If you want to become an Olympic athlete, you will have to do it the right way. The path of the Olympic athlete is steep, long and arduous, but if you make it you will have nothing to regret. If you are ready to engage in sports for years, you have the perfect predisposition to become the next Olympian. If you are already dreaming of the medal what are you waiting for? Let's go!
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Part One: Fundamentals
Step 1. Estimate your fitness
It's easy to watch Olympians on TV (especially when it comes to sports like curling. A ridiculous but fascinating sport) and think, "I could do it too!". Well, if you're reading this with a packet of potato chips on your lap and two liters of coke on your desk, maybe you need to think again. These are serious things. There are people who dedicate their entire lives to achieving this goal. You mean?
They say that every sport requires a particular physical form. If it takes you 4 minutes to swim 400 meters, don't worry. Millions of other things are needed to be qualified. There must be a reason
Step 2. Choose the sport that's right for you
Of course, you probably want to choose the sport you have been practicing for a while. The story of the ten years and 10,000 hours is not 100% true, but it is not completely false either. Athletes usually take 4 to 8 years of training before trying to participate in the Olympics, so choose something familiar.
- It usually starts very young. But this is not always the case, those who start young often reach their peak too early. If the sport you choose has no age limit, this need not worry you. Hey, Oscar Swahn (target practice) took part when he was 72!
- I'm sorry to have to spoil your dreams like this, but know that there are limits that automatically make you unsuitable. If you are not at least 1.80 tall you cannot do women's gymnastics, for example. If you are visually impaired, you will probably be banned from competing in archery. Nothing strange, right?
- The other thing you need to take into consideration is the popularity of the sport you choose. If you are a boy, you only have a 1 in 45, 487 chance of being able to play basketball. If you choose to be a jockey, you have one in 67. For women, the same rule applies to men, in basketball, but if you choose handball you could have a one in 40 chance.
Step 3. Start exercising every day
Everyday. Twice daily. Even if you don't "train", do something related to improve your career. You can rest (it's part of training, rest), you can work on flexibility and strength (instead of cardiovascular adaptations, for example), experiment with nutrition, etc. There is always something to do!
- Lift weights, for example. You can't lift weights for 10 hours a day (it would take you to the nearest hospital, not the Olympics). But you can lift weights for, say, two hours a day, and spend the remaining 8 resting actively - it's definitely a full-time job.
- Be aware. Do you know that saying that "practice makes perfect"? That's not true, they were wrong. Practice gets you used to it. If you close your brain and just train, you will not learn anything from the rhythm to which you put your body. You must always be aware of your fitness, your habits and how to improve (especially how much you need). Part of this work is up to the coach, but it must also come from you. About this …
Step 4. Find a coach
If you're good at painting but don't intend to study painting, you can. It may be that by doing it for the rest of your life, you become good at it. But you will never know how to experiment. You will not know any particular techniques. You will not know if you are doing something wrong and if you are doing well. You may get bored and let go of the brush to go watch television. Do you see where we have come?
You must necessarily find someone to train. Even if you are the best athlete in Timbuktu, no one will ever know if you don't get a coach and get in the loop. The coach will motivate you, criticize you (necessary) and teach you, take you to competitions and act as an agent
Step 5. Keep working
No, really. Continues. Except if it makes you unhappy. But then look for another one. This history of the Olympics has an “exaggeratedly high” cost, as some Milanese entrepreneurs would say. You have to pay for the coach, the equipment and all the trips, and this is just the beginning! In the United States, it has become normal for the parents of Olympic promises to go bankrupt, so normal that they are thinking of a social assistance program. Make sure it rains.
- If you can, look for a job that will help you with your workouts. You can work out in a gym, or in a swimming pool. If you can, train yourself! This way the work will not be so heavy. Make sure it is very flexible, you may need to be away for a long time.
