Here at The Edge we have a few simple guidelines that will help athletes who are looking to compete in competition on a regular basis.

Firstly it is important to never stop training between events. If we do so, it will lead to us becoming rusty and losing the conditioning needed to compete in our preferred sport. The training does not have to be as intense as in competition training as this could lead to burning out the body,  but instead focusing moreso on improving technique and staying ‘ready’. This will help you get back to competition training rather than coming off of a break from training altogether.
Nutrition plays a hugely important role if we want to compete regularly. The foods and supplements that we put in our body is what gives us the energy to train and that helps us recover after training. If we don’t give our body the nutrients needed and are training at a high level how do we expect ourselves to have the right energy to train to our full potential.

Treat food like fuel for your body, you wouldn’t put bad fuel in your car so don’t put bad fuel in your body. Sticking with a healthy diet will also allow athletes to stay on weight if they compete in certain weight classes such as weight lifting or combat sports.

Keeping our body in good physical condition is a key factor so we can prevent injury therefore allowing us to compete not just more regularly but have a longer career in our sport. Countless athletes have had their careers ended due to injury. Hard training takes a toll on our bodies, our muscles become tight and this leads to pulling and tearing muscles if not worse. A few ways to prevent this is by foam rolling and stretching before and after training, doing mobility exercises and getting regular deep tissue massages.
Over-training is a huge problem in sports these days especially with younger eager athletes. Its important to know our bodies limits and without the proper rest how do we expect our bodies to be able to recover and compete at its top level. The ways we can get the proper recovery needed is to make sure we have at least one rest day a week, that we are not always training at the highest intensity and, most importantly, to get a full nights sleep consisting of eight uninterrupted hours.
For more information or help with athletes who are looking to keep their bodies in top condition and ready to compete, please call 8534091 or email info@theedgegym.ie.