How To Build An Athletic Physique
It’s not hard to see which athletes have the greatest physiques. When you watch the Olympics it’s always the track and field superstars with most impressive bodies. They’ve got the ripped six-pack and the “V” shaped torso all guys envy. What’s great is we can easily take a page out of their book and apply it to our own training routine. With a few simple tricks, we can begin to turn our “average joe” bodies into capable athletic physiques.
First steps to training like a pro
I’m not saying you have to dedicate six hours a day to running in & outs and speed drills like they do. What we can do is apply the same principles they use to improve their speed, strength, and ultimately body composition.
It’s the same principle we use for our cars. Fuel injection, transmission, and independent suspensions were all initially developed for high-performance race cars. By using some of the same techniques athletes use, we can kick our bodies into high gear and improve performance during normal everyday activities.
Proper warm ups
To train like a pro you need to make sure you are doing a proper warm-up. Gone are the days of static stretching and a quick jog to warm up before a workout. Emphasis is now placed on dynamic movements that take joints through the full range of motion and elevate the heart rate. Research shows that moving a joint through its full range of motion as opposed to just stretching and holding results in improved performance during exercise.
Continually progress
Next, top athletes rely on progressive overload through a structured routine. Coaches track their progress and make sure they are continually improving throughout the program. This results in continuous improvement in performance and desired body composition.
Variety
Within this structured routine coaches also provide variety. This means some days they will perform high-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), circuit training, agility training, and long slow distances aerobic exercise. By using different types of training, they utilize the entire spectrum of muscle fiber types. This results in improved growth and efficiency within the muscles.
Push your limits
Lastly, one of the most important aspects of training like an athlete is to improve your Anaerobic Threshold. This is the burning sensation you get when you’re in the middle of a bout of intense exercise. By reaching that point, you are actually improving what’s known as the threshold or the point in which you can no longer continue.
You don’t have to maintain this burning sensation the entirety of the workout. That would be impossible and even if you could you would quickly reach a point of diminishing returns. There is a method of undulating the workout in a wave pattern that allows you to reach the threshold multiple times without reaching the point of complete exhaustion or failure.
It’s a fine line that trained coaches are experts at taking athletes to. Here’s an example of a great pyramid run that will help you reach your anaerobic threshold based on perceived effort. To do it you’ll only need a stopwatch and plenty of room to run.
Pyramid Interval Run
After a proper dynamic warm-up perform a slow jog at 50% effort for three minutes
- After the three minutes increase your speed to 70% of your max for 45 seconds.
- Slow down to 50% for one minute. This is also known as active recovery.
- After the active rest, increase your speed to 80% max effort for 30 seconds.
- Active recovery for one minute.
- Increase your speed to 90% max effort for 15 seconds.
- Active recovery for one minute.
- Increase your speed to 100% for 10 seconds.
- Active recovery for one minute.
- Increase your speed to 90% max effort for 15 seconds.
- Active recovery for one minute.
- Increase your speed to 80% max effort for 30 seconds.
- Active recovery for one minute.
- Increase your speed to 70% of your max for 45 seconds.
- Cool down for three minutes at 50% max effort.
The entire run should take around 15 minutes to complete. During the sprint intervals make sure you are pushing yourself till the end. It’s all about tapping into the threshold and then throttling back for an active recovery.
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