One thing that probably won’t change among Olympic observers is speculation as to who is the greatest Olympian in history. With all the heroics of the 2016 Games still fresh in everyone’s memory, most of the discussion now centers around two names: swimmer Michael Phelps and sprinter Usain Bolt (no weightlifters, unfortunately). This acknowledges swimming and athletics as the marquee events of every summer Games.

Phelps on the way to another gold medal at Rio. [Photo credit: Fernando Frazão | CC BY 3.0]

The Argument for Phelps

Even before the Rio Games began, the “Phelps vs Bolt” argument was heating up. Neither athlete can be considered a flash in the pan, as both athletes have competed in multiple prior games: Phelps in four, Bolt in three. Both were shut out of the medals in their maiden Olympics, but then went on to medal multiple times in those subsequent. Phelps has scored 23 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze while Bolt has now 9 gold and no others.

Who is the better athlete? This often depends on whether the observer is a swimmer or a runner. We tend to give our own sport greater importance. An easy argument in favor of the Phelps is the sheer medal count. This is countered by the larger number of events available to an aquatic competitor but not to sprinters. There are a large number of distances, each done with a different stroke. It’s not unusual for swimmers to compete in more than one stroke and do well in each.

That aspect of the debate can be put to rest if we take one of Phelps’ events, namely the 200m medley, as a point of comparison to Bolt’s 200m sprint. Forget all the rest if you want. In the 200m, Phelps has won the gold in four consecutive Olympics, while Bolt has only three. Similarly, in the 4x100m relay races Phelps has a 4-3 edge. Phelps won three golds in a row in the 100m butterfly, matching Bolt’s 100m triple.

Another argument in favor of Phelps is the number of Olympics over which his victories have been spread. Phelps won gold in four games, Bolt in three. Longevity counts, especially in highly competitive and highly athletic events where youth generally has its way. Both men are now over 30, so both have put the run on Father Time compared to their more youthful competitors.

The Case for Bolt

So far, this looks like Phelps would have the edge even if there were fewer events in swimming. But others are not so sure that this is proof of clear-cut superiority. Bolt supporters are quick to point out that there are a lot more sprinters in the world than there are swimmers. They cite the greater accessibility of running to the people of many more countries over the world. Equipment needed is minimal. Swimming, by contrast, requires expensive pools which are not available in many Third World countries, so they are more likely to have runners than swimmers.

If that is true, that would make a sprint medal more difficult to earn. Intuitively, it would appear to be correct, but it is statistically very difficult to prove. So how else can we determine just how competitive is each sport compared to the other?

To answer that question, I will come back to the concept of athletic longevity that I mentioned earlier. Phelps has been to five Olympics, winning in four. This is extraordinary, but is it that unlikely? A previous swimming phenomenon, Mark Spitz, won 2 and 7 gold medals in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, respectively. He retired after Munich, but attempted a comeback for the 1992 games. While he did not make the Olympic team that year, his times were close to and sometimes faster than those he did 20 years previously. If he lived anywhere but the USA he might indeed have made that country’s Olympic team.

US swimmer Dara Torres is another example of this longevity. She competed in 1984, 1988, and 1992, retired, then came back eight years later for Sydney, then took another eight year layoff before the 2008 Games. She medalled in all of them. Could a sprinter do that? I don’t think so. Even getting to five Olympics would be nearly impossible, let alone medalling.

That brings forth the question: Is the sport of swimming relatively easier to medal in than those on the track? This brings us back to Bolt and sprinting. There it is rare to win in two Olympics, let alone three. You might hold your form for five years, and if you’re lucky you can get those five years to straddle two Olympics. But to hold on for eight years is a tall order. The field in sprinting is just too competitive for anyone to think of competing for four or five quadrennials. Only the greatest get to compete at three Games, and Bolt is one of them.

Advantage: Bolt

I think the final answer to this debate must revolve around how difficult it is to accomplish the feats in question, with longevity also a factor. While I have unlimited admiration for both, I believe Bolt takes the lead in this mythical contest. While both have performed unprecedented feats over long careers, I believe that prevailing three times in three events in the greater competitive environment in sprinting makes Usain Bolt the greatest Olympian ever. Sprints are simply tougher to win.

But I do not expect this debate to end. The greatness of both will ensure that. More importantly, in interviews both have left the door ever so slightly open to the idea of competing in yet another Olympics. After all, both have “retired” before. Who knows, in 2020 this debate may still be far from over.

More on relative athletic comparison:

Rich Froning Is Not the Fittest Man in History

The post The Greatest Olympian: Bolt or Phelps? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Among the Canadians Marie-Josée Beauchemin-Nadeau took 9th place in the women’s 69kg category with a 98kg snatch and a 130kg jerk. In similar fashion Pascal Plamondon did 155kg and 190kg to take the 13th in the men’s 94kg category. No great surprises there.

The story was similar for Great Britain. Young Rebekah Tiler lifted 101kg and 126kg to take 10th in the women’s 69kg category while in the men’s 94kg Sonny Webster hoisted 148kg and 185kg to finish 14th. About what could be expected.

The USA had four lifters, three of them women. Kendrick Ferris lifted 160kg and 197kg, which earned him 11th place in his third Olympics. With the women there were two 6th place finishers. Morgana King did and 83kg and 100kg in the 48kg category while Jenny Arthur managed 107kg and 135kg in the 75kg category. These placings were slightly better than most would’ve predicted.

