Pioneer Valley Youth Sports and Fitness Institute

the source for sound athletic advice

Make It A Habit

Its now that time of year were school is out, summer leagues have started, if old enough, summer jobs are underway, and workouts to prepare for the fall season may have started and/or stopped.  With busy summer schedules keeping up with workouts going can be a tough habit or behavior to continue with. Incorporating some effective techniques that provides a plan of attack to keep up the motivation for those workouts can help you with your training and improve your athletic performance.

Athletes must first understand what they need or behaviors they require to improve athletic performance, speed, agility, power, diet, sleep, and etc. Discussing these needs with your coach or sports performance coach will help you better understand what you should incorporate into your workouts.

Set up cues or prompts that support your efforts that will lessen any negative attitudes towards working-out that day completing a necessary behavior.  Cues such as, getting your workout clothes ready to go the night before, when you wake up the clothes are set and ready. 

Enlist the help of others. It can be grueling to stick with the tough summer workouts one your own day in and day out. Get another teammate or friend to workout with you. Having a partner can enhance your motivation and give you additional accountability or responsibility, making it less likely for you to skip a workout.

Set up Goals. Goals, when appropriately set, can enhance motivation, tell you what you need to do, and provide feedback to help you recognize success or improvement. Short and long term goals related to the behavior and, real important, monitor progress along the way so you can experience success and increase your confidence.

Provide incentive. Rewards must be meaningful in order to be powerful. The reward or incentive can be a variety of things as long as it serves to keep you on task. Use your weakness to help strengthen your motivation. If you have a sweet tooth, set up parameters that allow you to indulge. You must set up what you need to do in order to receive the reward (complete a cardio session, agility and power session, and strength training session before you reward yourself). Reward yourself along the way to facilitate continued progress.

Continuing with a behavior change or keeping up the motivation to stick with a behavior change can be challenging. Having a plan of attack before the change is to begin i.e., summer workouts. Using various techniques that will support your efforts can be powerful tools. Using cues or prompts, enlisting the help of others, setting up goals and incentives are various support tactics that may allow you get through a difficult behavior change or those grueling summer workouts.

Len Haggerty, is a Sports Performance Coach who owns and operates STRIDES Performance & Wellness, Inc., catering to youths, teams, and active adults who look to discover their athletic and functional potential. If you have questions regarding this or any other article, please feel free to contact Len at len@strideshpi.net.