Every era has had its share of champions; athletes who have exceeded the achievements of those who have come before them. People like to make comparisons about athletes between eras but there are lots of reasons why those comparisons are almost impossible to substantiate.
The level of professionalism in the modern era is one; the surfaces that many sports are played on now aid performance in the same way as the equipment that athletes and sports people use to perform add to their already significant talent.
But more than anything, the sophisticated combination of science, nutrition and sports supplements available to today’s athletes, means their achievements are incomparable to any other time in history.
If athletes from the past had at their disposal all of the benefits that modern athletes have, then maybe comparisons between eras could be possible.
If you aspire to being the best, then science, nutrition, supplements and training regimes are just as important as natural talent. It’s what gives athletes the edge they need – that and hard work.
You may not aspire to that level of achievement but you may want to improve and you may want to be the best you can be. If that’s the case, there’s plenty you can do to improve your performance.
Nutritionists can create meal plans that are designed for different performance types and tailored to where you might be in your training cycle. For example if you compete regularly then eating to aid specific performance is important. While your training getting the balance between carbohydrate and protein is a challenge, supplements can help with that balance but they are not a substitute for healthy, nutritious food.
Protein, nutrients, vitamins and minerals are available through supplements that furnish and replenish the body with enough of everything to keep you fit for performance. Protein supplements aid recovery and muscle development and store reserves in your skeletal tissue. Supplements are great for keeping you mentally alert.
Train to your sport and use functional exercises and techniques that are suitable to your performance. Training for the 100 metres is different to training for the 5,000 metres. That’s an obvious example but it’s makes the point that there are different types of fitness and therefore everything needs to be invested in your training regime – not somebody else’s
Maintain a regime that encourages drills so that you are rehearsing the same movements over and over will improve your neuro-muscular reaction time. It’s the same with conditioning. Golfers hit ball after ball to hone their swing; footballers and netballers need lots of conditioning to execute their skills in pressure environments.
So while a regime with drills and repetition is important, so is mixing up your training so the body is exercising different muscles and different skills.
Injury recovery is vital to athletes and sports people. Cryotherapy can work by exposing the body to extremely cold temperatures which can increase the blood flow to injured or sore muscles which may assist to accelerate repair and recovery. Cryo’s studios in Edgecliff and Roseberry attract sports people and sporting teams who understand the healing properties and benefits of cryotherapy for athletes. Healing quickly is one of the most important ways to improve athletic performance.