No one escapes the bangs, bruises, and scrapes of every day life. It’s been said that life is a contact sport. As such, everyone is a master’s athlete. You are especially a master’s athlete if you participate in any sporting endeavor.
Every 2 years the whole world stops what they are doing to watch the Olympics. Deep down I think we ALL wish we were Olympians. Olympians make everything look amazing-from eating food, doing phenomenal feats of strength to even training to the point of exhaustion. They have whole teams of professionals seeing to every aspect of their performance to make sure they are at the top of their game. Nutritionists, chefs, trainers, coaches, assistants all work together to create the truly awesome spectacle we see on the field, court, rink, floor or whatever. I believe deep down we all wish we could be Olympic athletes.
Well, there’s a good chance you aren’t that far off from being an Olympian. You are a master’s athlete.
What is a master’s athlete?
I know that many people think that masters athletes are only those who run ultra marathons or haven’t been able to take a hint and hang it up. That’s not true. A masters athlete is anyone who still enjoys participating a particular competitive activity even if it isn’t as often as you’d like. You don’t have to be 80 years old to be considered a masters athlete. You just have to want to be competing at a level you once were or higher. Whether you played high school sports back in the day, or just enjoy a sport that you wish you could participate in more frequently.
I think another crucial aspect that makes you a masters athlete is the life experience you’ve gained that first-time athletes haven’t had yet. You know what they say, youth is wasted on the young.
How Do I Step Up To Being The Athlete I want? What’s the first step?
- Make a plan for dedicating resources to your sport/activity. These resources are mostly time and effort. When can you carve out time to prepare or participate? Is it going to be before or after work? During lunch? Weekends? The other resource you need to dedicate is effort. What is the biggest factor keeping you from your goal/s? Is it your physical conditioning? Injury? What effort can you take today to making your fitness dream a reality?
- Recognize that you most likely aren’t at the physical peak you once were. This isn’t a bad thing. Just realize you may not be able to jump right into where you think you can. You might need to take some steps to recovering from that nagging injury or get some conditioning to prevent an injury.
- Assemble your ‘team’. Who is missing from your dream team? While getting a whole team of specialists together is ideal, focus on which professional you can start with that will make the biggest difference. In our experience most masters athletes possess a superior knowledge of their sport/activity. What most athletes lack as they’ve aged or stopped participating as frequently in their sport is their conditioning. Most feel they are out of shape and are dealing with some lingering problems/injuries. Getting a competent strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) is often the first member of the dream team to be added.
One response to “Did You Know You Are a Master’s Athlete?”
[…] It’s also a great way to stay motivated while at the gym. I live in a place that doesn’t really make it possible to do all the wonderful outdoor things that I love doing year-round. In the ‘off-season’ I can hit the gym and not lose a step when spring/summer rolls around. That’s why I train hard in the gym, because I love doing my activities and sports and want to feel good when I get a chance to do them and not feel like I’m sucking air, or like I’m the slowest one out there. This is what is required when you become a masters athlete. […]