- For the record, being an Olympic athlete, even when you make it, is not financially rewarding. Serie A footballers, even those on the bench, can double your wallet. Many start out working (military careers, training, even as waiters), and once the Olympics are over they go back to their usual job. If you want to become an Olympic champion, don't do it for the money.
Step 6. Follow a dream
Do you know what they say to those who want to be an actor? "You can't have a plan B." There are things that require such dedication that everything else is excluded. Being an Olympic athlete is one of them. You have to want it so much that you have to transpire it. You have to dream about it all the time! Not a Sunday afternoon hobby.
It is the only thing that has to move you. There will be days when you train so hard that you will throw up (and you probably will) and days when you don't want to move a muscle, but you will have to get up and do it anyway. Without the dream, you give up. And many do
Method 2 of 3: Part Two: When the Going Gets Tough
Step 1. Take part in competitions
It's okay to have a coach, train every day and take it seriously, but you'll also have to test your skills. For many sports, this is the only way to climb the rankings and be noticed (many Olympic sports have no "auditions"). Start locally, move on to regional competitions and join national teams!
The more you do something, the simpler it will become. Imagine what would happen if your first competition happened at the Olympics! You would probably hit it off as soon as you hear the opening music of the games. Collect packaged competitions, even if they are very small in caliber, in this way you will prepare yourself psychologically
Step 2. Monitor your life 24/7
You don't have to train a few hours a day, you have to train 24/7. Whatever you do, it determines your progress, your performance and your success. It takes diligence, perseverance, patience, sanity and discipline. Here because:
- Nutrition. Whatever you eat affects your body. If you fill up on carbohydrates when it is not appropriate, you will send training to that country. Too much caffeine and bam! A sleepless night. If something is stopping you from trying your hand at 110%, take it out!
- The sleep. Many Olympians sleep at least 8 hours a day.. It would be impossible to train the body without proper rest.
- Your lifestyle. If you're draining a 20-pack of Moretti while taking a hit from the bong, this lens isn't for you. Forget it.
Step 3. Get Funded:
If you have been competing for a while, you will surely get noticed. If that happens, you may receive a nice stack for your endeavors. Just a little pile. Obviously this figure varies from country to country, but usually the higher you go the more you earn. Funding comes in the form of sponsors or public grants.
Research the grants awarded by the ministry for regional affairs, tourism and sport. Try to join teams that are subsidized by the municipality or the region
Step 4. Set goals
Set concrete, achievable, short-term or long-term goals. You have to work on something more than "be awesome" or "train every day". There are some records that deserve to be broken. Competitions that need to be quantified. Set your goals month by month. Year by year. Your efforts will be more focused.
The thing that makes it easier for you is that all your efforts are quantifiable. Speed, strength, power, endurance, everything is quantifiable. Write down your results and knowing where you started from, you will be more encouraged to continue this path until you reach the goal
Step 5. Evaluate yourself realistically
Many athletes are good, and there are millions of them here on Earth. To know if you are made for the Olympics, evaluate yourself in a realistic way. How do you compare? How long does it take you to get to confront each other? The game is worth the candle? How is your progress? What does the coach think?
It is important to periodically self-assess. Sure, it takes away a lot of the fun, but that's what happens when you take something seriously. You need to know what role you play in a particular place and time. Take the criticisms leveled at you and use them to improve. All of which is to say that you have to have your head on your shoulders. You need to be prepared both physically and mentally
Step 6. Forget about your social life
The Olympics are not always around the corner. There are days when training can steal most of your day and days, however, when the Olympics are upon us, in which you will have to dedicate "your whole life". Say goodbye to your friends now (probably your only friends are the coach and teammates, so never mind). Forget the Saturday night parties. Forget the lazy Sunday morning hangover. You have work to do.
