I’m an Olympian in My Own Mind!

So who watched the men’s 4 X 100 freestyle relay this past week and found themselves jumping and cheering at full volume? In fact, we woke our kids who were sleeping downstairs at the opposite end of the house. Wow, was that ever an Olympic experience!

As an ex-athlete, every two years I am all over these Olympics games … wondering, wishing, believing, summer games, winter games, it just doesn’t matter. I try to figure out a way that there can be some kind of “ageless comeback” for a 43 year old female athlete (thank goodness for Dora Torres, yea!). I just want that minute of fame to be able to show the world that I too can out-touch the French in the final leg of a record breaking relay. I too can be as good as those athletes of the Olympics. Don’t let me bust your bubble (mine’s been busted for a long time) unfortunately… it’s not going to happen!

The extreme athleticism that is displayed in Olympic competition comes from the most extreme end of fitness and exercise. I can’t even begin to understand and/or grasp what it takes to be able to perform like many of these athletes do! Training for life is nothing like training for the Olympics. An Olympian is a business. This means that they have all the right people taking care of them and their bodies so that their athletic training is a full-time job. They train for hours a day, a luxury that most of us cannot afford. Most of them are financially cared for through endorsements, scholarships and/or other means of financial assistance.

There was a video diary on what a typical day of life and training is for Michael Phelps on T.V. this week. His training schedule has him rising early in the morning for hours in the pool, regular strength training, meals, rest, calisthenics, yoga, swimming more hours in the afternoon, eating more and resting even more. I don’t think I could even begin to eat the amount of calories he must consume in order to train properly. His entire day was all about his training. Very specific, very focused, very intensive, very unrealistic for you and I.

We use “life” as our focal point, which is not as specific as an Olympic event, but it’s our event. Therefore, we must train for it. The good thing is, is that we don’t have to spend every day training for good health. The Olympian within us can come out in our daily exercise programs and we can be as healthy as these Olympians are great at their sport. Health and sport specific successes are two entirely different things.

I don’t often mention the cost that successful athletes pay in order to compete at the Olympic level. Even just this week one of our female gymnasts’ had to pull out of three events due to an ankle injury during warm-up. The injuries, stress and problems that her body has suffered because of the years of training is much greater than we (her cheering fans) will ever know. High injury rates are very common among sport specific training and they go deeper than physical for athletes of Olympic caliper. They pay the price socially, emotionally, financially and privately as well.

Here’s the good news, training for life won’t put you in a higher category for injury, it’ll put you in a higher category for non-injury. It’ll put you in a category of increased health benefits and function, because training for life is not sport specific it’s an all encompassing life enhancing event!

The beautiful thing about training for life is that we can all do it and then we get to compete every single day of our lives. We compete in life’s little and big events. Like the stair climbing competition, the carrying our groceries to the car, the rolling around on the floor with our grandkids and even in events like climbing Longs Peak or finishing a triathlon. Competition can even be as grand as lowering cholesterol, keeping blood pressures normal or fighting a disease. Your Olympic downhill might not be what Bode Miller believes it to be, but it’s your downhill race so let it be whatever you want it to be.

So while you are watching these Summer Olympics don’t try to run extra miles or lift extra pounds, we don’t want you to strain anything. Just remember to keep on your own personal track of achieving great health. Allow those athletes to be an inspiration to you, as you will be for others if you train for life. Life is an Olympic event, so take care of your body and go for the gold.

 

Deborah Holmes

August 11, 2008