Commit to Killin’ It – Sled Season Preparation
Nights become longer and more crisp, foreshadowing the beginning of winter. When snow finally blankets our surroundings, our anticipation of what’s to come builds. But before we ride, there’s preparation to be done: physical and mental. Life is busy—no matter your situation—and it can be hard to make time. But once you commit to training your body and mind, the quality of your ride experience will become exponentially better. It’s all about sled season preparation.
Commit to Killin’ It – Sled Season Preparation
Committing to physical fitness will make you a more capable sledder. When your strength and endurance is up, wrangling a sled all day is easier. Unfit riders will sometimes complain about rough trails. But when you’re physically and mentally prepared, a bumpy trail can be viewed as a challenge to crush, instead of something to dread. Hitting the gym also helps heal old injuries and undoubtedly helps prevent new ones.
Don’t Let Your Age or ‘Busy’ Schedule Be an Excuse Not to Train
Some of the strongest people at the gym are a few decades past prom. And sure, between work and family life, training can be a challenge but it’s one hundred percent doable. There are many ways to tailor fitness programs to your busy life. Wake up earlier and go for a run. Or do a home workout if that syncs with your schedule better. If you claim that you just don’t have time, try trading stagnant time spent eating bonbons on the couch for physical activity instead.
The potential is there so don’t get stuck in a mental rut believing you can’t…you can. Excellence doesn’t come without pain, but when you get a sled unstuck with one deadlift and continue to breeze through your ride day, your friends will be wishing they had put in time at the weight room too.
Mental Strength Is an Equally Important Skill to Hone
It’s a quality that is often defined by determination, motivation and consistency. Mental strength is about being pushed to the brink without faltering.
As hardcore as that sounds, training yourself to be mentally tough doesn’t necessarily require you to be in extreme situations; it can simply involve pushing yourself a little bit further each day. Write down some goals to be completed on a regular basis and do them. While lifting at the gym, push yourself to complete the tenth rep of a set when you’re burning out at nine. Aim to exceed project expectations at work. Or wake up half an hour earlier every day.
Mental strength can be learned in everyday life, but it also has to be a choice; you have to choose to rise above the challenges you face and not let them shake you. If you bail a hundred times trying a new move on your sled and nail it on try one hundred and one, you’ve taken your own resilience to the next level.
Here’s a Secret for Better Riding
Everyone is capable of what you see in the sled movies, even the craziest stuff. It’s a matter of what you’re willing to handle mentally, your passion to do it and how much practice you put in that determines your accomplishment.
Preparation for the beginning of sled season requires more than just buying new gear, dusting off your sled and doing some mechanical maintenance. We all want to progress, to become better people and do great things in life. Committing to your own physical and mental health is a commitment to killin’ it in everything you do, and it will help you grow both on and off the sled. Start now, you’ll be glad you did.
– Brandon