The big surprise though came in the women’s 75kg+ category. I had mentioned that Sarah Robles and the others would have an easier time of it without the Russian Tatiana Kashirina, and that certainly proved to be true. I did not expect Robles to take a medal, but I did expect that she would lift well. It turns out that she did both of these, snatching 126kg and jerking 160kg to take the bronze medal. She had definitely been off form when I saw her at the Nationals in Salt Lake City in May, but on Sunday she was totally in control of her game. She was only 4kg and 5kg behind the leaders in the snatch, but fell behind in the clean and jerk. The Chinese and North Korean women out-distanced her by 17kg and 15kg so Robles had no realistic chance of making up that deficit. Therefore she placed as high as she could have hoped for in her second Olympics. A great day for American weightlifting.

If you want to someday compete in the Olympics it will be necessary to go into full-time training for almost any Olympic sport. [Photo courtesy of Hdyeah via Wikimedia Commons]

The Olympics Isn’t for Amateurs Anymore

As usual every four summers, I seem to run into a number of Olympic-related discussions. Everyone will marvel over the exploits of their favorite marquee athletes but invariably there is someone in the crowd who comes up with the now very hackneyed idea that “the Olympics should only be for amateurs”. This is usually voiced by someone with only a sketchy knowledge of the realities of modern-day sport. There are a number of reasons why this idea is no longer workable so I’m going to enumerate them here to assist those who are connected with high-level sport when they end up in one of these discussions.

One of the main reasons why that true amateurism is not going to make a comeback is the fact that the dividing line nowadays is a very fine one between amateur and professional. The armchair critic usually defines a pro athlete as one who is paid for their athletic endeavors. The examples given would be the professional hockey, soccer, and basketball players that now are allowed to compete in the Olympics, the men at least. They certainly are professionals because they are very highly paid and they are making a career from playing. Other careers are often sacrificed in the hopes that they will hit it big on the playing field and become an instant millionaire.

However that is not the only definition of a professional athlete nowadays. The definition today revolves not just around salary, but also around the amount of time and energy that must be devoted to one sporting endeavors. If you want to someday compete in the Olympics it will be necessary to go into full-time training for almost any Olympic sport. It is very difficult to hold down a substantial full-time job and to train twice a day and do justice to both endeavors. This used to be possible, but that was in a day when the competitive environment was much less intense than it is now. A weightlifter at Olympic level is usually looking at twice a day training for 5 to 6 days a week. Any who balk at this regimen need only be reminded that if they don’t want to train that hard their opponents in Europe or Asia certainly do. So if you want to stay in the game you have to find some way of paying the bills. This will often mean an uncertain combination of sponsorship money, possible grants, student loans, parental support, and perhaps a part-time and insubstantial job. This pretty well limits high-level sport to college age athletes or those to whom the opportunity costs of such participation are not yet onerous. Even if you can get some money, there is no temptation to make sport a paying career.

The training required is as difficult if not more so than those who aspire to fully professional sports. It’s important to remember that being an Olympic athlete is not something one does in their spare time. There are no weekend warriors now in Rio. This is not realized by the critics who seem to have this fantasy in their heads that there are a bunch of elite sportsmen somewhere who compete solely on their own resources. There are indeed lots of athletes like that; probably most of the people reading this piece would qualify. But none of those are ever going to be good enough to even think about Olympic competition. There is no gradual transition point between complete amateurism and professionalism as defined not by paydays but by number of workdays.

Even if you could somehow get such simon-pure athletes into the Olympics you then have to wonder who would really want to watch them. Even more important, who would want to pay for such a competition? The networks and sponsors are not going to lay out multimillions to watch even national-level competitors. The same critics who condemn the use of professionals in the Olympics are the same ones who never attend any event that is less than fully professional. Hockey fans love to watch the NHL but most of them could not tell you who their national junior or university champions were. Another example is the Universiade Games held every two years for postsecondary students. Competition here is near Olympic level, but most competitors will be near-amateurs. It is very close to the critics ideal, but those same critics are nowhere to be found in the audience.

Our Misguided Notions of Amatuerism

Lastly I will discuss the concept of amateurism itself. When Baron De Coubertin first conceived of the Olympics he envisioned them being performed by the sons (and not necessarily the daughters) of the well-to-do, the “gentleman” as it were. Professional athletes then invariably came from the “lower orders” of society. It would never do to have these two groups meet on the playing field so the concept of maintaining amateur status was very important. And it was maintained for many decades, but today the concept makes a mockery of modern society’s concept of egalitarianism. Thoughtful observers have since come up with another rationale for a more professional approach.

After years of being told how wonderful it is for athletes to be above any commercial motivations, people are now asking themselves another question: why is it so noble for athletes to perform for nothing when we do not ask this of artists, movie stars, singers, and other public performers. True, the latter are often called upon to perform gratis at benefits but still they are not expected to do so exclusively. And it needn’t stop there. Anytime anyone decries professionalism it might be useful to ask that same critic if he would be willing to write newspaper articles for nothing, to go to the office every day for nothing, to dig ditches for nothing, or whatever. Why does working for nothing ennoble athletes but not their audience members? That is a concept that most people, even the critics, can agree with.

As the Russians say (despite their current Olympic reputation):

“Be careful what you ask for. You just might get it.”

