Top 10 Lifestyle

The Top 10: More Than a Place, It’s a Lifestyle

It was a week after my client—we will call her Queen B—finished her first Spartan Race…and we were discussing how the race went and what to do next. And so, I asked her, “What do you want to set as a goal moving forward?”

“I wanna be a Top 10 Finisher!”

Did I mention she had just finished her FIRST Spartan race? Haha.

But, in truth, these are the answers I love to hear. Bold, radical, and abstract enough to get my brain cranking and my heart burning. And Queen B doesn’t want to be an Age Group Top 10 Finisher, she wants to beat up on the entire field of female elite racers.

Now I believed Queen B when she told me what she wanted. And I also believe she can get what she wants; but before we started talking about running speed, obstacle mastery, or race strategy we discussed what I believe to be the key factor that distinguishes the Top 10 finishers from the other 99.97% of racers on a Spartan course—LIFESTYLE.

To be Top 10 you must do more than train hard and show up on race day; you gotta live it every day. And living it every day is tough, hence the low percentage of racers who claim one of those top ten positions each race, only .03%. And when it comes to living it every day, these three tips can get you started and keep you going…because the road to the Top 10 is a long one.

1. Regular Reminders

The Top 10 Athlete reminds themselves often of their positive attributes, and they’ve learned how to accept reminders from others, also known as compliments. This may seem like an inconsequential factor, but, in truth, this may be the only factor that matters…it’s the one that measures your belief in yourself.  

By placing written notes around your home, work, and gym and/or by setting digital reminders that present positive messages to you…you will be subtly, yet regularly reminding yourself of the winning characteristics you possess.

2. Incremental Adjustments

Sometimes it may feel like you’re so far away from your goal that you need to make big, sweeping adjustments to your life. Very rarely is this actually the case, and most often all that’s needed are small adjustments made incrementally and sustained over time.

The Top 10 Athlete has learned to integrate new habits into their daily and weekly living by making small adjustments in one or maybe only two areas of their life at a time. By narrowing their focus, the Top 10 Athlete has a greater concentration on a specific task instead of spreading their focus thin over several things at once.

3. Training Buddies

One of the first things you’ll hear come out of the mouth of a Top 10 Athlete is gratitude and love for their team and/or training buddy. A good training buddy can keep your nutrition on point (accountability), help improve your performance markers (motivation), and even provide inspiration during a race (camaraderie).

It may take some trial and error to find your tribe, but if you’re doing numbers one and two on the reg then it’s only a matter of time before you collide with an ideal training buddy or group that empowers you through the challenges of living the Top 10 Lifestyle.

Remember, the road to becoming a Top 10 Athlete is a long one, but you can start on your path today by living the Top 10 Lifestyle. By learning to have a healthy and productive dialogue with yourself; by committing to incremental adjustments over time…and by surrounding yourself with people who want to pull you up, you’ll not only notice your race performance improve, but you’ll recognize a positive shift in other areas of your life, as well.