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Olympics Based Exercise

by Krishna Bora on Aug 1 2012 2:00 PM
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To become an Olympic athlete, true dedication and right guidance are very important. All athletes who have been winning in the Olympic Games over years religiously follow workouts that would help them to achieve their goals and win medals.

The Olympic heroes like Jesse Owen and Mark Spitz and many more have their own set of exercises that they follow to improve their performance. But there are several basic exercises that every athlete follows in their routine. Some of them are rock climbing, running, pushups and sit-ups.

The first step of any workout is to warm up the body and stretch arms and legs to minimize injuries and sprains. Without a warming up session, no exercise or workout should be performed.

To perform better in any sports and athletic event, it is very important that the athlete has a great stamina. The two best exercises to enhance the stamina are running and cycling. Running or cycling a mile in the morning helps the athlete to increase the capability to perform for longer periods of time and push their bodies to do what a normal human body cannot stand.

Other than this, squats are the most important workout that no athlete should skip from their exercise routine. Both the front and the back squats are the best exercise for the total body strength. It is also known as the ‘King of Exercises’. The overhead squat is a very important exercise for the weight lifters in the Olympic Games since it requires the athlete to lift weights and push it up above their head. This gives their body the capability to lift heavy weights easily without harming their bones and other muscles.

Push-press is another important exercise, which helps to strengthen all those areas, which the athlete wants to focus on. This exercise helps to strengthen the hands and the arms of the body along with the abdomen and the legs. This exercise includes lifting heavy to light weights and performing an activity like sit-ups.

To reduce muscle injuries and sprains during exercise and events, it is important that the athlete has great stretchability and is flexible. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons believes that flexibility is the key to avoid injuries and muscle tearing during workouts and athletic activities. For maximum benefit, each important muscle from the lower body should be stretched before and after the sports. For this purpose, lunges are the best stretching exercise to stretch the lower part of the body. It includes the total stretching of all the parts of the lower body including the waist, thighs, calves and feet. It is a very important workout for runners, long and high jumping athletes, swimmers and divers. Not to forget the gymnasts who have the capability to stretch and turn their body in spectacular angles and diversions.

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Athletes competing in the athletic events focus on the workouts depending upon the need and body type. A runner has a different workout regime than that of a weightlifter ot a swimmer. Hence, the exercise of the athletes varies from their need for their performance.

References:

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1. http://www.seventeen.com/health/tips/olympic-workout-lunge

2. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00038

Source-Medindia


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