No one is going to pay you lifters much no matter how good you are, so get back to the gym.

More on the Olympic training:

There Is No Summer Vacation for Olympic Lifters

The post A Few Thoughts at Olympic Halftime appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I am a sucker for the Winter Olympics. I am an avid snowboarder myself, and I love to watch the ski and snowboard events. So now that the winter Olympics are over, what was the biggest thing I noticed at Sochi? I noticed many individuals not competing for their country of birth or even ethnic origin. Most of these athletes had only recently (within two to five years) received their citizenship in the country they represented. Some were loud about the reasons why they left their homes countries – reasons such as revenge, money, and a better chance for Olympic gold.

Viktor Ahn: Sochi 2014 Speed Skater

During the Olympics this story had the biggest impact on me as I, myself, am half Korean. Viktor Ahn was born in South Korea as Ahn Hyun-Soo. Ahn originally skated for South Korea in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, winning three gold medals for the country in short-track speed skating. Ahn became a hero in his country of birth.

As with any sport, injuries do happen, and Ahn suffered through various injuries that cost him his spot to compete for South Korea in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. His time in the limelight was over in South Korea and his stardom turned out to be short lived. Upset with his country, specifically the South Korean Short-Track Speed Skating Federation, but still wanting to compete, Ahn began to shop his services to other countries. That is when Russia entered the picture.

Prior to the Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia had never won a speed skating medal in the history of the games. Ahn was fully funded and housed to train year-around, then two years ago given full citizenship. Ahn Hyun-Soo changed his name to Viktor Ahn. Viktor meaning, “He who conquers.” He went on to win Russia their first medals in speed skating – specifically three gold medals and an Olympic record at the expense of South Korea. He shot to stardom in his new country of Russia, back on top as he had been in South Korea.

Vic Wild: Sochi 2014 Alpine Snowboarder

Vic Wild’s story differs, as he was not in search of revenge – but of love and funding. Wild was born in White Salmon, Washington, and just three years ago made Moscow, Russia his permanent home. Part of the reason he left for Russia was to marry his longtime girlfriend, Alena Zavarzina, bronze medalist in the parallel slalom (she is also an alpine snowboarder).

The second, and probably most important, reason Wild moved to Russia was his love of alpine snowboarding. Alpine snowboarding is not as popular in the United States, and snowboarders who do the halfpipe, slopestyle, freestyle, and snowboard cross get funding and spots in the winter X Games, whereas those in the alpine snowboarding events do not.

Wild was becoming frustrated trying to find spots with random teams at world cup events and trying to get by financially when the United States alpine snowboarding team dissolved completely. To give you perspective, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association had around 21.4 million dollars in funding in 2012, but only allocated $150,000 to the alpine snowboarding team. This is not get-rich money. This is money for basic needs for the sport, and snowboarding can get quite costly when you consider you have to buy lift tickets, equipment, winter gear, coaching, and other incidentals. If you divvy this money up between several people, it would be very difficult to get proper training.

Wild considered retiring from the sport after the team dissolved, but opportunity knocked in Russia when he married Alena Zavarzina. Russia fully funded Wild to train year-around, and paid for proper coaches and sports medicine physicians. He finally had the country and team that he needed – and couldn’t seem to find in the United States. His development in the sport skyrocketed. He went on to win two gold medals for Russia and helped put Russia in the lead over the United States in the medal count.

Is it Okay to Switch Citizenship Just for Olympic Gold?

These two stories are not two isolated incidents. This type of thing happened in many countries in many events – athletes changing citizenship to a different country for the sake of the sport and Olympic medals. Yes, people move all the time and change citizenship. But it begs the question for many when it comes to the Olympics. Is it okay for someone to leave their country for no other reason than to have a better chance at winning Olympic medals?

To me, it’s almost a back-alley deal when people move countries for the sake of their sport. And what if it continues and turns into something wide open like NFL draft picks? The Olympics are supposed to be about national pride and bringing countries together. For a nanosecond in time, there are no politics and this gives countries a chance to come together as one, pushing their country to reach that podium. When citizen scream out their country’s name in unison, they feel that pride. After the Olympics are over, things go back as they were, back to the politics and what isn’t going right in any given country.

When I watched Viktor Ahn win his gold, it felt weird for me. As someone who is half Korean and spent much of my life there, I felt it was a slap in the face to South Korea. They were the ones to originally train him and nurture him in the sport. His living conditions in South Korea were not bad, and there were no human rights violations, Ahn left South Korea just for the Olympics.

It’s a slippery slope getting citizenship just for the sake for the Olympics. If a particular athlete is not getting enough money here in the United States, it could be an easy option for that person to move to a different country and reach stardom. If this trend continues, then for me, it would seem that the Olympics loses its purpose.

What is your opinion? Do you think its okay to change citizenship for the Olympics? Do you encourage it? Post your thought to the comments below.

Photo 1 by Kremlin.ru [CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 2 by Kremlin.ru [CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 3 by The U.S. Army (Bronze Medals Uploaded by Flickrworker) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Speed skating requires so much more than just the ability to skate. As the name suggests, speed is the real key. But first, the sport requires a well-developed predominant muscle type in order to be fast and competitive, i.e. fast twitch muscle fibers. On top of that, skating takes a tremendous amount of lower body strength, core and back strength, ankle strength and flexibility, and balance (in more ways than one). So, first comes genetics and second comes training.

