2024-07-12 12:30:18
1. How can a top athlete maintain their physical condition during confinement?
Cardio exercises, a healthy diet, good quality sleep and strengthening muscle mass allow high-level athletes to maintain their performance during confinement.
The professional athlete, who seeks to achieve remarkable performances in competitions where the level of competitiveness is high, such as the Olympic Games and the World Championships, is generally accompanied by a staff composed in particular of a sports doctor, a nutritionist, a masseur and a mental coach.
2. What factors influence the performance of a top athlete?
The athlete’s performance depends on several factors, mainly regular and intense training several times a day, appropriate and balanced nutrition. Climatic conditions (heat, humidity, altitude variations compared to sea level) can also have physiological effects on the athlete’s performance.
During this period of confinement, the training of athletes has lost its intensity and regularity, which results in a decrease in the muscle mass of athletes and an increase in fat mass often at the abdominal level. Thus in this case, the proportion of calories ingested through nutrition exceeds the level of physical exercise carried out by the athlete at home.
Confinement can also cause eating disorders in athletes who treat themselves to snacks between main meals, thus causing an imbalance in the diet outlined by their nutritionist. These snacks often contain sugars, scientifically called “empty calories”.
3. What measures should be taken before training and competition resume?
Staff must accompany athletes during this period of confinement, supervise their training and constantly monitor their weight. It is imperative to measure the resting heart rate of athletes. The lower the resting heart rate, the better physical condition the athlete has.
After the confinement period, athletes must undergo tests before starting training in a progressive manner to avoid the risk of injuries (muscle tears, back pain, etc.) and measure the physical level which will depend on the exercises performed, the diet and the quality of sleep of each athlete.
In light of these tests and observations, a specific training program is drawn up for each athlete in order to regain their highest physical level in preparation for upcoming continental and world competitions.
2024-07-12 12:30:18