One Weird Trick to Improve Your Training
Apologies for the click bait title, but it is relevant! Sometimes it may feel like you are just going through the motions in the gym. Sometimes you may not feel like you are doing things with intent, and you find it hard to motivate yourself to even go to the gym, let alone do the tough exercises like sled pushes, burpees, and squats. There is a simple solution to give you the motivation that you need to supercharge your training, and here it is: partake in a competition.
Competition can be serious, like signing up for a weightlifting competition or a 5k race. Competition can also be friendly and effective in the gym among your peers. These competitions can be against others or to better your own goals. Starting in the new year, Become Better will hold friendly competitions/contests to keep things fun but also helping to keep everyone improving to meet their goals. Whether it is to gain specific strength, balance, speed or weight loss, competition in and out of the gym can be a key factor to accomplish these goals. Below will be a more in depth conversation on some forms of competition you can enter.
Strength Competitions
A strength competition could be a weightlifting meet, powerlifting meet, or a strongman competition. These are three different strength sports that have different contested events, and I can expand on each if necessary, but the important thing to know is that they are open to people of all ages, body weights, and experience levels. Contrary to what you might think, there is no requisite strength level to compete. As long as you can lift an empty barbell, you are strong enough to compete! The great thing about these is that you can compete against yourself instead of just worrying about other people. For example at my first weightlifting meet I snatched 85kg and clean & jerked 118kg. At my next weightlifting meet I snatched 103kg and clean & jerked 146kg. I wasn’t worried about what other people were lifting or where I placed, I just wanted to do better the 2nd time than I did the first time! Learn more about the individual sports and look for a competition near you by visiting the links below.
https://www.usapowerlifting.com
https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Weightlifting
http://www.unitedstatesstrongman.com
Endurance Competitions:
These are usually races of some sort, and usually consist of swimming, biking, running, or a combination of all three. These are also open to people of all ages and experience levels. There are varying distances and durations for each, so you can decide what is right for you! Similarly to strength competitions, these allow you a great opportunity to compete against yourself by setting personal best times. Even if you aren’t the first runner to cross the finish line, you can feel accomplished and know that your hard work and dedication to training has paid off! Look for endurance events near you by using these links.
https://www.active.com/running
https://www.active.com/cycling?clckmp=activecom_home_localeventspromo_cycling
https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Triathlon/
Combined Competitions
These competitions are a combination of strength and endurance. The most common ones are Spartan races and tough mudders. Admittedly this is the category of competition that I know least about, but I’ll do my best to explain. Usually these consist of a long course (3 miles on the short end, 10+ miles on the long end) and obstacles that you must conquer in order to proceed with the competition. These obstacles may consist of things that you must climb over or under, maneuver through, or lift. These are usually done in a team format where you have a team of your friends competing against other teams to finish the course first. I have never done one of these, but they seem like an awesome opportunity to test your strength and endurance while having a great time! Check out the links below to learn more.
There is no better way to supercharge your training than to sign up for a competition. Competing is a fun and friendly way to improve your training and test your abilities. No matter where you are in your fitness journey, you can benefit from signing up for a competition. Next week we will talk more about smaller competitions and contests that a gym could hold to help motivate its clients. We will be utilizing some of these in our gym this coming year.