The Training

Just as in any sport, even if an athlete is blessed with the genetics, he or she must still be trained. The best in the sport are those who train the hardest and train consistently. They also have to skate fast – plain and simple. Most serious or competitive speed skaters skate fast in training, train in the weight room, and use track and plyometric work to enhance power, strength, and speed.

Contrary to what you might think while watching the Winter Olympics, much of speed skating training takes place off the ice and on dry land, in both gym and track settings. As I did my research, I noticed a lot of commonalities between track and speed skating training, but I also saw some subtle differences. The speed skating training involved a slightly different (and sport-specific) technical approach, but it still utilized the same means-to-an-end to develop optimal power, explosiveness, endurance, and flexibility. This is great news for those who might not have access to ice, a rink, or a skate training facility. It means you can train like a speed skater anywhere. And I mean anywhere. Tracks, hills, fields, trails, stairs, and just about anywhere else if you use some imagination.

Here are some great exercises to help you train like a speed skater. Please be smart, modify as needed, start slow, and most importantly, focus on technique and progression of movement.

Track and Plyometric Training

Plyometrics are important in increasing dynamic speed, power, and agility (not to mention ankle strength and flexibility). Some of my favorites here are much like the track drills I use with my own athletes and include low-walks, lunges, bounding work, stair work, skaters, single-leg or double-leg hops, jumps, drops, lateral and diagonal drills, and several others along all planes of motion. Jump rope work is also great for ankle strength, speed, and agility, as are ladder drills. So make good use of all of those no matter what your training regimen or sport might be.

Strength Training

Weight training for speed skaters is not all that different from what you see in other athlete strength programs. The key for skaters is to build up strong legs and core. They also put quite a bit of emphasis on balance. As for the legs, squats of several varieties are important, as are leg extensions and hamstring curls (and so much more). The upper body work is also important and typically includes a tremendous amount of midline work. It is typical to see these athletes utilize some basic strength programming including supersets and dropsets in different capacities and arrangements.

Speed Skating Specific Training

In a sport where the gap between a gold medal and no medal is an average of 1.3% difference in time and the difference between gold and silver is only 3/10 of a percent, you have to be good. Despite all the off-ice training, you need to be comfortable on the ice when you get back on it. To do this athletes simulate and build up the similarities that transfer over.

Here are three simulation exercises I found that just about anyone can do or try:

1. Dry-Land Skating – Specialty inline skates can be pretty pricey, so just pull those old rollerblades out of the garage and give this a shot. Little by little begin to work on the techniques of speed skating by getting comfortable on your dry-land skates first.

2. Slideboard – As so much of speed skating involves lateral movement, there really isn’t much out there on the market or in training exercises to simulate this more rare (and usually very underdeveloped) directional movement. The slideboard comes in handy in this capacity, and it also helps with aerobic work while engaging muscles not typically targeted or used by the average person.

3. Turn Cable – The speed skating turn cable is also another great way to work on lateral movement, technique, and to build strength through the legs and core especially. When done properly, the entire body is engaged and that includes the upper body, arms, and low back. For the longer track skater, repetitions of turn cables play a huge role in building lactic acid capacity. The biggest help here for the skater is of course to nail the turns but everyone can benefit greatly here.

The next Olympics is in four years, so if you want to have the power, speed, and legs of these amazing athletes, then you better get to it!

References:

1. “Thunder thighs made of pure muscle,” Fox Sports on MSN Canada, accessed Feb 15, 2014.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post How to Train Like an Olympic Speed Skater (Those Legs!) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The Life of an Olympian

The life leading up to becoming an Olympian is far from normal, requires incredible sacrifice, and can leave a huge hole after the experience is done. Russian skaters Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov (pictured to the right) skated their entire lives for their Olympic moment. They dedicated the last four years to this single performance. They have often been asked if they are dating, but even that had to be put on hold because it could be a distraction. Maxim moved away from home at a young age to live at the skating rink where he was training. He got one meal a day from the rink as his only meal.

Facing Olympic Defeat

And beyond that immense sacrifice, fourth place at the Olympics is almost viewed at as the first failure rather than an incredible feat. Shaun White (pictured to the right), the snowboarding legend, struggled with a bad day finishing out of the medals at the Sochi Olympics. He threw down a monster run during qualifying, scoring a 95.75, but was unable to repeat that performance during the finals. The criticism mounted, with it being called a “bum run” or a “sad saga,” amongst other names. The reality is performing a 1440 double flip while jumping twenty feet in the air off snow is just not that simple. Being able to land it once is almost a miracle, much less performing it regularly. It is disappointing that Shaun was unable to earn a third gold medal, but he is still an elite athletes and one of the best in the world. Every day can’t be your day, but rather than focusing on the negative we should still celebrate how amazing even his failures are.

How We Can Apply the Olympics to Our Own Training

We have become so far removed from the effort, dedication, and skills these athletes show that people feel free to criticize them. The reality is more people struggle to get off the couch than can run one mile, much less ski almost two miles downhill at 60mph with ninety-degree turns and football field-length jumps. Everyone who even makes an appearance at the Olympics should be celebrated and we should take note from the athletes who show up with no chances at winning the medal. Every year there are athletes from countries most people have never heard of who are going to finish way behind the winners – but they show up anyway. They show up to compete, to do their best, and to inspire the men and women of their country. These are the athletes I think should be celebrated the most.

