We're one week into a life-altering situation that none of us have ever experienced before. I am hopeful that you and your loved ones are healthy and safe thus far.
Today I'd like to simply pass along a message to everyone we work with at Power Source, youth and adult athletes alike.
Keep making yourself better.
I know how hard that can be with an endless series of disruptions to your routines, missing out on events you enjoy, and with the stress and anxiety that comes with it all.
But sooner or later this will pass.
Unless you are a healthcare professional, are caring for a sick loved one, or are in some way working on finding a cure for the virus, you might be struggling to find ways to make your downtime more productive.
Specifically in regards to our youth athletes, remember that at some point your sports will resume and you're going to need to be prepared. And where many will show up out of shape, weaker, slower, and with diminished sports skills, you don't have to be one of them.
There are 4 things you can do to better yourself right now, without having to leave the house, so you come out of this situation better than ever.
Work Out At Home
Even if it isn't 100% ideal, there's still a ton of things you can do at home to build speed, strength and conditioning.
We are providing our members with custom designed workouts through an app called TeamBuildr, but even without that there are many other things you can do to maintain or improve your fitness.
You almost certainly know how to do pushups, pull-ups (if there's a place to do so), sprints, planks, and other basic bodyweight exercises on your own. You just need the will and determination to get it done on a regular basis.
Remember that you'll need to train in all three areas - speed development, strength training, and cardio - to come out of this as good or better than before. Although I strongly recommend getting outside and moving around, you're going to lose your strength base if that's all you do. And if you do have weights at home, don't fall into the trap of avoiding sprint and cardio work because without your sport there's going to be a considerable drop off in your fitness if you don't work that end, too.
Improve Your Nutrition
We've evolved into a 'eat-on-the-go' culture, but right now is a great time to get back to the fundamentals of healthy eating.
Not one to eat vegetables? Giving them a shot right now is another way you can improve your future self. Same goes for drinking more water, eating more protein (if you're deficient) and switching from processed to whole foods.
I bet every one of us can find one area of our diet that needs improving and make it a focus of personal improvement this week. Again, you just need the will and determination to get it done.
Practice Your Sport Skill On Your Own
Repetition. Boring, monotonous repetition.
Pretty much any skill you want to be elite at requires countless hours of focused practice to develop at a high level.
Some skills are relatively easy to practice on your own - dribbling a soccer ball, shooting a basketball, or stick handling in a variety of sports. Others may require another person (playing catch, for example) and some open space.
Since most sports kids now find themselves with far more free time than they've ever been used to, an hour or more a day practicing a skill you can turn into a major weapon next season would be a far better way to fill the void than sleeping 12 hours a day or playing video games for more than a little while.
Pick Up A New Athletic Skill That Is Hard
Similar to the sport skill concept above, you can use this time to master a skill that would help you for your sport.
Two immediately come to mind - jump roping and juggling.
Jump rope skills build ankle strength, quickness, coordination and conditioning. It's better than agility ladder drills for the simple fact that you are forced to coordinate upper and lower body movements to be successful, a critical component to playing fast in your sport.
Juggling is definitely not easy to master, but most athletes can figure it out with practice. It's a lost art for building hand-eye coordination, and makes for a great talent you can show off for years to come as well!
Neither require much of a financial investment to acquire, and you may already have this stuff somewhere in your house already.
We are all experiencing a massive disruption to our lives on a scale that was unimaginable just a few weeks ago.
But the simple truth is some athletes are going to come out of this far ahead of others based on how they spend their days. There's a reason why everyone doesn't become a champion, the cream always rises to the top and this will be no different.
If you are someone who truly wants to be great at your sport, I urge you to build more positive routines into your new reality, even if the conditions aren't ideal, with the extra time you currently have available.
