thing all professional athletes have in common is incredible dedication and discipline. No matter how accomplished you are as an athlete, you still need to train regularly to maintain your fitness and strength. Likewise, even if you only train once or twice a week, it is important to stick with it, as the more you put in, the greater the results you will see. Make sure you give yourself the best chance of success by having a great trainer to follow you on your journey, and find a conditioning program that will keep you motivated and inspired.