These athletes are so positive, inspiring, dedicated, and incredible, yet get underplayed because they do not medal. We place so much emphasis on winning that everyone else gets shunned and athletes become national disappointments if they don’t measure up. The Olympics is about coming together as a world to celebrate our athletes and our shared values of honesty, integrity, and sportsmanship. We should be thankful we are able to come together as a world and take more away from this event than the gold medals. We should all be inspired by the very achievement of building the immense stadiums, the gathering of athletes from all over the world, and the amazing physical feats they accomplish.

The athletes who participate in the Olympics are so elite that you probably don’t know anyone who could even step into the arena with them. In watching the Olympics, we can be inspired by how hard these men and women work, and the sacrifices they made to get there. Chances are many of us give up way too early on our workouts. So perhaps the best lesson in watching the Olympics is that even if we won’t ever reach that level, we can each train harder and not make any more excuses.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Conversely a country like India, which makes up 17.5% of the world’s population with over 1.2 billion people, has never medaled in the Winter Olympics. You can hardly consider what we’re watching right now to be a true world competition. Indeed, it’s all a bit silly, and yet, at the same time it’s also fantastic. While the Olympics may be dominated by a handful of countries and they might also seem over the top and ridiculous, one thing is also certain – the Olympics captivate our attention. They do so in part because the Olympics teach us many lessons about sport and life.

Lesson #1: Pride (and Country) Matters

Most Olympians aren’t millionaires. Most don’t appear in Nike commercials. What Olympians do have is the satisfaction of representing their country on a world stage. In doing so, they have the honor (and responsibility) of competing for something greater than money or fame – pride and passion. Many professional athletes these days seem to be competing for their moment of glory on SportsCenter or their next big contract. With Olympic athletes, though, we still see them as competing for family, community, and country. The Olympics remind us that when we compete for something bigger than ourselves we find our true passion and exuberance.

Lesson #2: Success Means Never Giving Up

Watching skier Dominique Gisin of Switzerland (pictured) win the gold medal in the women’s downhill touched me, as she was truly overcome with joy and raw emotion after winning. Rightfully so. Gisin has endured nine (yes, nine) knee surgeries to finally prevail and win Olympic gold.

Upon winning, with tears streaming down her face, Gisin called her grandparents who have been instrumental in helping her through the tough times. Her genuine blissfulness in winning was the culmination of years of sweat, hard work, and a mantra of never giving up. Many would have given up after four or five surgeries, but even after nine Gisin kept competing. Olympians like Dominique Gisin remind us that real success, gold medal or not, means never giving up on your dream.

Lesson #3: Big Moments Matter

Nowhere in sport are the stakes higher than the Olympics. Imagine your career coming down to one moment every four years. It’s incomprehensible really. Seeing these athletes experience that moment resonates with all of us, because life itself is a collection of big moments. Someday we’ll all be faced with our own high stakes win-or-lose moment. The drama that unfolds on the Olympic field of competition reminds us what its like to face ourselves when everything is on the line. The Olympics exemplify that there are no do-overs in life – just doing our best and learning from our experience.

Lesson #4: We Compete for What We Love

As a wonderful demonstration of this truism, look no further than Olympic men’s Mogul champion, Canadian Alex Bilodeau. Alex’s brother Frederic has cerebral palsy and after winning the gold medal, Bilodeau dedicated it to his brother. In speaking about his brother, he stated, “Whatever I do in life, my brother is my real inspiration. Just like you and I, he has dreams and most of them are not realizable to him. But he never complains that it’s not realistic to him. Every day I feel lucky to be a normal person who has that chance to go after his dream. He does not have that chance. With his motivation, he would be four-time Olympic champion. Every step is so hard for him in life and I have an easy path and I need to go after and do the best I can just out of respect to him. He lives his dreams through me…for me, it’s the least I can do. He is my everyday inspiration.” This quotation sums up why the Olympics are great. You compete for pride and country, but mostly you compete for what you love.

Lesson #5: Being a Champion Means Grace in Both Victory and Defeat

Part of being an athlete is to demonstrate sportsmanship. While we love to celebrate the success stories, most Olympians aren’t medalists, and many are simply thrilled to have the opportunity to represent their country and compete. On the other hand, some athletes are expected to win and anything less than a victory is considered a failure. While we laud the Dominique Gisins of the world who persevere, some of our greatest teachers and heroes are those who demonstrate true grace in defeat.

Like many, I was rooting hard for Shaun White to become the first American to win the same event in three straight Winter Olympic Games. Anything short of the podium was to be considered failure for the heavily favored White. Yet for White, it wasn’t his day and instead the torch was passed to a new gold medalist. In speaking of the new Olympic champion, Iouri Podladtchikov, White said, “He deserves a big win like this. He’s been pushing it hard and it’s nice to see someone that’s out there and really stepping it up and doing new tricks and pushing the envelope of what’s possible in the half-pipe.” White continued discussing his own performance and stated, “I could have played it safe and tried to get a decent score but I wanted to win. I came here on a mission. It just wasn’t my night.”

The conditions in the half pipe were terrible on the night White competed. Previous to the competition, White and the other competitors had been critical of the half pipe. But when it came down to it, the conditions were terrible for all of the riders, not just Shaun White. Instead of making excuses, White offered congratulations for the new champion. He tried his best and gave his all, and lost gracefully.

