3 Things Athletes NEED To Do Right Now

I think I speak for every athlete when I say that the Corona Virus can chill out.

That was the censored version that is blog-approved.

There’s no doubt that widespread stay-at-home orders have thrown a car-sized wrench into everyone’s plans, let alone their sports performance training and upcoming sports seasons. But what if I told you that your new neighbors, The Coronas (see what I did there?), are giving you valuable time to yourself?

(does anyone under the age of 30 actually get this meme anymore?)

Would you believe me?

Huh, well…would you?

Ok,ok, ok. If you insist. Here’s THREE things you need to be doing right now with your added time.

Build your aerobic base.

Ever show up to a practice to find that your coach has plans of including ‘fitness’? We all know what that means. The hill…gassers…down and backs…whatever your sport or coach calls them, it just means you’ll be running until your hamstrings cramp. Well, during this stay-at-home period spend some time running, just not as hard. I know, super weird to read, right? Let me rephrase.

You can’t Tabata your way out of this.

What I am suggesting is that you spend more time training in Zone 1 and Zone 2 heart rate percentages than on the higher side. The list of health benefits is amazing and this is how you can expand your aerobic base and minimize stress on your body. Plus, with all this new found time on your hands, you can commit 45+ minutes to training your aerobic capacity each day!

The recommendation:

• 3 Days of Zone 1 (~60-70% Max Heart Rate)
• 1 Day of Zone 2 (~70-80% Max Heart Rate)
• 1 Day of hard Zone 3+ (80% or greater- think intervals)

5 Days a week, you got this!

Address mobility deficits.

As sports seasons go on, your body adapts to the specific movements required. Gaps in mobility and active range of motion can be detrimental to performance OR cause overuse injuries that can derail a season. Take this time to go through your body and work out the kinks. This is something you can do DAILY!

Now, I’m not talking about just stretching. That’s definitely a piece to the puzzle, but holding a pigeon stretch for 30-60 seconds will not give lasting effects to improve your hip internal rotation. No way. Think about how hard and fast you swing a bat or how much force goes into the ground when you sprint or jump.

Ok, now the good news. I had the pleasure of writing a 3-part blog for the Parisi Speed School, yes, this very blog you are reading right now, covering all things MOBILITY! Give it a read here.

Train your brain.

This is hopefully an obvious one. With such a dramatic change to your schedule and with many athletes having their spring season taken from them, it’s critical that you start to train your brain.

Mental toughness, mental health, mindfulness, all the above…are on the forefront of athletic performance more so than they ever have been.

Take this time to make sure your headspace is where it needs to be. What you may lose in physical strength (that could be a whole new post on why you WON’T lose strength), you can magnify 10x in mental strength.

Need a place to start? Check out this podcast I did with our Mental Skills Coach in Vermont, Nicole Adach!

About the Author

Casey Lee is the Program Director of The Parisi Speed School powered by The Edge, based out of Williston Vermont. He’s been a part of the Parisi network since 2011 and has earned Parisi Coach of the Year honors in 2014 and Franchise of the Year honors in 2019. He served as a Master Trainer from 2014-2017 until he stepped away to become a Dad to the fastest 18 month old in Vermont!