How to train like an Athlete by

HOW TO TRAIN LIKE AN ATHLETE

by Daniel Reilly of The Training Room.

We’re all searching for that magic ingredient, nugget of expert advice, or killer training method to elevate our performance to the next level, so who better to learn from than elite athletes! The people who are at the top of their games, pushing the limits of what’s humanly possible?

We may not be up to their supreme levels of fi tness or ability, but, by understanding the way that elite athletes train – considering that they have access to the very best coaching, science and programmes available, bringing them close to perfection in their various disciplines – we can mimic those principles in our training to achieve some great results.

Strength and Conditioning

To start with, let’s take a look at strength and conditioning; an essential factor in any sport, especially if you have lofty ambitions of performing amongst the world’s best. One good source of information to understand how elite athletes train is The Journal of Strength and Conditioning, which reviewed the common skills and protocols currently in use by elite athletes in the U.K. Its fi ndings suggested that the specifi c strength and conditioning programmes designed for top-performing athletes include the following key skills:

Agility – the ability to minimise transition time from one movement pattern to another. Accuracy – controlling movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.

Balance – managing the body’s centre of gravity in relation to its support base.

Cardiovascular and respiratory endurance – the ability of body systems to gather, process and deliver oxygen.

Coordination – combining several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.

Flexibility – maximising the range of motion at a given joint.

Power – how muscular units apply maximum force in minimum time.

Stamina – how well the body’s systems process, deliver, store and utilise energy.

Strength – the ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.

Speed – the ability to minimise the time cycle of a repeated movement.

This may seem rather complicated, but, before you get overwhelmed, it’s important to say that strength and conditioning training isn’t just for the professional athlete. Non-elite athletes, like you and I, may not need this same level of stimulation, but, by implementing some of the basic, key principles into our daily training routines, we too can reap the benefi ts. running, several studies have been published in recent years investigating the link between strength and conditioning training and performance. One of these, published in the Journal of Strength and Condition Research, which surveyed 667 distance runners, from local amateurs to international competitors, identifi ed that the best runners were signifi cantly more likely to partake in strength and plyometric training compared to those who were less accomplished.

Likewise, a study published in Sports Medicine concluded that “the addition of two to three strength training sessions per week, which include a variety of strength training modalities are likely to provide benefi ts to the performance of middle- and long-distance runners.” Following Mo Farah’s incredible double gold medal-winning performance at London 2012, hitting it hard in the weight room was given as a possible contributing factor. While we, the general population, may not be able to work at the same intensity as Mo, or lift the same weights (although he’s wiry, he’s also very strong), if we’re able to include some strength and conditioning training in our exercise regimes, tailored to our sporting interests and goals, we’re also likely to see an improvement in performance.

So, what exercises should you do? Firstly, it’s worth taking some time to think about the skills that almost every elite athlete needs to master, as the exact requirements of their sports

(and the experience of the athlete) will determine how much focus is given to each of these key areas. However, as a guide, Olympic weightlifting is said to comprise 81% of an elite athlete’s strength training. The clean and jerk, snatch and squat are some of the most frequently reported weightlifting exercises utilised by elite athletes and Chris Froome – so lifting heavy weights in the gym or attending indoor cycling classes won’t be as beneficial as putting in some hard running miles on the treadmill or on the road.

Mental Strength and Perseverance

Elite athletes not only work tirelessly Having read this, I’d like to think that gone are the days of going to the gym, popping on the treadmill for ten minutes, followed by some pointless resistance training, with no real understanding of what you are trying to achieve.

Remember that we can all train like

an elite athlete! Given the fact that we will be training nowhere near the overall volume of an elite athlete, the occasional strength programme here, an Olympic weightlifting session there, combined with some speed and agility work, is all that we need to keep slowly improving. The key is to find out which elements work for you and implement these into your programmes, with the mentality that practice is essential and that nothing worth having was ever

have been shown to increase strength and power, so lifting the barbell a bit more often could be just what you need to further condition your body and enhance your athletic performance.

