7 Training Tips and Techniques For Athletes to Stay Fit Forever

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4 min

By Kristina Lauer
June 6, 2022

Why trust us?

Can’t imagine a life without sports? Neither can we! An active, healthy lifestyle is simply part of who we are. And what could be better than being able to do what you love all your life while avoiding injury as much as possible? Of course, you’re bound to have the odd setback over the years. Your fitness journey won’t be linear — it will have its ups and downs. That’s completely normal! Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye on your development as an athlete over the years and to be mindful of your body, no matter what your age! We reveal 7 top tips that you should follow TODAY to stay fit and active over the long run.

Exercise alone isn’t enough for a fit and healthy lifestyle — how you manage your diet also plays a big role. According to Harvard Medical School, we tend to lose muscle mass as we age. That’s why it’s important to absorb enough protein in addition to your regular strength training. Our Whey Protein and Vegan Protein shakes provide your muscles with 24g of protein per serving and are quick to prepare.*

#1 Check your technique regularly

As an experienced athlete, you already know the correct way to perform exercises. Nevertheless, it’s still worth going over your technique at regular intervals. Over the years, mistakes can creep in without you noticing. If you decide to increase the amount of weight, your body may take evasive action to cope with the strain. In the long run, this can lead to unnecessary stresses and injuries.

Our tip: focus on the technique and film yourself doing it! Playing the video back will help you see yourself from a different perspective and allow you to scrutinize your technique. If you spot any mistakes, use less weight for this exercise in the future and work on your technique.

#2 Work on your agility

Good agility allows you to perform an exercise as it’s intended to be performed. If you lack agility in a part of the exercise, the other parts of the routine will be affected, too. Your muscles will tense up, while your fibrous tissue can become brittle. Strength, endurance, coordination, stability and balance are all affected. Your body tries to avoid the resulting pain, which can lead to poor posture and increase the risk of injury. These are all good reasons to do agility training on a regular basis.

#3 Exercise as freely as possible

Your body works as a unit, so free exercises that target basic movements and don’t require machines are an essential part of your fitness regime. These hone patterns of movement that are crucial for everyday life. How many times a day do you get up and sit down again? A squat practices this very same movement. Lifting a heavy box off the floor is essentially deadlifting. And that’s to name but a few examples. What’s more, these free exercises train your core muscles and improve your stability as you go about day-to-day tasks.

#4 Accept the ups & downs

Ambitious athletes are only too familiar with this dilemma. You want to give every workout your all so that you can keep improving. Unfortunately, your body doesn’t work quite like that. Its performance fluctuates, and that’s completely normal. Every day is different. You need to accept this and adjust the intensity of your workout accordingly. Don’t work against your body! You won’t enjoy your workout as much if you do, and it will also make you more susceptible to injury due to a lack of strength. Look at the bigger picture of your entire fitness journey and think long-term.

#5 Optimize your recovery

Your body recovers during the time between workouts. During these breaks, your muscle cells mend and are made ready to cope with the upcoming strain. This is where your lifestyle comes into play: it determines how effectively your body recovers and how much progress you can make as you train. All this includes your diet, perhaps including our Recovery Aminos, along with how much sleep you get, your stress levels, and many other factors. A healthy and, most importantly, balanced lifestyle forms the foundation for long-term fitness.

#6 Every rep counts

So you’ve resolved to do 8 to 10 reps per set during today’s workout? Having a quantifiable goal is important, but don’t get too hung up on the numbers. In other words, don’t do 8 reps simply because your training plan tells you to. You might get sloppy as you focus on reaching that number. Concentrate on each rep as if it were the last. You might “only” manage 6 today, but at least they’ll be clean and controlled. Remember, it’s about quality over quantity.

#7 Pick the right training shoes

Picking the right training shoes has a major impact on your performance during a workout, and on your health in the long run. Your feet are the foundation for your fitness regime and directly determine how the load is distributed throughout your body. Your toes should have enough room for you to spread them — this provides good stability during exercise. If you’re a runner, check out this article. For those who do a lot of weight training, we recommend shoes that are specially designed for that purpose, or perhaps you prefer to go barefoot?

More things to know from foodspring:

*Proteins help you maintain and build muscle.

Sources for this article

We at foodspring use only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial policy to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.