{"id":463,"date":"2012-11-13T12:33:11","date_gmt":"2012-11-13T19:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arizonafoothillsmagazine.com\/fitness\/?p=463"},"modified":"2012-11-13T12:33:11","modified_gmt":"2012-11-13T19:33:11","slug":"the-secrets-of-pro-athletes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com\/health-and-fitness\/workout\/the-secrets-of-pro-athletes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Secrets of Pro Athletes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>
\nI watched the Olympics in awe. Michael Phelps, Keri and Misty, Usain Bolt\u2026 insane! Not only were they mesmerizing to watch, but they defied laws of speed, gravity and endurance. My volleyball visor goes off to them. But they also have a few training tricks up their sleeve. For the inside scoop on their competitive edge, I went to Michael Gombrich, a strength coach in Phoenix. Here he reveals how all the pro athletes he\u2019s helped train get physically stronger and mentally tougher\u2026<\/p>\n

Spectators watch professional athletes and know they are bigger, stronger and faster than the average human. Some athletes will never have to work hard to be a superstar, but some have to put in blood, sweat and tears like the rest of us. Here are 4 tips so you can gain the competitive edge:<\/p>\n

1. \u201cWhy\u201d Factor<\/strong> \u2013 Professional athletes have 2 primary goals: win a championship and get paid. These drive them to lift more weight, run farther, and work harder than others. Find your \u201cwhy\u201d factor and let it drive you into stardom.<\/p>\n

2. Support Team<\/strong> \u2013 Most sports are team based, so athletes have teammates and coaches to continuously push them to be better. Their supporters force them to be as close to perfection as humanly possible. Tell your family and friends about your goals and make them him-and-haw at you when you miss a workout.<\/p>\n

3. Professional Help<\/strong> \u2013 Many of the athletes I\u2019ve worked with knew next to nothing about weightlifting. These are guys who grew up working out and playing sports and when they become professionals, they still don\u2019t know what to do. Seek out some qualified help at your local gym or do a quick Google search. You\u2019ll get more benefits from a properly designed program than trying to emulate Arnold in Pumping Iron<\/em>.<\/p>\n

4. Nutrition<\/strong> \u2013 It\u2019s been famously said, \u201cYou can\u2019t out-train a bad diet.\u201d Don\u2019t sabotage your gains by plowing through Twinkies when you come home. Again, do a quick Google search and plan your day accordingly.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Find out what gives athletes their competitive edge\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[70],"class_list":["post-463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-workout","tag-featured","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Secrets of Pro Athletes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find out what gives athletes their competitive edge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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