Have you ever watched a sport on TV and thought, "I could do that better than they can! Come on!" Or have you ever dreamed of becoming an athlete yourself? It takes a lot more than just practicing the sport itself. Athletes are some of the most disciplined individuals on the planet. The level of discipline they have to have could be compared to a soldier, although it is a different kind of mental toughness and focus required. If you want to make that dream happen or show up the player you were disappointed in on TV, here's what it takes:
1) Sacrifice - Athletes literally have to make sacrifices for every area of life to focus on their sport. They make sacrifices in their social life, their diet, their training, their holidays, and much more.
2) Strict training - Elite athletes have the most strict training regimen. They and their coaches are students of their own body so that they can push their body to the limits but also rest appropriately to recover and keep from overtraining.
3) Strict diet - You don't become an elite athlete at your peek athletic potential by eating junk food. Every area of your diet has to be on point, especially sports that favor a lover body fat percentage.
4) Hard work - Athletes push themselves beyond where the normal person is willing to go. That's what helps make them so great.
5) Get a college degree in their sport - They don't literally get a degree, but they might deserve one for how much you have to study your sport, your strategy, your own performance, and the performance of opponents in order to get ahead.
These are just a few of the things that it takes to be a great athlete. There is so much more. I hope this motivates you but also increase your respect for what athletes go through.
