If you’re a young football upstart, fancying yourself as the next David Beckham, or perhaps an amateur athlete who sees yourself as a future Jess Ennis, then you will have no doubt considered ways in which to improve your overall performance.

While there are many blogs out there discussing things such as diet, I will look at things a little different, and often over looked by many people when gearing themselves up as the next big thing.

Diet

Of course, no blog on physical fitness would be complete without at least a little mention of diet, so I’ll quickly sum this up before moving on – let me say quite simply, you will know if there is anything in your diet that quite frankly shouldn’t be there, and at the same time you will also feel your body isn’t quite performing right when consuming some foods. So, whether you work best on a vegetarian or lean meat diet, your body will let you know.

Sleep

I think many people overlook the importance of sleep to an athlete – sleep is important for everyone, but then again many people are quite lackadaisical when it comes to getting enough sleep, regardless of whether they are interested in sport or not.

Think about it, when mixed with work, exercise and play, your body has very little time to wind down; sleep providing the only period of relaxation and rejuvenation for the body. If you don’t get enough of it, it is obviously to the detriment of your body – without enough sleep, you also run the risk of depression also.

Stress

On that note, similarly, stress can be equally limiting on your performance – don’t overdo things and put yourself under more strain than you need to. This goes for everything not just your daily sports routine.

‘Me time’ is an ideal way to combat the stresses of the day, give yourself a slot of time to just kick back and do as you please.

Similarly, consider a bit of meditation or simple breathing exercises if meditation isn’t really your thing – it can really help.

Train Train Train

The old cliché remains as true as ever, Beckham didn’t learn it to bend it that way overnight, and Jess Ennis didn’t get into that shape simply by making sure she got to bed by 9pm each night, no they all made the effort to get in shape and improve themselves.

In regards to training, you will know what sport or activity you are looking to do, so will gear your training accordingly. However, it is well recommended that any athlete considers cross training to get themselves into peak condition.

Compression hosiery

So far I have mostly looked at things you can do to improve your own wellness and performance, but there are many other things you can look into to boost your performance.

Many people overlook the benefits of compression items for enhancing sports performance. Items such as compression socks or compression tights can actually boost your circulation and give you that little bit of edge you need in getting off the mark, fast.

Louisa Jenkins is a health and fitness guru. She offers advice to people looking to train to improve their sports performance as well as suggesting compression hosiery, such as that supplied by Credenhill, can also help boost an athlete’s performance if utilised correctly.