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on Aug 19th, 2016 and filed under Fitness tips to steal from the Olympians – Telegraph.co.uk
Credit: REX
18 August 2016 • 1:35pm
With Team GB dominating the medal table over in Rio, fitness fever is taking over, spurring many of us into action. While the likes of Jessica Ennis-Hill, Helen Glover and Max Whitlock are at the mercy of grueling training regimes which most of us don’t have the time (or the stamina) for, it is possible to shoehorn in a few of their training tips and tricks to help achieve a better and healthier body.
Buddy up
If you’re not a fan of exercising on your own then roping in a friend can make all the difference. You’re less likely to forgo a gym session or a fitness class if meeting a friend because you’re accountable. Exercising socially also means you can combine the needs of friendship with physical exercise, you can push each other to work harder and give that all important motivational boost when needed.
For heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, training with a partner features in her weekly regime, “we throw a med ball to each other or there’s one where we put our head right by the other person’s ankles and lift your legs up, they push your legs down and our legs can’t hit the floor – that’s a really hard one”.
Jessica Ennis-Hill and Katarina Johnson-Thomspon Credit: Shutterstock/REX
Know your equipment
When you’re in the gym it’s tempting to go full throttle on the various machines in order to maximise your workout. But Olympic gold medalist Helen Glover believes this is unnecessary, “Most rowing machines have a lever on the right-hand side that changes the setting from one to ten.
“A common mistake is to crank the setting up to ten as it’s the hardest, but there’s no need. In training I use level four to five as it’s closest to replicating the effort you use on the water and you’re less likely to strain or injure your back.”
Helen Glover and Heather Stanning Credit: Shutterstock/Rex
Drink up
Perhaps the most easiest of tips but by no means less important, is upping your water intake, “I always try to take on plenty of fluid during the day because the body recovers best after exercise when it’s hydrated, plus I feel it helps me get more from my training,” reveals gold medal winner Jessica Ennis-Hill.
If your training session is more intense than usual then opt for liquids such as coconut water, it’s contains far less sugar then sports drinks and is packed with replenishing electrolytes to replace lost sodium, keeping your muscles and nerves functioning properly.
Pace yourself
If you’re gearing up for a event such a 10K run or bike ride then it’s imperative to pace yourself. If you hold nothing back chances you’ll struggle at going the whole distance. Exercise Scientist, Andrew Edwards, and Professor Remco Polman from Victoria University in Australia, believe that pacing is governed primarily by perceived exertion and that these perceptions can be very reliable. So, if you’re in a 5k race with only a mile left, and you feel that you could increase your speed without too much difficulty before reaching the finish line, then you’re chances are you can.
Olympic cyclist Laura Trott advises that “for a 100-mile sportive I would start very steady. If I felt good during the ride I would lift the pace nearer the end, but I’d get to the point where I knew I would complete it first before trying too hard and blowing”.
Laura Trott Credit: Shutterstock/Rex
Switch it up
To stop exercise becoming too monotonous, swimmer Jazz Carlin believes its best to break up your routine. “I like to use hand paddles to build up the strength and the muscle groups you might not use during an average session. These make you push harder through the water, and builds up your lats.
“Once you get efficient with your paddles, swimming without them should feel a lot easier. Do 20-25m, maybe 10-15 times, with a minute in between.”
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