Trending Training Techniques and Tools: Competition-Based Exercise
Everyone loves to compete, especially athletes and others who want to improve their strength and get in better shape. While competing against yourself to improve your own personal fitness and strength is admirable, many people enjoy having friendly competitions with others. There are several common trends and styles involving competitive exercises to allow people to motivate themselves to dig deeper and push themselves harder while training.
Getting a Training Partner
Some people like to have training partners so they have someone to talk to who understands the fitness challenges they are facing. However, there are also plenty of people who enjoy competing with their training partner. When both partners are competitive in a fun and friendly way, it can increase the motivation for them to want to work out harder and longer, which will help both meet their fitness goals. Some people even include an informal prize for the winner of the competition, with the loser buying a meal or treating the winner to a new piece of workout equipment.
Online Exercise Competition Groups
The rise of the Internet has had a significant impact on the way that people think about training, including competitive exercises. Now that people are using the web to share fitness goals and challenges, there are plenty of places to meet others with similar interests and goals to use competition to motivate each other. Cyclists, triathletes, and runners may prefer Strava, while functional fitness fans may like PocketWOD for easy access to planned workouts. For general fitness enthusiasts, MapMyFitness is a great way to log both cardiovascular workouts and weight training. Some websites have been built with customized platforms to allow users to log their progress and record their workouts, which helps build accountability by allowing everyone in the group to see how others are doing.
Workplace Fitness Initiatives
With obesity and other health issues becoming common in the U.S. and other parts of the world, many major corporations are taking steps to make sure their employees stay as healthy as possible. IBM, for example, offers employees a bonus incentive for exercising and eating right as well as easy access to the resources they might need to improve their fitness. Competition can also be a major part of these initiatives: many companies are holding workplace weight loss or fitness competitions to encourage their team members to get healthy.
Competitiveness is a natural human trait. People who are highly competitive often find that harnessing this part of their personality can help them become more disciplined and focused on improving their own personal fitness. However you decide to go about tapping into your competitive side for your fitness goals, make sure you consider your full fitness routine, including recovery. If you regularly engage in competitive physical activity, it is important that you are giving your muscles sufficient rest between competitions or workouts: this resting period is when your muscles recover and get stronger and more efficient at the activities that you are practicing. Getting enough rest and staying hydrated will help with your recovery, as will having the right recovery tools.
A recovery device like the Marc Pro or Marc Pro Plus is an ideal option. These devices are designed to help your muscles recover faster through electric muscle stimulation, so that you can compete at the highest possible level.