Dear Athlete
Dear Athlete, Welcome to the first warm-up session! We’ll lay the foundations and set up a safe space where we can learn, experiment, and make mistakes together. We’re just getting acquainted with concepts and approaches that may be unfamiliar to some of us, so let’s also remember to be patient with ourselves and make time for these new inputs to sink in. Let’s get started! Plateau: a period of stagnation or regression of an athlete’s performance (Stewart, 2022). A plateau occurs when the body begins to adjust to the demands of an exercise routine as a result of a particular training or goal, so when it becomes accustomed to the stress placed upon it, a periodic jolt is required to get things back on track (International Sports Science Association (ISSA), 2019). Cross-training: an exercise protocol that incorporates several modes of training that are outside the athlete’s main sport (Preiato, 2021). Rotating activities with different levels of impact will keep your body guessing, so not only will you overcome your plateaus and lower the risk of injuring or overusing a specific muscle or joint (American Heart Association, 2018), but also continue to see improvements to your fitness and health (Williams, 2020). For example, if your sport of focus is running (high impact), you can incorporate cross-training in your training regimen by including activities like walking and yoga (low impact), or swimming (no impact). Essentially, you can choose any activities that won’t interfere with your recovery and can mimic the requirements of your main sport of focus in order to maintain a well-rounded workout routine (ibid). One key aspect of choosing the most beneficial cross-training activity is to go for ones that you truly enjoy so that it’ll be easier for you to stick to it in the long run (Stewart, 2021). After all, they should be fun and not feel like a chore! Next, we’ll find out how graphic designers can benefit from cross-training and use it to break through plateaus in their practice. See you at the Stretching session!
1To look at it from another angle, it’s also a positive sign you’re making progress (American Heart Association, 2018). The fact that you’re willing to take action and get yourself out of this standstill already shows that you have a growth mindset and are driven to push past hurdles––one which you can leverage as a method for tackling steep learning curves! |