Athlete’s Health Check List

Morning:

• Reflect on past, present, future.
• Lotion on feet, knees, elbows& hands.
• Warm-up stretches.
• Good Breakfast.
• Check Equipment

1 hour to ½ hour before workout:

• Sun Screen.
• Drink 2 glasses of water.
• Power bar and 1 serving of fruit.

After work-out:

• Drink water &/or Gatorade.
• Cool down stretches.
• Hit the showers.
• Reflect on past, present, future.
• Write in journal.

There are a lot of health issues for an Athlete in any sport, but over the years I have found that following this check list will help you have a longer career in your favorite sport.

· Reflect on past, present, future.

This is an area many athletes neglect to work on "the mental game". To reflect means you are looking or seeing a picture a moving picture is better than a still picture but either way a picture is worth a thousand words. Reflecting on the things you have done, how you have reacted in a given situation, how you have changed or even how you want to react in the future helps your mental health. Mental health is very important! It gives you the drive to compete and the ability to keep in balance the struggles of winning and losing. I have found that taking time to reflect on the past, present, and future helps one grow in wisdom and understanding of one’s self as well as see the goals of those before them and the goals they need to set to be successful. This reflection also helps one know where they are coming from, where they are and where they are going. Most athletes when they are starting out have no idea that it takes about 18,000 hours to compete professionally in any endeavor. Take a Lawyer for example they spend 8 hours a day plus or minus for 8 years not including the 4-8 hours a day of internship necessary to have a job when they are finished with school. Most athletes start their training when they are young but they work out what 2 -4 hours after school or on the weekends. That’s only 1020 hours a year by the time they are 18 that’s only 10200 hours. Reflect on your goals, who you are and who you want to be. Stabilize your game improve your mind and your mental game by keeping in balance past, present, and future.

· Lotion on feet, knees, elbows, shoulders & hands.

Lotion on the feet, knees, elbows, shoulders and hands help moisturize the skin but also allows you to massage the joints allowing you to stay younger and more flexible. Check out reflexology to understand how massaging the feet help promote better health throughout the body. Most of our body’s skin water is actually absorbed through the skin by keeping our bodies lubricated and healthy and not dry it allows the cells to absorb the water out of the air required to keep us healthy. Massage is also a great stress reliever. Relieving stress allows the fluids in the body to flow more freely allowing the immune system, and the nutrition system to work better at giving us the energy we need to perform at our peak proficiency. This is great if done regularly by one’s self but even better if done by a professional once in a while.

· Warm-up stretches.

Warm up is done to increase heat throughout the body and to reduce the risk of tearing or straining muscles by increasing their suppleness. A 2 or 3-minute jog, to raise a light sweat before stretching is recommended. Stretching is used to increase flexibility and freedom of movement, to reduce muscle tension and to reduce the risk of muscle and tendon injuries. While stretching, it is important to remember not to bounce, to keep breathing and to only go to the point of tension not pain.

· Good Breakfast.

Nutrition is the start of a strong body. The body as it grows requires basic elements to grow strong (grains especially wheat, fruits and vegetables in the season they are grown and the use of meat sparingly). Calcium, Magnesium kept in proper balance helps prevent cramping of the muscles. Calcium is required to build strong bones and teeth but too much can harden the joints or build up in fractures.

· Check Equipment

The tools of the trade are fundamental to accomplishing your best performance. If your shoes don’t fit or fall apart while performing it could cause an error on your part or even worst an injury. Check equipment means clothes as well the instruments of your sport. Don’t lose a match because of a broken shoestring or a broken racquet string. You should know how to keep your equipment operating at peek efficiency.

· Sun Screen.

The sun cleans and gives life to all things on the Earth. Yet at the same time the sun can drain, destroy, and deplete a body of life if you get too much of it. If you have an outdoor sport or profession, I would advise that you learn at a young age to wear sun screen on a daily bases so as to prevent skin cancer and premature aging.

· Drink 2 glasses of water.

We are made up of 70% to 75 % water. Dehydration is a major factor in the breakdown of the human immune system. Most people don’t get enough fluids in a day. Some doctors suggest that we should drink 8 glasses of water a day. Reality is we should drink 1 oz. of water for every 3 pounds of we weight after we have reached the age of 8. This helps prevent getting too much water and will assure that we get enough. Most of our water is absorbed through the skin or in the foods we eat so it is important that we keep our skin supple and with as few injures as possible. The type of water is very important as well. Nikken sells the best water you can have in your home or on the road.

· Power bar and 1 serving of fruit.

More athletes neglect these 2 items. Some enduring energy to burn while performing is critical to maintaining a strong body. If the body can’t find the energy it needs to work in the blood system then it has to break down muscle and stored fat, but by the time the body has processed these, the competition is usually over. It is also suggested that you eat pasta, a potato or rice the night before any major workout or competition.

· Drink water &/or Gatorade/Propel.

During and after every event you will have lost about 3 cups of water, electrolytes, salts and minerals that the body needs. Gatorade/Propel attempts to replenish these in its drinks. Nikken living water does too.

· Cool down stretches.

Cool Down stretches help to remove muscle waste products, reduce muscle soreness and stiffness, and to enable you to compete again at the same level within a short period of time. You should do 2-3 minute light jog, or brisk walk immediately after your sport and 5-10 minutes of stretching (emphasize the major muscle groups you have used during your sport).

· Hit the showers.

As stated above taking care of the skin is important, a good warm shower after a competition relaxes the muscles, washes off the salts that have been released, which if left on the body too long would dry out the skin cells effecting the immune system and the aging of the skin.

· Reflect on past, present, future.

After a competition it is important to review what has just happened and put it in perspective with the past, present, future. Be thankful for your ability to have spent the time exhibiting your talents and sharing them with someone else. Remember the people you have come in contact with and who has influenced you as well as those whom you may have influenced. This is part of your legacy, a part of your life that was recorded in history only if you keep record of it. Keeping records is an important part of keeping us humble. It will also help us to remember the people that helped us, so that we will find it easier to provide service for others. Giving us a greater value and worth then any single competition we may perform in.

· Write in journal.

A journal helps keep the facts straight. As you go through your professional career you don’t want to be known for the greatest fish stories. It is much better to have the trophy on the wall then the story of the one that got away. Journals are also important for family history. It will help your kids to understand that you were a kid too and that they have same potential as you, to achieve what ever they want to pursue. Journals also come in handy when you become rich and famous to help you remember to be humble because there is always someone better than we are, we just might not have met him or her yet. Records are meant to be broken, but your accomplishments are just you doing a little better from day to day, breaking your own records and continuing to improve your talents so that you can share them to help others. Track your progress and make sure you are on the straight and narrow path that leads to success in everything you choose to be a professional at.