It’s not much of a stretch to say that elite athletes are some of the world’s fittest people. It makes perfect sense then to “mine” them for fitness-related advice, which you can then incorporate in your daily routine. Train with weights – Usain Bolt
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Usain Bolt needs no introduction. Now moonlighting as a soccer player, Bolt is arguably the most accomplished Caribbean athlete ever, with nine Olympic medals on his résumé. One of the keys to his success, as he outlined to GQ is lifting weights. He does, however, quantify his weightlifting sessions, pointing out that he just goes “heavy enough to develop the muscles.” Unless you plan on following in the footsteps of the Curaçaoan bodybuilder Roelly Winklaar, “heavy enough” is likely good enough.
Have fun! – Sanya Richards-Ross
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Like Bolt, Sanya Richards-Ross is an accomplished sprinter, having won multiple medals in the Olympics and World Championships. She trains religiously, but she’s not afraid to mix things up and have fun. In a Yahoo! Lifestyle article on fitness, Richards-Ross encourages everyone to “keep trying different things until you find something that you really like.” That way training won’t feel like a tedious job. She also emphasizes that there are numerous options, including yoga, Zumba, biking, climbing and more. So, in the words of Richards-Ross, “Try something and if you don’t like it, try something else.” Sleep! – Al Horford
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Al Horford is the starting center of the Boston Celtics and is one of the best big men in the National Basketball Association. He is a stickler for training and it shows in his impressive build and proficient game. But something Horford does beyond training is equally important: he gets seven to nine hours of sleep every night. The best way to highlight the importance of sleep is to discuss the effects of shut-eye deficiency, as we did in our ‘5 Ways Lack of Sleep Affects the Body’ article. Lack of sleep will wreck your concentration, make you irritable, cause a hormonal imbalance that will leave you feeling hungrier and increase your risk of a heart attack.
Train regularly – Raheem Sterling
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Proof that big things can come in small packages, the 5’7 Raheem Sterling is one of soccer’s best young stars, blessed with a dizzying combination of speed and agility. Sterling was fittingly described by Ladbrokes as a wing wizard for Premier League club Manchester City. The fact that the 23-year-old Jamaica native is excelling on the pitch is also a testament to his hard work; Sterling told soccer site FourFourTwo that he goes to the gym three to four times a week on top of City’s almost-daily training sessions. Fitness, as Sterling shows, is a full-time dedication.
Find time to recover – Stuart Broad
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By all accounts, Stuart Broad is one of the finest and fittest cricketers on the planet. One thing that lets him stay in tip-top shape is recovery. Broad once explained to The Telegraph that “recovery is the biggest thing we focus on.” To this end, he makes it a point to spend time in the pool, jogging, stretching and swimming. Doing so helps reduce inflammation and enhance recovery, thereby allowing him to continue training regularly. You should also give your body a chance to recover and a dip in the pool is certainly a good option.