15 Life Hacks Athletes Should Know About
Athletes have found all kinds of ways to make their lives easier when it comes to their careers. They have their one rituals that they do before every game and practice. Some of these rituals are personal and others take a team effort. These really don’t have scientific proof that they make a person or team better. There are however some athletic sports hacks that are scientifically proven to help with your game. There are simple and effective ways athletes can gain more energy, stay alert and get an edge over their opponents and they’re all listed below.
Clench Left Fist High pressure situations are usually when you can tell if a player is great or just good. The trick to performing well in high pressure situations is to some how calm your nerves. According to Philly Sports Doc, Dr. Juergen Beckmann, its proven that clenching your left fist can relieve some of the heightened stress. This motion is said to activate the right side of the brain, the side that controls your automated behavior. This helps athletes from over thinking and just letting their natural instincts come in.
Chewing Gum or Sipping Juice Makes You More Alert Drinking sugary drinks like Gatorade or chewing some gum is more than just delicious, it helps you think better. You don’t even have to swallow it. You can actually just swish around the liquids in your mouth just to get the taste. As long as there’s plenty of sugar in it. Your brain, in turn, becomes more active in the pleasure center, allowing you to enjoy feeling the burn far longer. It also stimulates the part of your brain in charge of movement control.
Singing While You Play Prevents You From Choking There is nothing worse than choking in a game situations. To be considered one of the greats you have to be clutch. To ensure that you won’t be tripping over your own feet from nervousness, try singing. The pressure from the game often times makes you over think things and take missteps that can kill your success. According to research, by singing, you will shut off that part of the brain that becomes too overactive. This should prevent you from choking.
Smelling Good Scents Improves Concentrate For years researchers have known about the positive effects of certain smells and aromas. Aroma therapy uses different scent to help heal and relax patients. Some smells can even lower your blood pressure. In a study conducted with six MLB players, researchers discovered that the athletes hit a higher batting average every time they sniffed their scented wrist bands. Their performance and ability sky-rocketed thanks to an increase of their hand-eye coordination.
Eating Chocolate Gives You More Energy It has been discovered that eating bits of chocolate before physically exerting yourself can help performance and stamina. Throughout the course of a game, you lose a lot of energy. Epicatechin, a chemical in chocolate, helps to quickly restore this energy and give you more power to last longer. That’s why kids bounce off the walls whenever they eat chocolate.
Non-Alcoholic Beers Help You Recover After exhausting your body you need to replenish the nutrients that you lost. Your body’s recovery is vital in making sure you can perform regular functions. Doctors now say that drinking non-alcoholic beverages afterwards can help you recover more quickly and get you ready for the next game or event. Non-alcoholic beer is one of the most popular recovery beverages, strangely. The only question is where do you get non-alcoholic beer?
Watching Porn Before A Game Gives You More Adrenaline Here is a weird one. It is a rule that guys shouldn’t have sex before a game or match, because it lowers their stamina. In a study where researchers tested athletes after watching a variety of short clips, from sad to funny, motivational and erotic, they discovered that guys played significantly better after watching the porn. Watching porn increases their testosterone levels, which makes you play with more intensity, heart and desire.
Trash Talking For some athletes trash talking comes as natural as breathing. Other guys suck at it. There is a distinct difference between those who talk trash and don’t. Studies have shown that player who talk trash more have more of an edge and an increased chance of winning. Showing visible signs of pride does something to the opponent, making them more hesitant and likely to choke. Scientists also found that celebrating in the direction of the crowd does nothing. Do it right in the opponent’s face.
Wearing Red Increases Chances of Winning I’m not to sure about the research on this one. Not only does wearing red make you more attractive to the opposite sex, but it also increases your chances of winning. So before you celebrate after every score and wild out, make sure you’re wearing red. In 2004, two British researchers concluded that athletes who wore red always came out on top during close-game situations.
Grunting During the Game Distracts Opponents Ever wonder why athletes grunt during the game? It is used as an intimidation technique and the fact that they use a lot of force when the swing, jump, hit, and throw. The grunting has also been proven to help distract their opponents and throw off their concentration. According to this study, making grunt sounds messes with others’ perception of things such as where exactly the ball is and how they should react. So next time you’re on the field or court make sure you’re grunting like a wild animal. It’ll help you win.
Use Horse Liniment For Sore muscles No matter what sport you play, sore muscles is apart of the experience. Athletes put their body’s in strenuous situations and test it to its limits day after day. The quicker they can get their body to heal and recover the better the can play. Athletes should use horse liniment for their strained muscles. As the name suggests, it is an ointment designed for soothing horses. It so happens to work on humans as well. If you’re unfamiliar with how liniments of this nature works, the ointment attracts blood to the applied area and promotes healing in “fatigued muscles, joints and tendons.” Warning. Do not put horse liniment in your mouth, cuts or any bodily orifices. It will burn like hell on raw flesh.
There is a Sweet Spot at the Foul Line Basketball players always talk about finding their sweet spot on the court. It’s a spot on the hardwood that they feel most comfortable at and make the most shots. When it comes to free throws there are some guys who have a ritual before they shoot. It could the amount of times they bounce the ball, spinning the ball in their palm, or a hand gesture. That may make players feel good about the shot, but locating the sweet spot in the center of the charity stripe will actually help you sink the shot. On hardwood floors, the sweet spot is literally nailed into the ground right behind the free throw line. a noticeable nail should be hammered into the floorboards behind the center of the stripe. By lining up your right foot (or left, depending on your dominant hand) over its center, you’ll be shooting as dead-on at the bucket as possible.
Pickle Juice If you’re facing some heavy cardiovascular activity, or just trying to heal up some sports blisters, drink pickle juice. Nolan Ryan claimed to have used pickle juice to treat and prevent blisters on his hands that appeared while pitching. Pickle juice is an effective cramp-buster, so why wouldn’t it be used for other things. Tests have proven that when ingested, the juice from a standard jar of pickles will treat cramping much more effectively than water, relieving muscles 37 percent faster than plain H2O.
Wipe the Bottom of Your Shoes on the Basketball Court If you’re playing on a polished wooden basketball court, wipe the soles of your shoes off from time to time. I’m sure you’ve seen player do it before and wondered why. Wiping the bottoms of your sneakers once or twice over the course of a game will keep the dust off and help you stay gripped to the floor. Nothing is worse than slipping around on shoes you bought specifically for their grip.
Athletes Foot Remedy Most athletes have experienced or will experience athletes foot. They are constantly wearing sneakers and socks. This meaning their feet sweat a lot and rarely get exposed to the open air, which makes a proper setting for fungus. It’s a common occurrence with athletes so there are many products to help get rid of it, like “Tough Actin'” Tinactin. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on medicine. Your cheapest and easiest bet is to soak your foot in equal parts vinegar and water for 15 minutes, twice a day. You can also add a cup of white vinegar to your wash loads in order to kill any fungal agents hanging around in your socks.