HEALTH

Workouts

Be A Team Player!


Tryin’ out for a school sport can be super-intimidating. The key to boosting your confidence? Being properly prepped. GL caught up with Major League soccer player and women’s soccer coach Craig Waibel for some fab tips for getting in shape and making the team.

START NOW!
It’s the middle of July, and tryouts at the end of August seem ages away. Hello, reality check, there’s no time to slack. “I suggest setting up a five- or six-week training schedule that gradually builds up your endurance and your muscles,” Coach Waibel tells us. A common training mistake? Going all-out before your body is ready. “Start slow. It’s okay to not be exhausted after every workout the first two weeks,” he says. Um, phew!

ADD SOME EXTRAS
Just ’cause you’re trying out for volleyball, doesn’t mean you should be spiking and serving 24/7. “I never suggest training solely with ‘sport-specific’ exercises,” says Coach Waibel. “Cross-training is a great way to get good exercise for your heart and give your brain a day off from your sport.” So do some laps in the pool or hop on your bike and go for a ride. And adding sprints to your runs will help ya for any sport. But don’t feel like you’ve gotta be going, going, going all the time (hello, burn out). Coach Waibel suggests a three-days-on, one-day-off routine.

GET SPECIFIC
When you’ve got a li’l more than two weeks until tryouts, switch up your routine. “At that point, sport-specific training should be in every workout you do,” Coach advises. Call up sporty sisters for some pickup games, hit the field to practice passes and do some drills you remember from last season. Now’s the time to start gettin’ extra sleep and making sure you’re eating healthy foods and hydrating properly (less soda, more water). When there’s two days left before tryouts, focus solely on resting up and getting your head in the game for the big day.

HAVE A BLAST
When it’s finally time to get out there and show the coach what you’ve got, make sure you do it with the right ’tude. “The worst thing that you could possibly do is go through a tryout and in the end not have fun because you took it too seriously,” Coach Waibel reports. “Your skills will speak for themselves, but you’ve gotta show you’re an all-around team player.” Show up early, offer to help carry equipment and don’t get super down on yourself if you make a mistake. A girl has to know how to recover to be a great  player. And remember, it’s only a game!

8/1/2008 1:52:00 PM
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