New Year, New You SMART Fitness Tips
Athlete Training and Health Guide Combines Science, Fun
KATY, Texas – January 14, 2020 – If you’ve made a resolution to improve your health and fitness in 2020, a SMART approach from Athlete Training and Health will keep you on track.
As gyms and fitness centers fill with all types of athletes this time of year, Micheál Cahill, PhD, vice president, performance and sports science, offers guidelines for success all-year long. It’s all about consistency, he says.
“We combine movement training, strength training and cardio-respiratory fitness to get you moving and feeling better, build more lean muscle and lose fat,” says Cahill, and an expert in how athletes adapt to strength, speed and power at different levels of physical maturity.
“All of this decreases the likelihood of chronic health diseases,” he adds.
Cahill’s SMART plan incorporates science along with some fun:
S – Sustainability is key. Don’t go from zero to hero. Being consistently okay is better for you than being sporadically great. Don’t all of a sudden decide to run 10 miles in one day. Instead, run 2.5 miles three times a week and get in some training for strength, mobility and flexibility. Remember that you’re working toward a long-term goal, but don’t forget to celebrate your achievements along the way.
M – Metrics matter. Complete baseline fitness tests so you can track your progress. Know your body composition, movement, strength and cardiorespiratory fitness. Metrics hold you accountable, and what gets measured gets done. If you don’t assess where you started from and where you are at different times, how can you have short, medium and long-term goals? To stay on track, you need to have milestones, like landmarks on a map.
A – Attire. It’s important to feel good and look good when you are training. Choose clothes that match your body type and personality. This helps you be confident before, during and after your workouts. Scientists call this “enclothed cognition” – that mental shift your brain makes when you wear certain clothes. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology finds what we wear changes how we act because we associate the clothes with a symbolic meaning. This holds true for active adults and professional athletes.
R – Recovery. Train hard, recover harder. Your one or two hours of exercise is only the stimulus. It’s the other 22 hours in the day where adaptation occurs. Use active and passive recovery to get the most out of your days off. It’s not about a workout or a diet. It’s about a healthy lifestyle. The workout just complements the way you live seven days a week.
T – Train, don’t exercise. To stay focused, train with intent and have a goal. Use multiple forms of training in your workout and do what you enjoy. Be sure to vary your routine, which challenges your body to continually adapt. “What I do, and what I advise others to do, is avoid yo-yo fitness regimens,” Cahill says. “Being able to sustain your fitness regimen is underpinned by a foundation built on health rather than performance. Health should drive performance.”
Want to know more? Cahill is available for media interviews to discuss fitness training and health.
Learn how you can create lifelong fitness and health habits. Let Athlete Training and Health show you how to be a Forever ATHlete by finding the right adult fitness program for you. We offer daily, weekend, 1-on-1 and corporate training sessions. Our performance coaches use the most advanced, evidence-based sports performance training to develop athletes of all ages and abilities.
Image Notes
Micheál Cahill, PhD, vice president, performance and sports science, works with professional runner Dawn Grunnagle in December as she prepares for the 2020 Olympic trials in Atlanta.
About Athlete Training and Health
Athlete Training and Health’s mission is to use best practices of health and performance to provide a world-class training environment for active adults and athletes of all ages and abilities. Our multi-field, state-of-the-art facilities are equipped with advanced pro-style weight rooms and dedicated areas for adult and youth athletes. ATH’s highly-skilled coaches deploy training strategies that elevate – regardless of age or ability – athletes’ performance to the highest level through consistent evaluation and education. A key component of ATH is its forward-thinking approach to collaboration with hospital systems, professional sports teams, universities and independent school districts to raise the bar for health and performance training. For more: www.athletetrainingandhealth.com.
Media Contacts
Lauren Covington, lcovington@athleteth.com, 469-438-3963
Amy George, amygeorge@bygeorgecomms.com, 980-395-9328