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| How To Look Like An Olympian by Nathan Donahue May 31 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Looking good is just being lean and having some muscle on you. This goes for men and women alike Have ever wanted to have the sculpted physique of a superstar athlete? Of course you have! Unfortunately you probably thought, like most people do, that it would take way too much time and effort. Athletes have the best physiques without even trying to look great, look at boxers, gymnasts, sprinters, wrestlers, hockey players, etc., the fact is they look great. The average gym patron is either big and fat, or small and soft. What are athletes doing that is so different from the average fitness enthusiast? Hard, smart work, that’s what. An athlete goes to the training center, practice or contest and gets to work. They bust their butt and give it everything they have until the time is up. Contrast this with your average trainee. They usually are into either lifting weights or cardio but not both (a mistake I will get to later). The trainee will show up, pal around a bit, do some work, clown around a bit more, then stop when tired. All in all, the trainee has done much less work then an athlete would have in the same time frame. The fact is that the average trainee simply does not work hard enough to cause physiological changes period. The mindset of the average the trainee must change; they must “get after it”. Whether it is weights or conditioning that is being done, the work must be brutal. If not, the results will not be very good. Ok, so now you know that you are going to have to bust your tail and your OK with that. But……….time is limited. How can you possibly look like an Olympian when you have the schedule of a mini van owner? Easy, workout efficiency is the key; more work in less time. Your workouts will be split into two activities, weights and conditioning. Weight training is the fastest method to put on muscle. Conditioning session will be short and sweet, nothing over 25 minutes. Before all the big guys (read fat and strong) start telling me they are going to lose muscle, let me reassure you. Although it is a common belief among weightlifters that any activity other than lifting will cause muscle loss; that is not true. The only activities that really cause muscle loss are long distance/time cardio, such as jogging. Fasting is also a good way to lose muscle, and this includes missing breakfast. Short and hard conditioning sessions will melt the fat off and make your muscles look better. These short, conditioning sessions will rev up the metabolism nicely and have you burning extra calories for the next 24 hours. Supplements that will help with fat loss include protein powder, fish oil, and multivitamins. For all the small and soft readers (read cardio junkies) who think weights will make them bulky, fear not. You are not going to get “too big”. Who looks better, an Olympic sprinter or a Kenyan Marathon runner? Well guess what? Sprinters lift weights! They are strong and lean. Want to know something else? They don’t jog! It makes them slow, and they lose muscle. Plus, it’s boring! These weight-training sessions will not be the silly marathon sessions that bodybuilders do. They will be under an hour long, and focus on building as much muscle and strength in as short a time as possible. Supplements that will help muscle growth are creatine, or protein powder. Now back to workout efficiency. All elite athletes train between 2-4 hours a day (or even more!), you don’t have that kind of time. So, let’ s cut away all the time athlete’s spend with skill practice, and get to the nitty gritty. Weights 3 times per week tota. Full body workouts Focus on compound movements (lifts that work several muscles at once) Hard, short workouts A Sample weight program would look like this Overhead Press (dumbbell or barbell) Squats (back or front) Chins Deadlift Lunges Hanging leg lifts Sets and reps are up to you. High sets, low reps build strengthLow sets, high reps build muscle size. Conditioning If your overweight, 4 times per week. If your underweight, 3 times per week max Always 25 minutes or less unless you are playing an organized sport like soccer, tennis, ultimate Frisbee, Kettlebells, sprints, interval training, circuit training, high intensity sports, jump rope, etc. Basically anything that gets your heart pumping hard, and makes you short of breath. These are meant to be hard workouts, don’t dog it on them. Avoid long slow cardio activities such as long jogs, long and moderate intensity bikes. For example a weekly schedule might look like this: Sunday: Off Monday: Conditioning (am) Weights (pm) Tuesday: Conditioning Wednesday: Weights Thursday: Conditioning Friday: Weights Saturday: Conditioning Total hours spent training: 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diet If your not overweight: do not restrict calories per say, just eat lots of good protein and quality food. If you are overweight: do not eat any junk food or excessive carbs, and also eat lots of good protein and quality food. A sample meal plan would look something like this: Breakfast: eggs, fruit, oatmealSnack: protein shake, nuts or cheese Lunch: turkey sandwich on rye with mustard, vegetables Snack: protein shake, nuts or cheese Dinner: meat, veggies, (no starches if overweight) Before bed: nuts or cheese or slow digesting protein shake (no carbs or junk) Sleep You need lots of sleep to recover properly, and if your not recovering, your not making progress. Sleep 8-10 hours per day. Take naps when possible. Supplements Recovery is the key here, so take supplements that focus on health and recovery; Protein powder. Your muscles will love you for it. Multivitamin such as Progressive Multivitamin. It is hard to get lean and mean if your missing vitamins and minerals. Fish Oil such as Progressive EFA. Good for fat loss, joint health, allergies, brain function, inflammation. |