Fitness Together Brecksville: If You Could Compete in Any Olympic Event, Which Would it be?

Trainer Tuesdays

Welcome back to the weekly edition on Trainer Tuesdays. Make sure to check in at our blog every Tuesday evening to learn the expertise of our great staff of expert personal trainers. Aside from being fantastic exercise coaches, they are also extremely knowledgeable in many aspects of health and fitness; so, it's time that you get to know them a little better! Each week, we will post a frequently asked, or sometimes just a fun fitness related question followed by the answers of each of the personal trainers at Fitness Together Brecksville.

If You Could Compete In Any Olympic Event, Which Would it be and Why?

Cody Plank: If I could compete in any Olympic event I would choose golf because its my favorite hobby and I have a ton of passion for the game. I would spend countless hours in the gym working on strength and endurance exercises to prepare my body and mind for the great mental and physical stress that I would encounter during those four days. Along with preparing my body and mind I would spend a lot of time on the driving range as well as the course practicing hitting all the difference shots I would be sure to face whether it be a low draw or a high cut. Perhaps I could even visit GolfTEC in Brecksville for some extra tips.

Brooke Kratche: Since the Torino Olympics in 2006, I dreamed of being an Olympic snowboarder. If you remember, they wore white jackets and pants with black pinstripes. The following year I convinced my dad to let me get a new snowboarding jacket, it was white with black pinstripes. I wanted to compete in Boardercross, the event where they race to the finish line going over a few jumps and mogul type obstacles along the way. Whenever I was riding, I would pick someone out and race them down the mountain. I learned that it was not a physical game as much as it was mental. People generally go slower, not because they can't go fast but because they are afraid to. I trained myself mentally to not be afraid to ride quicker. I had to believe that I had the ability to control the board and once I did that I could beat anyone down the mountain.

Adam Teplitz: It's not returning as an event until 2020, but baseball would easily be my

FT personal trainer Adam demonstrates a Snatch

event of choice. Thanks to my dad, I grew up on baseball. I had a bat in my hand at the age of 3. It might have been a Mickey Mouse bat, but it still counts. The last time I played competitively was back in high school. My passion for the game remains the same though.

As preparation, I'd undertake a proper strength training and conditioning routine. Since baseball is a power sport in which most action on the field occurs quickly, my conditioning would mimic the demands of the sport. I'd primarily focus on sprints at various distances, shuttle runs and sled drags.

The strength program would consist of exercises that specifically target my shoulders and hips. Shoulder presses, lateral raises, cable chops, cable twists and medicine ball tosses. 12 to 15 reps of each for 3 rounds.

A close second to baseball would, of course, be weightlifting. To prepare, I'd focus on the two lifts that comprise the competition. The snatch and the clean and jerk. The objective of the snatch is to lift a barbell from the ground to overhead in one continuous motion. The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, performed with a barbell. During the clean, the barbell is lifted from the floor to a racked position across the shoulders. During the jerk portion, the lifter raises the barbell to a stationary position above the head. Both are explosive movements that use strength and power.

Amanda Ricci: I would compete in the swimming event in the Olympics because that is the sport that I have the most experience training and competing in. I would prepare for this event by monitoring my nutrition, performing sport specific training- swimming, with a combination of weight-lifting and dry land training. For the first two months I would figure out my nutrition needs, and have one hour swimming practices along with 45 minutes of weight-lifting 5 days a week. During those hour practices, I would be conditioning as well as working on technique and building up my endurance. Once the conditioning period has passed I would then start adding in an extra practice 4 days a week and then re-calculate my nutrition needs again so that I could maintain my muscle mass and continue to gain muscle throughout the training. I would perform the new training schedule for a couple months and then add in some dry land training as well. Once I start to get closer to my competition, I would then begin to work on my technique and speed for flip turns as well as starts from the block to work on agility. The reason being is because in swimming taking off any time that is possible can mean a win or a loss. This is similar to sprinters in track, any seconds that you can deduct from your time are crucial.

A couple weeks before the big event I would then start to taper on my swimming training so that I would be rested and able to perform at my maximum potential for the Olympic event.

Mike Roberto: If I could compete in an Olympic sport, I would pick the 100 meter dash

FT Trainer Mike Roberto imagines a fierce animal chasing him to run faster

because it is a quick event so it ends before I realize it's over so that's less stress for me to worry about. I would also do it because I can imagine a fierce animal chasing me so that extra motivation might help. I would prepare for this by focusing on more interval training, see how far I can go in a short amount of time and then slow down the pace for a longer time. Also to do this more frequently, say three times a week. Then test myself at the end of each month to check my progress.

Justin Traft: If I was an Olympian I would want to be involved in the sprints. Track and field is one of the past sports I did in middle school and high school. I always enjoyed it--- even more when I lost weight to participate in the sprinting part. To prepare for it I would do much as what I did before. A lot of burst training with weights… this way when it was just your body weight, you would be more explosive from the start. I'd do a lot of weight training because that is a key part to many sprinters physical talent. Lower body strength is huge--- the more your quads, gluteus and hamstring can torque, the more power you’re able to produce as a sprinter. And of course, a no brainier is fueling your body with good nutrition before and after conditioning and races to help recover faster as well as keeping the body performing at a high level. That excludes keep properly hydrated with water all the time to help body during stressful muscle contraction during races.

Lisa Clark: Because of my love of cycling, if I were ever to join the Olympics, it would have to be

Fitness Together trainer Lisa Clark at the Pan Ohio Hope Ride

in the road cycling event. In order to train for this I would use a training program similar to what I do now for my long cycling events I do each summer, which includes a strength training routine that hits the whole body but focuses primarily on the glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves since those are the main muscles I rely on during each pedal stroke. Squats, single leg deadlifts, heel raises, lunges, burpees, and my favorites....kettlebell swings are among the exercises I try to incorporate during my training, in addition to that I try to ride as much as I can. Hill repeats and short sprints help me to strengthen and increase my speed on the bike. I also focus on simple stretches daily to stretch the hamstrings, quads and hip flexors.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

If You Could Compete in Any Olympic Event, Which Would it be?

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