Today was the day that the IOC decided on the new date for the Olympics, July, 2020. Our road to Tokyo is no longer four months away but now sixteen long months, this time gives every aspiring Olympian the largest macro cycle of their life. All of the work put in over the last six months must now flip a switch. The reset button and a new 16 month time clock has started and I want every athlete to use this time wisely. I know plenty are going to go right back to doing the same lifts and drills they were doing early on in the season but I challenge you to look back and see what gaps were create in your program, in other words identify your weaknesses and work on them. Sports specific training forces you to sacrifice movement abilities and skills so that you can focus on what you "need'' for the sport. One of the most important skills I see athletes neglect year after year is the ability to RELAX.
No matter if you run short sprints or long distance all of the greats seem to run extremely efficient and smooth while dropping the fastest times in the world. While at practice with American Sprinter Mike Rodgers, (World Champion 2019, Doha) I hear his coach tell him to "be patient, be relaxed, don't rush it" coming out of the blocks. An article from the Kenyan Experience, they discuss how Kenyan training camps focus the art of relaxed running as well.
" Renato would often shout ‘tranquillo’ as the athletes ran by. Even if it isn’t as direct a translation as I presumed, then the implication was clear. He was saying ‘relax, don’t force it, let it the pace come naturally.’”
Now for those ready to start learning the art of relaxed running lets start with a few basic movements first in the video below.
For more info about the article about the Kenyan training camp click the picture below.
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