Another important element of an elite athlete’s strength and conditioning, which you can try, is movement training, such as agility (change of direction drills), acceleration and deceleration drills. This helps to improve an athlete’s ability to minimise the time cycle of a repeated movement along with enhanced braking force while minimising transition time from one movement pattern to another.

Specificity

It may seem obvious, but the training undertaken by elite athletes is very specific to their sports, so you too must adopt this principle if your aim is to follow in the footsteps of your favourite star. For example, if you want to run a 10k race, you’re much better off following in the footsteps of someone like Paula Radcliffe than strongman, Eddie Hall, or Tour de France winner, on the physical aspect of their performance but also on the mental side. To succeed at the highest level, it takes enormous amounts of physical and mental commitment. As the saying goes, “practice makes perfect,” and it’s this perseverance that separates elite athletes from amateurs; the determination to perfect a skill through consistent and deliberate practice over time, keeping going when others are throwing in the towel. When the spotlights are on, and the pressure’s flowing in from coaches, the media, teammates and the crowd, it’s this mental toughness – developed through hours of repetition on the training ground – that allows them to perform to the best of their ability. It’s a wellknown fact that the way David Beckham was able to perfect his curling free kicks was by practising them daily at his local park while growing up. The way you can replicate this is by making a concerted effort to stick to your fitness and nutrition programmes, remembering that, like so many other aspects of life, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

By Daniel Reilly, Health and Fitness Tutor at The Training Room

If this has inspired you to help people train like elite athletes, take a look at The Training Room’s range of personal training and health & fitness courses:

www.thetrainingroom.com

HOW TO CREATE A CAREER AS AN INFLUENCER

Kamal Mamedov outlines his new program and how you can make it a success.

Kamal Mamedov is an entrepreneur, a gym owner and an influencer who coaches people to become successful paid influencers, using his Instagram Influencer Blueprint.

In this interview, Kamal shares the humble beginnings of his journey as an influencer, the challenges he was faced with and the lessons he has learned that will help you to avoid the same mistakes.

1. What inspired you to become an influencer?

I remember following influencers on Instagram a few years ago and being completely mindblown having discovered that all the parcels they keep receiving of clothes and trainers didn’t cost them a single penny. You can imagine just how much of a shock I was in when I found out that they actually got paid for sharing all those free gifts on their instagram. The combination of the two discoveries were enough for me to become fascinated with figuring out how the world of influencer marketing works.

2. What have you learned about being an influencer? The confound responsibility of the butterfly effect. I get the most wholesome messages on instagram of people sharing how their life has changed as a result of reading a caption in one of my posts or watching one of my stories. Crazy how something so little can have such an impact huh? Let’s agree on the basics of what forms us as humans - we are what we eat, what we watch and what we think about. Next time you get like 20 or 200 likes on your photo, I want you to imagine all those people standing in front of you.

The content you’re sharing for your followers is shaping their behaviours and decision making in ways you could never imagine, which is why I’m a huge advocate of spreading positive resources on my instagram, because, in simple terms, after seeing or reading your post you have an effect on whether that person has a good day or a bad day. If your post

inspires someone, you will change the course of their life forever - they may join a gym as a result of seeing your transformation, lose 20lb of fat and discover a new found love and energy for their job. The butterfly effect this will have on that person’s life and relationship compounds and changes the course of their life entirely. Great influence comes great responsibility and you literally have a chance to change the world one follower at a time, use it wisely.

3. Is there a particular moment or memory that stands out for you? The memory that pops to mind is when I’ve arrived in Prague, checked into a beautiful hotel, laid down on the bed and all of a sudden I realised that not only did I not have to pay for the hotel that I’m staying in or the clothes I’m wearing, but I’m literally here getting paid to do some incredible shoots and post content of all the free clothes that I’m wearing.

In that moment I thought this is exactly how Isaac Newton must have felt when the apple dropped on his head.

4. Is there an achievement or contribution that you are most proud of? I believe the most fulfilling form of achievement is the feeling of contribution. I’ve created the Instagram Influencer Blueprint, because I want people to experience the trill and the feeling of pure joy, which comes with the lifestyle of an influencer. Name another occupation where you would you get free stuff, shoot content of you wearing or using the stuff, share the content with your followers and get paid in the process. Additionally, the more of that stuff you do, the larger your network becomes and so does your pay check.