That is one of the best lessons the Olympics can teach us. Grace in either victory or defeat matters more than the result itself. Olympians like Shaun White, Alex Bilodeau, and Dominique Gisin demonstrate that to be a champion is to reflect gratitude, joy, and grace no matter the outcome. That is the real spirit of the Olympics and what we can all learn from the games.

References:

1. Reuters. “Disabled brother inspires Alex Bilodeau’s gold medal run.” NBC Olympics. Accessed 12/02/2014.

Photo 1 by By unkown [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Photos 2 & 3 courtesy of Shutterstock.

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I stumbled upon the term technology doping while reading up on the new tech being used in this year’s Winter Olympics. Technology doping is defined as “the practice of gaining a competitive advantage using sports equipment,” and is under the jurisdiction of the governing authority of each sport. It’s also called sports engineering, which sounds much more forgiving.

One of the most famous cases of technology doping was the LZR swimsuit introduced in the 2008 Olympics. This suit enhanced swimmer performance so well that it was banned by FINA (the governing body) after the Olympics. For perspective, swimmers wearing this suit made 23 out of the 25 world records that were achieved at the 2008 Olympics. The suit allowed for better oxygen flow to muscles, but also trapped air to add buoyancy. Quite the feat of engineering by Speedo, but a little too much according to the governing body. Almost every swimmer at the Olympics that year had this suit.

Some technologies are beneficial across the board. For example, the new bobsleigh timing unit made by Omega is capable of transmitting speed, acceleration, G-force, and vertical track positioning data. Speedskater times are measured precisely using light beams on the finish line, and cross country skiers are tracked by GPS for real time positioning. All these pieces of technology assist in providing more accurate scores and better data. They’re also supported by a surprising amount of infrastructure, especially looking at the state of the Olympic Village and press living quarters. Over 400 servers and a large network across eleven venues at the Black Sea resort support the scorekeeping, network, and broadcast services, which are all maintained by a European technology company called Atos.

But then there is the kind of technology that only money and endorsement can buy. For example, several countries have paid top dollar for uniforms and equipment made by high-tech companies. Here are just a few examples:

• The American, Canadian, and Russian freestyle ski teams all had their uniforms (see photo on the right) made by Columbia Sportswear Company. Columbia employed not only a new (and very cool) zipper design to cut down on weight, but also a snow camouflage pattern that helps mask body movement. Did I mention body movement is a key component for judging mogul skiers?

• The American speed skaters are wearing uniforms made by a partnership between Lockheed Martin, an aerospace company, and Under Armour. The suit uses several tested methods of dealing with wind resistance to hopefully shave seconds off of the time of a skater. Canada is in the arms (legs?) race as well with a suit designed by APOGEE and wind tunnel tested by engineers at the Canadian National Research Council.

• And finally, the United States has enlisted BMW to redevelop all of their sliding equipment. The bobsled and skeleton event equipment is newly redesigned and will have that familiar badge we all know. It’s also made entirely of carbon fiber. And it is, I must say, rather slick looking.

None of these technologies have been challenged as of yet, but if these countries bring home the gold, will there be an outcry? And these are just a few examples of the new products being implemented in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Some countries are keeping entirely hush-hush about these technological advances, while others like the United States, who have sponsor deals and advertising to do, literally wear them on their sleeves.

Will these new tech tools make a difference? Might they be so extreme that they’re banned in the future? Share your thoughts on technology doping below!

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 courtesy of Altos Technologies.

The post Technology Doping in the Olympics: Cheating or Progress? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Holley’s Athlete Journal 17:

This week I am enjoying being with my friends in Colorado and attempting to not sabotage my healthy diet with too many Thanksgiving helpings. I am trying to keep my mind on training through the holiday instead of indulging.

Currently my training is about recovering from getting the metal bar out of my wrist– I am starting to look normal again post wrist surgery. I only have two sets of scars that look something like vampire bites. It’s hard to see my wrist looking normal and remember that it’s simply not back to full strength. I am still doing one handed snatches, but previously the metal bar was holding me back from flexing. Now I have to try really hard to only flex one side of my body as to not injure the healing wrist. I have to constantly work through attempting to get stronger while managing special exercises for my wrist rehab. On top of my normal lifting, I am trying to incorporate more cardio. A lot of my cardio has some sort of weight resistance built in. The hardest thing about recovery is watching other people do the thing you love. Everyday I go into the gym wanting so much just to be able to lift but I can’t. I’m excited to see the day when I can two-handed snatch like a normal weightlifter.

In the meantime here’s a video of my one-armed snatch:

Below is a sample workout from this week. I hope to keep adding reps and weight in the coming days:

• One handed snatches up to 50kg
• One handed pulls up to 130kg
• Back squat with safety bar up to 175kg set of 2
• Dumbbell presses with 40lbs 6 sets of 6

Cardio workout:

3 rounds of 4 min. 20secs on 10secs off:

• Round 1 KB swings
• Round 2 running stairs
• Round 3 battling ropes

Then 15 min cool down on elliptical

The post Athlete Journal: Holley Mangold, Entry 17 – One-Armed Snatch Practice appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Human growth hormone (HGH) is produced by the pituitary gland and stimulates growth in children and teens. Synthetic HGH is a popular performance-enhancing drug used purportedly to build muscle and improve athletic performance. HGH must be prescribed by a physician, but is not FDA approved for the performance-enhancing use.

