There are more people than ever before participating in recreational sports. Most of the athletes may be not be near the pro level, but they still take their competitions very seriously. Every athlete, on whatever level, wants to win.

But not prepping for a race until you get close to the start time means one thing: you’re late. If you’ve got a competition coming up, you should begin specific preparation at least five days before. In addition to the athletic benefit, preparing in advance helps sharpen your focus for the event. Here are five rules to help you get the sharp edge you need when you compete. Use these rules before every one of your events, regardless of your sport.

1. Five days before, do a really hard workout, stressing your muscles anaerobically and doing a long session of cardio. As you recuperate, you’ll get a gain in both strength and endurance. Do only active rest the following day to allow recovery. On the third day before your event, do a medium hard workout, cutting down both the resistance and reps you normally do in the gym by about 20 per cent. Again, follow this with a day of active rest. Never do a hard workout the day before a competition; you want your muscles fully recovered for your event.

2. Three days before, start feeding your body the nutrients it will need: Fresh, unprocessed food, high quality protein and no junk food. Be extremely moderate with alcohol, especially if you’re over 35. Alcohol destroys the vitamins needed for energy metabolization, which is the last thing an athlete needs.

3. The day before a competition, eat dinner early and eat light. A big glob of meat in your stomach will take many hours to digest and even more hours to eliminate the waste from it. Anaerobic athletes who use short bursts of speed and power do need protein, but not a huge steak’s worth of it. Since red meat takes longer to digest, stick with poultry or sea food. Endurance athletes need to load up on carbohydrate energy, because the body releases it slowly. But eating a huge plate of pasta may cause gas and bloating. Eat light, and drink a lot of water so your tissues are already well hydrated the night before.

4. Also the night before, put everything you’re going to need in a pile on the living room floor, even if you’re staying at a friend’s house. Don’t be the athlete who forgets helmet or water bottle or shoes. Race day morning should be calm, with no last minute emergencies. You want all your focus to be on your performance, without the distraction of looking for something or trying to remember what you forgot.

5. On the big day, drink liquid early. Never drink water just before the start, because it makes a sudden weight change (two cups of liquid weighs a pound); and you may not want to be carrying extra weight at the start. In addition, your system will be using energy to distribute the liquid just when you need all your energy to compete. You may need to rehydrate during a long event, but you should already be hydrated well before the event begins.

For the latest in adventure sports and physical conditioning, visit Adventure Sports Weekly at adventuresportsweekly.com.

Copy the Story Link