Are you making the most of your off-season? Don't forget to Train Your Brain!

Did you know that the off-season is the most crucial and important time in making you the athlete you want to be?  You will have the most physical and mental growth during this time if you create a training regimen and stick to it!  Here are two important tips on how to keep your mind strong and become prepared for the challenges the new season will bring. 

Set off-season goals:

When the season comes to an end your head starts to spin full of big ideas and dreams for next season.  Use that excitement as the fuel to kick start your off-season training and to set personal goals.  Take the time to sit down and evaluate your performance from last season and decide on 2-3 skills that you want to improve on.  Your goals should be specific and realistic. 

Sit down and take the time to choose goals that are meaningful and important to you.  When you have selected your off-season goals write them down and post them somewhere that you can see them everyday.  Writing your goals down and then shoving them in a notebook or desk drawer creates the “out of sight, out of mind” issue….and we don’t want that!  Post them on your mirror in your room or in the bathroom, places that you look everyday.  Having a visual cue of your goals will keep your mind focused on what you want to accomplish.

Visualization:

Now that you have set your off-season goals its time to go out there and work on them everyday!  While your immediate thoughts on how to improve your skills will probably be to physically practice them (which is no doubt very important and the first step) do not forget the most under-trained muscle in your body that can help you, your brain! 

Visualization is when you create a mental image or scenario of what you want to happen or feel.  Your visualization should include all of your senses to make it as realistic as possible.  What do you see, hear, smell, and taste when you perform this skill.  Once you have visually set the stage, perform the skill perfectly that you want to improve.  Focus on all the components that you need to improve on.

Once you have created a visualization routine take 5 minutes everyday to go though it.  Find somewhere quiet, take a few deep breathes in and let them out slowly and then go though your visualization routine 3-5 times.  By working on your skills mentally a few minutes everyday you are building experience and confidence in your abilities.

Kristen Perri is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Mental Fitness.  She holds a masters degree in Sport Psychology, is a certified Mental Game Coach, Sport Hypnotist and Personal Trainer.  With over 8 years of cheer coaching experience, Kristen has coached all skill levels including middle school and junior varsity. Currently, Kristen is the Head Varsity Coach of a major Long Island Cheerleading Program. 

Integrated Training: A cheerleader’s secret weapon to success

Have you ever sat down and thought about the type of strength and agility that is needed to successfully complete a competitive cheerleading routine with ease? Cheerleading routines use every concept of an integrated training program including stretching, speed and agility, cardiovascular endurance, and resistance training.

A typical competitive cheerleading routine lasts for two minutes and thirty seconds; any type of exercise that is physically demanding for over a minute is considered cardiovascular training. During the first minute of a routine, cheerleaders use their anaerobic energy system for endurance. After that first minute has gone by, an athlete’s body has used up all of his/her anaerobic energy sources and now has to switch to its second energy source, which is the aerobic energy system (burning fats and sometimes muscle for energy).

During a competitive cheerleading routine, athletes are required to perform a number of stunts, tumbling passes, and jumps.  These skills all need to be performed with high energy and poise.  In order for a cheerleader to hold her teammate in multiple stunts, with a flyer weighing possibly 100 lbs or more, it takes a tremendous amount of total body strength. A stronger cheerleader, that has a regular resistance training program in place, will have the ability to hold these stunts for longer than a cheerleader that has no experience with resistance or core training.  A cheerleader that has participated in an integrated training program will also be able to run faster, jump higher, and perform more difficult tumbling passes because of her increased strength and overall body control.

Balance and flexibility training are two other very important aspects of a cheerleading routine. These two training systems are most involved with injury prevention. Most cheerleading injuries occur due to lack of balance and/or flexibility. This is where the Cheer360 training model takes a step above and beyond any other integrated training system available today. Cheer360 has designed a training concept that incorporates balance and flexibility into every exercise our athletes perform during training sessions. Incorporating the Cheer360 training philosophy into your athlete’s training regimen will allow her to jump higher, stunt with better technique, tumble with more power, and overall help decrease injuries.

 

Kent Tarburton is Cheer360’s Co-Founder and Director of Fitness. He holds Personal Training certifications through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the American Aerobic Association International (AAAI), the International Sports Medicine Association (ISMA), and is a certified Mental Game Coach.