For the past ten years, a group at the University of Southampton, entitled GH-2004, has been developing a test for HGH abuse in sport. It has been funded by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), and supported by the United Kingdom Anti-Doping.

Sorry, bit I have to get technical here: the test is based on the measurement of two proteins in the blood. These two proteins act as markers of growth hormone use and increase the response to growth hormone:

1. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1)
2. The amino terminal pro-peptide of type III collagen.

The good news is this test was used for the first time at the anti-doping laboratory for the 2012 London Paralympic Games. The International Paralympic Committee found two powerlifters tested positive for HGH. They received a two year suspension for violating the Anti-Doping Rule. This new test was able to detect the misuse of human growth hormone over a number of weeks, as compared to prior tests that only detected misuse over a shorter time period.

Professor David Cowan, head of the Drug Control Centre at King’s College London and Director of the anti-doping laboratory for the Games, had this say:

These findings prove that the years of research have been worthwhile. In partnership with the University of Southampton and Kent University, this has been one of the most complex scientific projects the Drug Control Centre at King’s has been involved in. To be able to carry out this test at this year’s Games is a huge achievement. It represents a big step forward in staying at the forefront of anti-doping science, to help deter drug misuse in sport.

In addition, WADA President John Fahey praised the test by saying:

The new test – which has been approved by WADA – was first introduced prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games, and we are confident that it will prove a significant tool in the fight against doping in sport. It will complement the test that has been in use since the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the major difference being that the anti-doping community now has a much longer detection window to work with.

Could this be the breakthrough to eliminate one hundred percent of the HGH users? If so, it will knock out one substance. But there are yet other abused performance-enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids, erythropoietin (EPO), chorionic gonadotropin (CG), luteinizing hormone (LH), insulin, corticotrophins, beta2-agonists, hormone and metabolic modulators, and diuretics and other masking agents that need to be eradicated.

I realize the sordid chemists are one step ahead of the virtuous testers, but this HGH test is at least a step forward.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Staying Ahead of the Cheaters: A New Test for Human Growth Hormone appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The Paralympics are actually the second largest sporting event in the world, following only the Olympics. The first incarnation of the Paralympics was held in 1948 and ran concurrently with the London Olympics. The event was called the International Wheelchair Games, and was developed by a doctor living in England named Dr. Ludwig Guttman. Dr. Guttman rehabilitated disabled veterans, and he believed sports therapy enhanced the quality of life for people who were wounded during World War II.

The first official Paralympic Games were held in Rome, Italy, in 1960 and involved 400 athletes from 23 countries. Originally, only wheelchair athletes were invited to compete. Since that time, the Paralympic Games have grown dramatically. The present-day Paralympic Games include five major classifications of athletes: those with visual impairments, those with physical disabilities, amputee athletes, people with cerebral palsy, people with spinal cord injuries, and “Les Autres,” which literally means “the others” and includes athletes with a physical disability not included in the categories mentioned above, muscular dystrophy as an example.

Within the six disability categories the athletes still need to be divided according to their level of impairment. The classification systems differ from sport to sport, and are intended to open up sports to as many athletes as possible, who can participate in fair competition against athletes with similar levels of ability. And because athletes are competitive by nature, there is plenty of controversy within this classification system.

Though the Paralympics are in their infancy stage as compared to the Olympics, the popularity of the event is still slow going outside of those who are already most familiar with disabled athletes. The misconceptions of the Paralympics have not helped its popularly. Many people confuse the Paralympics with the Special Olympics. Though the Special Olympics are a great cause, there is a big difference between the two. Both events are for the disabled, but the Special Olympics emphasize participation and personal achievement no matter the ability. “The Paralympics [however] are about elite performance sport, where athletes go through a stringent qualification process so that the best, or highest qualified based on performance, can compete at the Games.”¹ The Paralympics are as intense as any elite sporting event where hard-training athletes fight for gold, silver, and bronze.

It might also be commonly believed that “para” of the word Paralympics somehow means disabled when in fact it stands for “parallel,” as in the event runs parallel to the Olympics. This was the original intent of Dr. Guttman. But it wasn’t until the 1988 Seoul Olympics that the Paralympics were held directly after the Olympics in the host city using the same facilities. There wasn’t even a formal agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) until 2001. The first Winter Paralympics were not held until 1972 and it wasn’t until 1992 that they started using the same facilities as the Winter Olympics.

What might stall the popularity of the Paralympics most – and what is least talked about – is possibly the unease of the able-bodied with the disabled. What is politically correct to say or think? What is the best way to cheer on or encourage? Is encouragement by the able-bodied condescending to a disabled elite athlete? Every disabled person is as different as every able-bodied person so these answers vary. I personally can only cheer exactly how I cheered every athlete in the Olympics. Many disabled have taken an aversion to the Paralympic media coverage, mainly in the UK, because it is doused with a patronizing “look what they can do!” tone. There are also suggestions that if any disabled person just put their minds to it, they too could excel at sports. That’s about as true as if I just put my mind to it, I could be Misty May Treanor. It is insulting and devalues the talent and training of a top athlete.