It will not be easy at all. There will be days when you think it's not worth it. In those days you will have to forcefully take the corpus callosum and force it to submit to your will. You didn't go through all this effort for nothing. You can always go back to watching bad movies with friends and cheesy wine cartons later
Step 7. Learn to suffer
You don't have to love pain, but you have to learn about it, endure it, and sometimes desire it. You will have to throw your muscles into the frozen water, sweat to exhaustion and run until you throw up. You almost have to want it. Pain is constant company. There will be days when you won't be able to lift your arms. Then it will disappear, but next time you will experience less, it's not that bad.
You don't mess with injuries. If you get hurt you risk wasting years. Sometimes a little pain is enough to prevent a lot of it. Do things gradually, don't get hurt to the point that you can't go back. Know the limits of your body and wait patiently. Eye
Method 3 of 3: Part Three: Win the Medal
Step 1. Take part in national competitions
For some, national competitions are the means to continue their career. You can get noticed by some talent scouts to enter the Olympics and settle down for the next few years. As soon as you get to the national competitions, you either climb higher, or come home.
It doesn't necessarily work that way for all sports, of course. In some sports you have to do some technical tests, others have real selections. Just being part of a national team does not guarantee your entry into the Olympics, but it helps
Step 2. Qualify for the Olympic selections and pass them
While not all sports are created equal, you may have to pass Olympic selections. And you can't just give your best, you have to outdo all the other participants. When you have passed them all, you will be officially admitted to the Olympics! WOW, you are going strong!
Okay, that's not necessarily true. Take boxing, for example. Even if you pass the selections, it is not certain that you will enter national competitions by right (the fault of the new regulation, imagine how many people it has made happy). On the other hand, you can console yourself by thinking about the fact that you are getting very close
Step 3. Get used to travel
You may have to travel for a long time between competitions, fields and sports centers. Not only is it quite expensive, but it can also be tiring. It is difficult to carry on a relationship and it sucks to carry your life around in your suitcase. Hey, don't get mad, you'll see a lot of things!
There are several Olympic gyms in Italy, but you may have to travel outside the country. Sometimes Olympic athletes visit the gyms of their foreign opponents to get an idea of what is happening on the international field
Step 4. Rest
No, I'm not kidding. Many Olympic athletes take it a little more comfortable as the Olympics approach. "A little more comfortable" from the perspective of an international champion, but always a little more comfortable. They do it to avoid getting hurt, to reduce the chances of getting too tired before competitions. Take it easy. The hard part is coming. You deserve some calm before the storm.
Step 5. View
Visualization is an integral part of an Olympic athlete's training process. Visualize each step and the result you want to achieve. View every second of every event and competition, every inch of your body and every smile you give to the cameras. Visualizing all of this can help you relax. Don't panic halfway!
Any serious athlete knows a way to relax. You can do meditation, yoga, you can also play the guitar and sing the hymn aloud, if needed. Anything is fine, as long as you clear your mind. You know what I mean
Step 6. Put your heart into it
Yes, it's a bit mushy, but it has to be said. Even the most talented people fail if they don't put their heart into it. A decent athlete who wants to win at all costs is 1000 meters ahead of one who would like to be somewhere else. If you put your heart into it, it will make a difference.
Okay, if you want scientific proof, here it is: a British study recently proved that it is not innate talent that leads to success, but “A variety of experiences, preferences, opportunities, habits, training and practice”. If you don't believe in sweetness, at least believe in science. Even if you weren't born a champion, you can become one
Advice
- You will need a lot of money for workouts and equipment
- Support from friends and family helps.
- It is important to have determination. You will need it more than anything else.
- Never give up! Motivate yourself. You never know what's going to happen.
- Always give your best.
Warnings
- Mental damage could occur if you fail the training. There is nothing worse than training for 20 years, only to not be accepted or to lose the use of the limbs.
- Injuries are a constant danger. Don't train more than your body allows. Twists, ligament ruptures, dislocations, fractures, brain damage and the list goes on. Don't let anyone tell you that you can do more than you can really do, unless you run out of steam;).
