Working With Elite Olympic Level Athletes

Andy Applegate - Carmichael Training Systems

I am often asked what the difference is between working with very elite level athletes and mid-level or even beginner competitors. One of the very biggest differences is of course available time. Sure the professional athlete has more time to train, but also and possibly even more importantly, they have more time to recover. More time to recover means that they can complete more difficult training sessions more frequently with a faster dissipation of fatigue compared to the athlete who has to balance workouts with a job and other life stressors.

Time can however work against the pro athlete as well. Most who have gotten themselves near the top of their chosen sport tend to be exceptionally driven, motivated to work as hard as they can to see the most improvements. With no time constraints these athletes are at risk for doing too much, too fast and driving themselves deep into fatigue and over training. Unfortunately without outside help this happens more frequently than one might think. Often I find myself telling people that a big part of my job is holding athletes back from the brink of doing too much. Managing periods of hard work with a balance of proper recovery is paramount to an athletes’ success.

Another interesting difference is that the Olympic level competitor tends to have a performance enhancement team rather than a single coach or mentor. This team can build an incredible support system for the athlete to help them get the best out of themselves. Sailing coaches, conditioning coaches, sports psych coaches and dieticians are some of the members one might find in a performance enhancement team.

The full time professional athlete also has the time and ability to pay very close attention to every minute detail of all aspects of training. The time constrained athlete usually needs to spend the vast majority of the time they have available on the general sport they are competing in. For example a sailor with constrained time needs to spend nearly all their available time in the boat or a cyclist needs to spend nearly every minute of training time on the bike. On the other hand the full time competitor has the ability to spend a significant amount of time working on things like strengthening support muscle groups in the gym or mental drills that will give them an edge during events.

As a coach I really enjoy working with athletes of all abilities and experience levels. This not only allows me to bring some of the training principles of top competitors down to less experienced athletes, but also, every once in a while, allows me to bring lessons learned by those lower level athletes back up to the professional as well.