After watching sparse Paralympic coverage online, it’s hard to even categorize the events as disabled. Kari Miller, the libero of the U.S. seated volleyball team and two-time silver medalist puts it best. “I don’t play a disabled sport,” Miller says. “I play an adaptive sport. It may be difficult for me to play a standing sport, but we adapted it so that you have the same level of difficulty that I will, sitting down. It’s not easier. They just made it able for me to play it – so it’s adapted for every player to have a good time.”² Miller, a double amputee, was on active duty in the Army when while visiting her family for Christmas in 1999, she was hit by a drunk driver causing the loss of her legs.

However slow, the popularity of the Paralympics is on the rise. In 2012, there were over four thousand athletes representing one hundred fifty nations. Endorsements are starting to trickle in for the star athletes. One upswing in popularity comes from the expanding coverage of the increased number of veterans injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who now compete in the Paralympic games. Some veterans are excelling like Navy Lt. Brad Snyder who exactly one year ago lost his sight when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) while on military duty in Afghanistan. As a Navy diver, he was already a proficient swimmer. As a blind Paralympian swimmer, he is now a two-time gold medalist.

The coverage of the Paralympics was nearly nonexistent in the U.S., which is a shame. The opening ceremonies alone were brilliant. Stephen Hawking was an opening orator and his calming, electronic voice questioned our perceptions of the universe, questioned our perceptions of the abilities of those who live within our universe. “If we are just a set of rules and equations, what is it that breathes fire into the equation?” The Paralympics highlights the diversity of sources from which this fire comes.

Are the athletes in this amazing video less-than? I don’t see it. Their drive, determination, even the notion to fight the odds resonates as a universal trait of any elite athlete, and nothing less than that.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post The Paralympic Games: Changing Perceptions, Popularity Still Challenged appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Welcome to the Athlete Journal of Olympic weightlifter Holley Mangold. Holley is part of Team USA headed to London this summer. Follow her journey here as she trains for the 2012 Olympics! Holley’s journal will be posted every Friday.

You can catch up by reading her previous journal entries!

Holley’s Athlete Journal 15:

London 2012 was awesome. The city was so caught up in the Olympic spirit that it just made it even more fun. I loved seeing the athletes from all around the world in the Olympic Village. Most of them were in niche sports, like mine, which made them really different. Each athlete seemed to have different builds – from the super tall, thin type to the short, muscular gymnasts, and everything in between. There were throwers and water polo players that didn’t fit the stereotypical norm for an Olympic athlete, but amazing all in their own right. It just really showed my message that athletes come in all shapes and sizes!

The Olympic experience has been more than amazing – it was surreal. I can’t believe that it’s over already. Leading up to the games I trained as hard as I could, followed a strict diet, and tried to mentally prepare for the biggest meet of my life in front of the most spectators ever! Its crazy how much of this sport is mental and I had to make sure that both the mental and physical were ready.

Unfortunately, I hurt my wrist really badly training just a few days before leaving for London. It was awful physically, of course, but it also mentally challenged me. From the moment I arrived in the Olympic Village right up until I competed, I worked with the physical therapy team trying to do everything I could to make my wrist normal again. The days leading up to the meet became more and more stressful worrying about exactly how it would hold up. We ended up taping it and shooting it with cortisone. The pain was ridiculous, but I’m very happy that I was able to total (complete both lifts). That was most important to me – to total despite torn ligaments in my wrist.

Of course, I didn’t do my best numbers, but at the point I was at, I’m still satisfied that my wrist held on. It would have been wonderful to put up bigger numbers and push myself to PRs, but it just wasn’t in the cards. It makes me even more excited to train hard the next four years and make the 2016 Olympics be my Olympics to medal. I know that with the amount I’ve progressed these past four years, the next four years can be even more amazing.

I just want to also say this time in my life wouldn’t be nearly as cool without all of the support I have gotten from family, friends, and random people who share their stories with me. It’s a great feeling to put so much into a sport I love and get such positive feedback. Hopefully this experience helps others to work towards their individual goals, whether it be in sports or in life in general, knowing that failure is probably going to happen at times, but success won’t happen either without trying!

The post Athlete Journal: Holley Mangold, Entry 15 – My Olympic Games Experience appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

On the wrestling mat, 74kg men’s freestyle wrestler Jordan Burroughs defeated reigning world champion Denis Tsargush of Russia by a score of 3-1 to advance to the finals. Burroughs went on to defeat Iran’s Saderg Goudarzi 3-0 to earn the gold medal. Burroughs is the only American to win the gold in any wrestling event at the London games. Women’s wrestler Clarissa Chun won the bronze on Wednesday in the 48 kg weight class in freestyle wrestling.

The U.S. crushed the women’s 4×100 record on Friday to win its first Olympic gold medal in the women’s 4×100 meter relay since 1996. Their final time (40.82 seconds) cut more than a half-second off the old record of 41.37 seconds run by East Germany in 1985. Jamaica earned the silver with a time of 41.41 seconds, while the bronze went to the Ukraine who finished in 42.04 seconds.

Spain punched their ticket to the men’s basketball finals, defeating Russia 67-59 in the semifinals on Friday. Spain awaits the winner of today’s showdown between the United States and Argentina. The U.S. recently defeated Argentina 126-97 in the preliminary round, but the memory of the loss to them in Athens is still fresh in the back of their minds.

The United States is still atop the leaderboard in both overall medals and gold medals, with 92 and 41 respectively. China is next with 81 overall medals, 37 being gold.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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