Critical ingredients for you as an athlete

 How do you define an athlete? Someone who gains media coverage, wins gold medals, breaks copious world records or someone who simply wakes up every day and moves in a mindful way.

You see anyone who moves in a conscious way whether that be running, hiking, swimming, walking, or playing a team sport is an athlete. Majority of us including you is an athlete; you are a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.

We are all too quick to put others in the ‘athlete’ box removing ourselves from the mindset of someone who trains regularly for both performance and overall health. We downplay our responsibility to fuel correctly, hydrate well and adopt strength and conditioning patterns because ‘we are not an athlete’, we are just us.

We suffer from imposter syndrome because we can’t/don’t/won’t identity as an athlete – we don’t look like the people in the glossy magazines, we look like us. Time to start thinking different, to own your version of an athletic mindset and to own your body – you are an athlete and a game changing one at that.

At Planted Life we coach numerous individuals who wish to work towards goals that are driven by determination, accountability and the need to find their true athletic self. We train a unique driven mindset that owns their ability to grow and perform; both on and off the track.

When you work with me here at Planted Life, we focus on three critical ingredients:

• Nutrition
• Well-being
• Training goals

All the above play an important role for you as an athlete; you can’t have one without the other and each are about accountability, consistency, and sound physical/mental health.

Nutrition

When it comes to nutrition dialling in on what you eat, and drink not only helps your performance but recovery too. Creating sound nutrition habits starts with becoming aware of your daily meal and foodie habits which help you understand if you’re eating enough to meet your daily goals. From here you will become aware of your fundamental eating habits like – are you eating enough macronutrients and does protein feature in every meal in one form or another?

Create a food diary, not to obsess over your food intake but to learn from it. How are you refuelling after long sessions, how much are you eating on a rest day and how much hydration are you consuming during the day?

Ask yourself:

• Are you eating the right type and amount of food to support your training?
• Do you have sufficient in-session fuelling/hydration?
• Are you consistently taking any supplements to address nutritional deficiencies that may be inhibiting performance gains?

Be mindful that your body needs all three macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat), hydrate with electrolytes during every session and be sure to increase your intake of energy giving foods such as fruits & vegetables.

Well-being

Are you a well being? We aim to help you nourish your mind as much as your body working towards greater physical and mental well-being.  We help you centre your mind in your body through practices such as mindfulness and meditation to be in the present moment guiding you to a place where the breath, body and mind are all working together.

We strive to help you find balance but know at times this is not always possible, so we aim to help you find a greater sense of calm and heightened focus; doing this all being anchored in the present moment.  To do this:

• Increase consciousness by noticing how relaxed your body is
• Tune into your breath patterns
• Breathe fully
• Let go of thoughts that don’t serve you
• Just be with acceptance, non-judgement, and kindness

Adopting practices that help clear space in the mind can only benefit the body; we are firm believers of this.

Training Goals (Performance)

One of the most important factors for success is habit formation; habits determine the level of athlete that you will become; it’s about fostering real change in mental attitude and sports fuelling.

“Success is often a result of committing to the fundamentals over and over again.”

Your best is always good enough remembering it’s YOUR BEST not someone else’s. We support you in:

• Showing up
• Running within yourself (and beyond when the time is right)
• Being anchored in the present moment
• Noticing your mental reaction
• Becoming a more intuitive athlete
• Moving with a sense of gratitude

Your goals are our goals; I am invested in your drive to improve (whatever that means to you) and I am here to help you see there are only possibilities.

When it comes to improving performance, excelling recovery, and living a long, healthy, and productive life ensuring you are accountable and driven in both your athletic and personal life will contribute towards a happier life.

We encourage you to benefit from the three pillars of Planted Life which are centred around MIND | BODY | FOOD.

Are you joining us for the adventure? Contact us today.