It is every child’s dream to become the star athlete that they watch on television. I remember being there and being that kid. I was a huge football fan (and still am!) and I wanted to live that life. Sure, the injuries were brutal, but the money was nice and of course the games were a lot of fun to play and watch.
Unfortunately, I never became that star athlete – at least not at the professional level. I did become pretty athletic, though. It certainly was not easy. It required a lot of work and I had to make a lot of adjustments to my life.
See, I did not give myself a good enough start as a youngster. I followed the typical trend of eating a lot of sweets and spending a lot of time in front of my computer and TV. This was when I was in elementary school. I started turning it around in high school and became one of the star athletes on my high school’s Cross Country running team when my senior year came around. And it continued into my adult life where I became a gym addict and eventually an accomplished personal trainer. But that’s enough about me.
You are reading this article to find out how you can become the kind of athlete I am (or even more of an athlete). Perhaps you want to become a personal trainer like me, or you are still in school and want to put yourself in a good spot to receive a sports scholarship – or you are an adult and just want to get yourself into good shape.
Whatever your motivations are – as long you are willing to commit and follow the steps that I am about to lay out, you WILL succeed. Before I start, I should tell you that you do not have to follow these steps in any specific order. Just make sure you follow all of the steps and stay the course and you will get your desired results. Let’s get started!
Actual Steps to Become an Amazing Athlete
Step 1: Getting Into the Right Kind of Mindset
This one almost seems like a no-brainer, but you really need to get into the right mindset to be able to propel yourself further. You have to be focused on succeeding or else you will not succeed. It really is that simple. If you enter this process with a poor mindset – such as not being focused on accomplishing your goal – you will fail. I guarantee it.
You have to know what you want and know what it takes to get it. A big part of succeeding is having the desire to actually succeed. If you don’t want it, you won’t drive yourself to go and get it and your results will suffer.
Ask any star athlete that you see on TV. They will all tell you a similar tale about how they have always wanted to be where they are now, even as children. It was the fiery desire that burned inside them that drove them to put in the work to get where they are now. And it can do the same for you.
Step 2: Hone Your Skills
Look, if you lack the skills in a particular field, you won’t become a star athlete in it. Another seemingly no-brainer kind of thing. And don’t be discouraged if you don’t have natural talent or skill in something that you want to succeed at. Believe me, there are a lot of professional athletes out there and I can guarantee you that all of them weren’t born with a natural ability to excel at their sport of choice. And even those that did had to spend countless hours developing and honing their talents. Nobody pops out of the womb and is able to perform at a professional level. Developing skills starts at a young age.
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have that opportunity to develop my talents when I was little as I previously said. I started doing it late and it hampered my potential to become a true star athlete.
As for timetables, many athletes spend about 10,000 hours or more developing their skills until they are ready to perform at the professional level. Roughly 10 years of blood, sweat, and tears will transform you into a professional athlete. All you have to do is stay the course and put in the work.
Step 3: Healthy Dieting
You are not going to whip your body into elite athlete shape if you are munching down on junk food all day. You need to follow a diet befitting of a champion athlete to get the necessary nutrients and keep your body slim and fit. And this isn’t a temporary arrangement. Your diet change is a commitment that you have to stick with for your entire life if you want to keep your athleticism well into old age.
This means you have to do away with processed unnatural foods. Go organic and your body will stay in fighting shape for a long time.
Step 4: Keeping Your Body Durable
You always hear about the Strength and Conditioning coach whenever an athlete goes down with an injury. I know that my favorite football team was riddled with injuries and us fans would always complain about the poor strength and conditioning team that could not get our star athletes in proper shape to avoid the constant barrage of injuries.
As an athlete, it is important to condition yourself to the high intensity of the activities involved with being a professional athlete. You need to find out which genetic advantages you possess and really hone in and perfect those.
When you maximize your genetic advantages, you will be able to perform at an elite level and keep your body in performing shape.
Step 5: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
It is not just a catchy jingle – it is the truth! When you are working with someone who has similar goals, it can go a long way in ensuring both of you succeed in the long run. It’s great to have someone always there to push you to go to the next level and keep you from falling behind and even giving up.
Also, if you are trying to get into professional sports, you should be conditioning yourself to working as a team anyways. Your team doesn’t even need to consist of other likeminded athletes. It can be family members and friends who are just there to cheer you on and keep you on the path to success. Assemble your team and make the dream work!
Step 6: Know When to Take a Break
You might think that you won’t be able to get any rest while you are working to get your body performing at an elite level. And that is just wrong. All athletes need rest because resting is what restores our bodies and keeps us able to get up the next day and perform at the same professional level. Not to mention, your body actually develops during the recovery time between workouts. That is when the muscles get stronger and your endurance improves.
Make sure you get plenty of rest between your high intensity workouts to ensure that your body stays healthy and is able to restore itself and get stronger.
Process to Becoming an Amazing Athlete Conclusion
These six steps may seem intimidating and imposing at first, but don’t let that discourage you. Becoming a professional athlete isn’t supposed to be easy and that is why most people aren’t professional athletes. But if you have the right drive and the right motivation to get there, what the hell is stopping you from trying?
Even if you fail at achieving professional status, you will still be healthy and in great shape – which is far better than being lazy and obese. Good luck!
