SETTING new records is a common phenomenon in the sports fraternity and some of the world’s best athletes have at some point broken and set new records in their various disciplines.
Many athletes always aspire to hit their personal best performance ever and it is directly proportional to the improvement one makes.
Yes! Beating your personal best or PBs is a hallmark of great achievement and most sportsmen that hunt for success, always set themselves achievable targets as indicators for improvement.
According to the Oxford English dictionary, personal best is defined as the highest score or fastest time an athlete has ever achieved.
Domination in a sports field cannot be attained if an athlete falls short of record breaking performances, thus being among the best isn’t a short term project.
It’s something that should be in the making for a considerable period of time and once an athlete achieves full potential, it’s difficult to break their dominance as they show improvements in every performance.
Challenging oneself to do better over a specific course of time demands intense practicing, reviewing and improving the personal best and to beat a personal record, one has to embrace various fundamentals of performance development.
It takes more than just putting in extra effort for an athlete to take their training and competition to the next level. Planning is of great importance as the training program requires constant adjustment to avoid plateaus and burnout.
Building strength can provide the extra boost of power and endurance an athlete needs to set a new personal best. Strength exercises over a reasonable period are enough to build power and mass.
A well-planned routine of exercises can be all one needs to set a new record and pull off a podium performance and one must play and practice to develop their core skills, endurance and strength.
When training as a team, it pays for an individual athlete to keep themselves accountable by doing some friendly competition to their fitness which is perfect for individual progression.
Another important aspect that athletes shouldn’t ever forget in their quest for success is the fundamental of mastering their sport. Mastering the sport is where one needs to focus on their efforts.
Proper nutrition is one fundamental that has been overlooked by so many. Bodybuilders for instance are supposed to adhere to specific dietary needs and any slip up may pose a potential threat to one’s participation in the sport.
Therefore, eating healthy and nutritious food fuels one’s success in the sport.
It is advisable by health practitioners that complex carbohydrates are the primary fuel for intense muscular effort, and should be the foundation of an athlete’s nutrition plan.
Steady pace training is good for building a foundation and mileage, but to boost performance level, an athlete needs high intensity efforts at intervals.
In football, a player cannot get on the pitch without doing a stretching exercise just like it is the case with other sports disciplines. This is because stretching has become more less like a ritual for sports personalities.
Stretching exercises have also been linked to improved performance in some sports. Scientific studies have shown that stretching exercises demonstrate a marginal increase in power by increasing hamstring flexibility.
The fact that added flexibility appears to lead to better utilisation of the quad muscles is a reason athletes should always remember to include some basic stretching exercise in their training program.
Adequate fluid intake is an extremely important aspect of optimal performance. That’s why water is a common feature on the sidelines of the pitch during football games. Researchers have indicated that losing as little as two to four percent of body weight in water can lead to decreases in maximum speed and endurance.
Health practitioners recommend fluid intake of at least a glass every 15 minutes or so during exercise. Cold water is absorbed more easily and can help to keep your body temperature a bit lower.
In all the efforts to prepare for a record breaking performance, an athlete should never ever underestimate the value of rest to an optimal performance. Overtraining is a significant problem in athletes who have hit a training plateau.
Increasing the intensity, time or type of activity too quickly is one common reason for sport injury and decreased performance.
To prevent this, many fitness experts recommend that both beginner and expert athletes should set limits on their training programs.
Visualisation is a great way to get an edge on the competition. Mental rehearsal for competition has been known to be useful in improving performance in tennis, golf and other skill sports.
Sports Psychologists have stressed the importance of visualisation in helping to create a positive attitude and strengthen muscle memory as it also causes the athlete’s body more likely to make the correct movements automatically.
On account of visualisation being like meditation, it needs a quiet, calm atmosphere in which to practice. The goal is to imagine in detail every aspect of the performance as it unfolds in a perfect scenario.
In team events, the aspiration of each player aiming to beat their personal bests results in the improved collective performance.
If, for instance, in a football team, every player wants to beat their individual performance of the previous game, the team will rise to the occasion and achieve the best result.
Coaches and trainers can be vital in guiding players to beat their personal best showing.
A coach may decide to give his players the responsibility of beating their personal record by drawing up a personal best sheet that is constantly updated after every performance.
Players could use the personal best sheets over a number of years so that they can monitor their performance over a longer period.
Commendation points or rewards can be awarded to players for beating a personal best. It is essential for a coach to reward players for their determined efforts and for aiming to beat their personal bests rather than competing with others in the team.
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