For some people, intramural sports can be a great escape from the rigors of everyday work, school, and family demands. Playing a sport you love at the highest level possible is rewarding, exciting, and tons of fun. And the only thing that is better than playing intramural sports, is excelling at and winning at intramural sports.

Sports-Specific Training

Initially, you will need to focus upon many hours of repetition of the skills you will need on the actual playing field. Basketball great Charles Barkley would never play pickup basketball games in the off-season. Rather, he would just practice his fundamental drills. It paid off! If you’re playing basketball, work on your shooting and dribbling. If it’s football or another sport, isolate those drills which target your skill set and complete them religiously.

Weight Training

The use of weights will allow you to add some muscular size and strength which will make you better on the playing field. Begin with three days per week of squatting, deadlifts, and bench pressing with moderate weight for 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions each. You can add some calf, shoulder and arm work afterward, but never let that become the focus of your training.

Cardiovascular Training

If you want to excel on the playing field, you are going to need to complete a great deal of running. This will increase your speed and reaction times, and will at the same time boost your cardiovascular potential levels. You never want to be the guy on the field completely winded, as people ten years younger than you run circles around you. Particularly as you age, running and the use of elliptical trainer and other cardio machines are important. Too much running can lead to knee injuries, particularly the high-impact version from running outdoors, so be careful!

Stretching

After your workout – and not before – is when the bulk of your stretching should take place. Once you lose the structural integrity, balancing weight is no longer safe. Of course, a brief 5 minutes of stretching is a great way to start your workout.

Nutrition

Eating a diet high in protein and low in fat is a great way to reduce your body fat levels and improve your muscular strength for better performance at intramural sports. Be sure to include many carbohydrate sources such as pasta, rice, beans and potatoes to give you the energy you will need on the playing field.

Recovery

Recovery is an important factor which is commonly overlooked by intramural athletes. Your body doesn’t heal, and your muscles do not grow, when you are on the playing field or the weight room. Rather, you grow and heal when you rest. So be sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

Always enjoy yourself when completing intramural sports, as well as the training that accompanies it. You’ll never become a millionaire doing it, but you will enjoy yourself competing in a sport you love. And, like Charlie Sheen says, there’s nothing quite like #winning!

Dane Fletcher is the world’s most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.

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