Article 1: Welcome
Welcome to the first article of Project Grounded Athletics - my name is Emil Vasko, and in this week's article I am going to talk about my goals, why I’m starting this project, and where it’s going to lead to. The start of this project is a culmination of over 15 years of serious athletic training, competition, and nutrition. I have been involved in athletics for the majority of my life, and wanted to share my experiences, knowledge, and aspirations for the future with others. The last few years have been especially challenging for me: falling behind in school while seeing my classmates graduate, having relationships with special people come to an end, and just generally having a feeling of hopelessness. The one thing I’ve found for myself during these troubling times has been athletics, mindfulness, and connecting with my spiritual self.
The reason I am starting this project is to document and share my journey of self improvement to inspire others to do the same. I want to provide lifestyle habit strategies, mindfulness practices, training protocols, and more to not only help others in their athletic capabilities, but their everyday lives and wellbeing. I’ve had this idea now for quite some time, and finally have decided to just go for it - what do I have to lose? The answer is nothing if I try and fail, but everything if I don’t even give myself the chance to succeed. I’ve had these dreams and aspirations to start something like this for a long time, I’m excited to finally see where it can take me.
Over the last few years I have developed a strong passion for endurance sports, specifically biking, running, and hiking. Being a cross country / track athlete throughout middle and high school, I had a strong base to start from. It has been just over a year since my first bike race, and since then I have become absolutely obsessed with it. I have always been attracted to sports that are not only physically, but mentally rewarding. Diving was my main sport growing up and through college, which is one of the most mentally challenging and rewarding sports I’ve experienced. I would also consider myself a daredevil and adrenaline junkie, so sports like diving, skiing, wakeboarding, windsurfing and mountain biking are all ones I loved doing growing up. However, none of these compare to the feeling bike racing brings me, from the adrenaline, exhaustion, and pain during a race to the feeling of elation and satisfaction after. Even the training is extremely mentally and physically demanding, which I am drawn to.
I am aware of how saturated the sports performance field is nowadays, which is why I wanted to bring a unique and different approach regarding optimizing performance. My main objective is to emphasize the importance of the mental aspect of athletics, and the profound impact mindfulness can have on performance. I also want to share easy to implement lifestyle changes to improve not only your athletic performance, but everyday well-being. Growing up I have always been serious about my health, taking care of my body, and optimizing it for the sports I was interested in.