If you’re a model, artist, singer or you just enjoy creating content, I literally couldn’t think of a more perfect job for you.

5.What inspires you? Freedom. The freedom of choosing your own eco system - you can work with who you want and where you want, as long as there’s wifi. So if you’re an aspiring digital nomad, being an influencer has your name written all over it!

6. What was the biggest challenge you were facing? Clarity and direction. In the first couple of years I’ve personally really struggled with figuring out exactly what to do, which makes it difficult to stay consistent. If you’re not 100% certain that what you’re doing is taking you straight to your goal you’re not going to stay consistent - especially if you’re feeling extra tired or unmotivated that day.

7. What would you say to someone considering getting a coach like yourself?

- Do it. If someone is in two minds about investing in themselves, I like to use my example of ignorance tax and it goes like this. Let’s say a person - Jim, makes £2000/month and Jim wants to make £10,000, but nothing he’s done so far has worked for him. One day Jim discovers a coach or a course that can help him solve all the problems he struggles with, which will help him earn his goal income of £10,000/month. If price Jim has to pay to acquire this knowledge is £5,000, would this be a viable investment?

Jim has 2 choices:

1. Carry on with his wish of making £10,000, but continue struggling with the same problems and not invest £5,000

2. Invest £5,000 into himself and learn the systems that will get him to £10,000.

If he chooses option 1, his ignorance tax over a year would have been £91,000. *If he earned £10,000/month for a year that would amount to £120,000. Take away £24,000 as that’s what Jim is already making per annum, and take away the £5,000 for his selfdevelopment fee. This is a choice I’ve previously had to make to help my businesses get to the next level, that I would have otherwise never known of.

If you have a goal that someone has already reached and that someone is offering to coach you to get you to that goal - pay the price with your time and money. If you don’t, there’s a pretty good chance you don’t actually want to reach that goal.

Don’t think twice like I have - it’s only resulted in years of wasted time that I could have been earning more and building more.

8. How do you personally make money as an influencer? I monetise my social media in multiple ways, using methods such as affiliation marketing, paid collaborations, merchandise sales, flipping and many more. You can learn all of the ways I personally make money on instagram in the Instagram Influencer Blueprint course!

9. What advice would you give to anyone who wants to become an influencer?

First and foremost figure out what, who and where.

What type of an influencer do you want to become, is it travel, food, fashion?

Who do you want to influence, is it sun seekers, foodies, fitness

enthusiasts?

Where do you want to spread your influence? Choose 1-3 platforms where you want to share your content and speak to your audience - in this current climate - TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are all great options. If you have all three, you can recycle your content between each platform.

One of my students uses his YouTube as a place to show his audience his life, instagram to share the thumbnails of his youtube videos or the behind the scenes content and he trims his YouTube videos into 15 second clips and posts them up on TikTok. Finally, the piece of advice I’d recommend to anyone is get a coach or invest in a course. I say this purely out of logic - if you’ve found something or someone that will help you get to your goal, it doesn’t make sense to waste the time doing it on your own.

10. What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur? The habit I have adopted that I would recommend to anyone is get up before 5am and work on something that aligns with your ultimate goal for a 90 minute period without distractions.

If you do that 5 days a week, by the end of the year you’d have completed just shy of 400 focused hours on working towards your ultimate goal. Can

What’s your favourite quote? You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

I love that quote, because if you ever find yourself on the fence of making a decision of starting a business or investing in yourself, whatever you do - do not stay on that fence. Get over the fence, see if the life on the other side is the life you desire living and make commit.

If you’re scared to approach that girl or guy, you’ve got a 100% chance of never speaking to that person if you don’t approach them and a solid 50% of getting their number if you do.

If you don’t climb over that fence, there’s a 100% chance you’ll never reach what’s on the other side of it. The odds are always in the favour of the action taker.

Which books would recommend to an entrepreneur? The 5am Club, The Compound Effect and The Purple Cow.

Check out Kamal online,

follow, share and enjoy the journey.