Olympics Special: How to Train like an Olympian
It does not get bigger than the Olympics. With the 2012 Olympics kicking at full swing, the only hype and rage these days is about this intense, world renowned, all-encompassing competition. The Olympics is a call for all the world famous athletes to get together under one banner, and participate in a fierce competition determining who the best of the best is. These chosen few athletes, must not only be earth-shattering in the physical fitness they command, but must also follow a lifestyle dedicated to the realm of Olympics, involving a pre-set physical training, health training and fitness training regime.
A true Olympian has to be mindful of both aspects of self: the mental aspect and the physical aspect. The physical aspect entails perfection in the gym and out in the open fields, the right eating habits and endless preparation towards fitness training. While that covers the physical training regard, the mental challenge proposes a winner’s mindset. The fortitude of a winner’s mindset charging against all trickles of a defeatist attitude is what ultimately enhances the indefinite command needed over the body for the intensities of physical training the Olympics demand.
This piece dedicated to the Olympics, is a special edition that will guide you on how to train like an Olympian, paying scrupulous attention towards physical training,healthy training and fitness training.
Enter Olympian - Physical Training
Physical training most importantly incorporates the ability to master a laser-like efficiency at skills and movements that will rule your game as an Olympian. Thousands and thousands of hours of endless practice can train the human mind to acquire an uncanny strenuous control over a skill. It is the pressures and authenticity of physical training that will undoubtedly help you reign supreme in this regard. Fitness is not the end of all trades. If you want to dominate at your line of interest, be it running, swimming, tennis or golf, concentrate on your skills and drills instead of a mere focus suppressed within the boundaries of fitness training. If you are running, run with the right form, equipment and mindset, if you are swimming, swim with a swimmer’s grace, poise and technique and if tennis is your game, then practice your serve till it aches. Commitment and zeal will get you farther in regards to excellence with physical training.
One well-known approach employed by Olympians when training for this event is that of ‘Periodization’. This technique refers to breaking the timeline of a year into different periods. Each period is highlighted by a different set of goals altogether. The varying of workouts, which happens to be the main accomplishing aim of the strategy of periodization, ensures a taste of the best service attainable from the counterparts building the foundations of an individual, that is, the emotional self, the mental self and the physical self. This is an important aspect of physical training, as it gathers together all the factors contributing towards physical health into one whole for rigorous training to begin. If running a marathon is the ultimate goal, periodization would break it into subsets, whereby in the fall you may focus on strength training, in the winter intensity is the highlight, the spring revolves around speed and precision and finally summer is the resting period before the games begin.
Enter Olympian- Healthy Training
By healthy training here, we are referring to one very important aspect of an Olympian’s life- Nutrition. Consuming a well-balanced healthy meal that supplements peak performance bears a complicated structure. However, the three components that fuel energy and sparks that athletes thrive on are fats, carbohydrates and proteins. A healthy training must-requirement is the befitting presence of the said three components. While fats are capable of fueling rather low-intensity workouts and fitness routines for long periods of time, carbohydrates possess the potential of doing the same in terms of moderate to high intensity routines, and proteins being the building blocks of the body, are most essential for the role they play in the maintenance and repairing of body tissues.
Undeniably, carbohydrates happen to be the most imperative component of an athlete’s healthy training regime. It is carbohydrates that take up the responsibility of energy provision for muscle contractions. After carbohydrates are consumed, they are broken down subsequently into sugars by the body. Glucose, which happens to be one of the sugar forms, is stored in the liver and the muscles as glycogen. Glycogen is the most accessible source of energy required for exercise and workout. In order to stay energized at all times, it is as crucial to replenish supplies of glycogen during and after workouts as it is before one. Fruits, vegetables, grains, rice and pasta are all chock full of carbohydrates.
Now, let’s review fats. Fats are a highly essential component of an athlete’s diet and rank high in terms of healthy training. Fats happen to be the largest existing inventory of energy available for activity in the body. However, if the optimal level of fat in the body exceeds, it can have a detrimental effect on general and athletic health.
Coming down to proteins, these building blocks of life may not be energizers like fats and carbs, but play the vital and fundamental role of building and repairing muscles, preventing wear and tear during exercises, and optimizing the storage of glycogen from carbohydrates in an efficient and accessible mannerism. Fish, chicken, turkey, dairy products and beef are all excellent suppliers of proteins.
Enter Olympian- Fitness Training
Rigorous fitness training extending over a decade is how much resilience and dedication an Olympics Gold medal commands! A strong fitness base starting from an early age is essential to play the serious honorable role of an Olympian. But it is never too late to strive to be better! However it is crucial to pay attention to your current fitness levels before you start crossing your fingers on taking a fitness training program by a storm! So, before you hop onto the intense journey of marathon training, laborious boot camp or fierce weight training classes, keep your fitness level at present in check first. You must condition yourself towards the ultimate goal in a step by step fashion. Concentrate on building up your strength, flexibility, endurance and balance first. The best ways to achieve these aims are unarguably through cardio, circuit training, strength training and even yoga can work wonders in various regards pertaining to fitness training.
However, fitness trainingdoes not only entail a physical state of being, it also relates to a fit mental state of existence. A mental state of existence that is fixated on something as intense as Olympics training needs to be focused, prepped and vigilant. Positivity is one big benefactor towards mental health and so is adequacy in sleep and proper nutrition. If you want to own fitness training to the ground, then a fit physical state of being, coupled with a fit psychological mindset is the road to the success you crave.
