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5 Things I Wish I Had Known When I Started Training

by

Avril Doucette - Athlete

5 Things I Wish I Had Known When I Started Training

Hello I’m Avril!!

I am writing this to help anyone who trains or that does a workout. To give you a bit about my background, I have been since I was 8 years old.  I was a swimmer and I competed in the 50m freestyle. I trained 4-5 hours a day of swimming of 400 laps and 1 hour of land training which included; burpees, pushups, sprints, jumping jacks, and other exercises. I learnt when I was swimming the importance of dedication to practice, self-care (Proper sleep, eating the right foods, stretching, warm up and cool downs) and to have an amazing attitude.  These attributes were taught to me by an amazing coach that I was blessed to have.

Avril Doucette - Boxing pro

I was a natural born athlete and also lived in a small town of 6,000 people.  To kill my boredom, I did these sports; Level 7 competitive synchronized swimmer, MVP and Captain Basketball Player, Gold Medalist Badminton Player, and Sr. Volleyball Player (Top Striker and Server) and Jr Level Volleyball Coach.  Later in life I found MMA and trained under UFC Veteran Martin Kampmann the 7th welterweight in the world.  Won 2 gold medals in BJJ and am a current undefeated Boxer. Throughout this article, I will teach you valuable tips I have learnt throughout my training, what I have learnt by my mistakes and others as well. To help you enhance your training and to live a healthy lifestyle!

Here are my 5 tips:

Tip 1: Rest

Getting the proper rest is important to performance.  You also need more sleep in order to recover. People require 7-9 hours of sleep and an athlete should get an additional hour.

TIP 2: Diet

You are what you eat.  It affects the look, functionally and energy levels.  You need carbs, lean protein, healthy fat, and fluids. It’s important to stay hydrated to ensure against fatigue and proper body function.

Tip 3: Stretching

It will increase your flexibility, help increase the movement of your joints and also help relieve tightness in your muscles.

TIP 4: Warm-Up and Cool-Down

A warm-up will help to prepare your body for training.  It revs up the cardiovascular system, raises your body temperature and gets the blood flowing to the muscles.  It can help to reduce muscle soreness and lessen the chance of injury.

Cooling down is to recover from an elevated heart rate and blood pressure.  Also, it helps to regulate blood flow. Each the warm-up and cool-down should be 10 minutes.

TIP 5: Cut unhealthy habits

Alcohol, refined sugars, processed foods, fast foods, smoking, coffee, etc.  All of these can limit your abilities and effect muscle recovery.

 

If you follow these along with a proper workout your set! I am a Vegan my diet is organic, 80% raw, gluten and sugar-free.  I have Vega Vanilla Protein and add a banana and spinach after my workout or eat 1 of their delicious Vega Bars. Which my muscles need for my ab development, muscle growth, and less tension.

My best suggestion is to try different things.  What works for 1 person doesn’t work for another.  As people, we are not designed for a one-size fit all solution.  Also stay away from foods that cause inflammation and bloating.  Such as fast foods and un-organic meats etc. This causes you to actually gain weight. I have a lactose/ gluten intolerance which led me to gain weight, check to see if you have any intolerances as well.

With these 5 tips as well as a proper training equipment and proper technique. You’ll be seeing massive results both in and out of the gym!

XX

Av.

 

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