There is no magic potion to guarantee victory in a competition. Winners know that there is no substitute for motivation and dedication when training. Yet the secret behind the success of many top-class athletes may possibly lie in a few simple rules that you, too, should not forget:
1. Take breaks. Get rid of tension. When preparing for competition, nothing is as important as adequate sleep. If you compete in a mentally or physically tired state, your chances of winning are remote.
2. Check your speed. If the competition calendar permits, ease off for a little while and cut back on your physical activities some six to seven days before the event. Maintain your fitness and condition, hone your technique, sharpen your coordination, but don’t be obsessive, don’t push yourself too hard. You will see that your performance will be right when it really counts.
3. Keep your body supplied with energy. Never underestimate the importance of nutrition. Complex sugars should figure prominently on your menu. Ensure that you get a varied, tasty, easily digestible, yet high-fibre diet, with which you can maximise your body’s glycogen reserves.
4. Ensure that your body is always well hydrated. While training, during your warm-up, in high temperatures and during the competition itself, you must not wait until you feel thirsty. By the time you feel thirsty, your body has already lost too much fluid and by then it is too late to make up for it. That’s why optimum hydration must be ensured by adequate liquid intake at the correct intervals. And you needn’t worry about maybe drinking too much water. You are fit and your kidneys are just as fit as your muscles.
5. A high-performance engine needs fuel. On the day before the event, you should eat more frequently (around every three hours) in order to keep your blood sugar level and the glycogen reserves in your muscles at a high level. Apart from that it will help you to feel strong and confident and prevent you from being distracted by thoughts of food. If your stomach is rumbling, you cannot concentrate. The same applies here too: you are fit. And your digestive organs are also in good shape and able to perform their task. And that is not to interfere with your concentration, but to ensure that you can come up with your maximum performance.
6. Rev up your engine to full power. Before the event, you need energy. You need a carefully composed meal to «tank up», to ensure that you have adequate reserves of fuel during the competition and that your body does not need to burn muscle fibre.
7. Dedicate as much attention to your diet as to your sport. Utilise your training periods to establish what type of food is most beneficial for you, and implement these findings in the preparatory phase – especially, of course, on the day of the sports event itself. Adhere to your dietary plan just as strictly as to your training plan, and carry out a «test run» no later than one day before the event. In this way, you will know with confidence what agrees with you and what helps to make you feel at ease and relaxed – invigorated and fighting fit for the competition.
8. Avoid experiments. On the day of the competition, you should ideally avoid doing anything that you have not already tried and found satisfactory. Stick to what works for you. Because success breeds success. Anything that has already led you to victory once will do it again!
9. Prepare yourself well. There is no excuse for overly casual preparation. Your sport demands commitment. Never allow yourself to forget that. Prepare everything you need: check your equipment, keep your sports drinks and energy bars to hand. Ensure that nothing distracts you and that nothing detracts from your performance.
10. The end of the last competition is the start of the next. Replenish your glycogen reserves and drink at least 1.5 times the volume of liquid lost in the form of sweat. Half a litre of a carbohydrate drink in the first half-hour after the competition is the best start towards good regeneration.