With the London 2012 Olympic Games now coming to a close we have been able to witness many great feats of athletic performance. Although not everyone may have aspirations to compete at that level of sport, most people dream of having a body that resembles those of the world’s top athletes.

           

The biceps of a gymnast, shoulders and traps of a weightlifter, all with the extreme leanness of an olympic sprinter or swimmer. Now that body would turn heads. But how can we achieve those results without devoting the next 4 years of our life in hopes of competing in 2016? The answer lies in the characteristics of their training.

All the athletes listed above have a few things in common which we can apply to our training to achieve great results. First and foremost they all train for performance in HIGH PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES. In accordance with the S.A.I.D. (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand) principle our bodies adapt to the demands placed upon them. Over time our bodies can change things like muscle size, metabolic rate, and even bone structure in response to demands in order to better deal with them. For example, marathoners possess low levels of muscle mass because a larger amount would require more energy and hinder lower finish times. So the body “gets rid of” the extra mass in order to most efficiently perform the task. Usain bolt and Michael Phelps both possess lean physiques which is mostly due to the characteristics of their sport. Sprinting is a total body explosive action. Total body = more muscle mass used and therefore more fat can be burned. Explosive = increased neural stimulation, increased muscle sensitivity to nutrients, increased metabolic rate. Sprinting is great for fat loss, coincidence? I think not. Swimming is also a full body activity, with explosive contractions (racing), so it’s no wonder why they also possess lean bodies. Contrary to marathoners used in the previous example, the bodies of sprinters and swimmers don’t need to lose muscle mass because their sport is short in duration. Like cars running the quarter mile they require big engines to generate the power needed to finish first, and muscle generates the power they need.

                                                      

Simply put: Train using high performance movements and your body will adapt itself to suit your task. Examples would be using sprints for fat loss, olympic lift variations (provided you can do them with proper form) for muscle mass, etc.

The next training tidbit we can take from olympic athletes is HIGH FREQUENCY.

Olympic athletes train almost every day for their sport to practice technical proficiency and an effect of this is faster adaptation. Simple right? If you want to get better at something do it more often. We can use this in our training to gain more muscle or lose more body fat. If someone wanted bigger arms they would do more arm work, adding reps and sets, but playing around with frequency would have a more profound effect. Similarly in fat loss a high frequency of fat loss workouts throughout the week would have a greater metabolic effect than 1 or 2 intense workouts. However, when increasing the frequency of training in any instance, overall intensity and volume per session must be managed and probably lowered in order to ensure proper recovery.

                               

The last thing we can take from Olympic athletic training is SPECIFICITY. They train specifically for their event and all their training and nutrition is directed at helping them perform better at that event. That is why they are able to make such great progress. Think about it: is Misty May Treanor training to compete in BMX (an actual Olympic sport to my surprise) while she trains for volleyball? Or is Usain Bolt training to run a marathon at the same time he’s training to be the fastest man in the world? No. They are focused on one goal and that is why they succeed. So why do so many people in the gym try to achieve a handful of goals at once? Don’t be a jack of all trades and master of none. If you’re trying to gain a large amount of muscle mass give it all your focus, don’t try to lose fat at the same time. I’m not saying it can’t be done but it will make it much more difficult and you may not be satisfied with the end result.

                                           

In summary

Train with high performance activities and movements: Sprint, jump, lift explosively. That’s what creates a high performance body.

Train with high frequency: Train more often as long as it’s properly programmed and recovery is managed. This can be used toward specific body parts or total body with great results.

Train with specificity: Pick a goal and give it all your attention. Your training, nutrition, and your lifestyle should all be directed towards achieving that goal.

That’s how you get Olympic results.


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    1 Response to "Look like an Olympian"

    • Set a little goal to start out to lessen water
      retention and lose excess unwanted fat. It’s important that
      you are tracking how many calories you’re taking in every
      day because that will make a really large difference in how quick you are
      able to have a flat stomach. It can be possible that instead of losing you get a bit
      weight.

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