Olympic athletes inspire discipline, focus for personal health

With the Summer Olympics in Beijing about to begin, I have been thinking about what makes an Olympic athlete. I’m fascinated with the way Olympic athletes seem to build “the perfect storm” of mental and physical excellence and how they time it perfectly for the Olympic Games.

This year there seems to be a lot of attention on “older” athletes. As a 40-something, formerly competitive athlete I’m inspired to see so many athletes defying the aging process. Athletes are all about training for their performance at the Olympics. You too can be inspired to improve your personal fitness performance.

Elite athletes dedicate their whole lives to training for their sport. They live, eat and breathe their sport. While these athletes are at an entirely different level from you and me, we can learn many things from them.

Athletes, their coaches, trainers and other specialists go to great lengths to find the winning combination of training and conditioning, nutrition, hydration, rest and mental preparedness. Discover your own fitness formula and make it work for your next performance, whether it be a bike ride, a hike in the woods or a day of yard work and gardening.

Decide what “event” you are training for and then come up with a performance goal that will challenge your current skill level. I enjoy several different activities and sports, so I choose specific goals for each activity each week.

My “life training” program always includes endurance activities, strength-training activities, balance and flexibility. I put a priority on healthy eating and quality sleep as well in order to perform better in daily living.

All athletes experience muscular soreness and, as they get older, will continue to have soreness after workouts. I speak from experience. I read recently that one difference between younger and older exercisers is the recovery period. Older athletes take longer to recover from a hard workout, i.e., soreness lasts longer.

So you need to either adjust your workout intensity according to your current fitness level or take more time to recover. Remember, muscular soreness is good but too much soreness or pain is not good. Injuries are not part of the fitness plan, but you can and should push yourself to do a little more than you think you can.

Then there’s the mental edge. What I love about watching the Olympics is that these athletes all have incredible talent and physical skill. But what so often puts an athlete up on the Olympic podium is the mental aspect of their performance. Often you can “see it in their eyes” when they are able to pull all of their training and hard work into this one moment of performance. They’re experts at handling the pressure, erasing any doubt and focusing on the exact timing of every single movement. I find it amazing.

Every day you should wake up and visualize your training goals and performance for the day. Plan your meals, drink water, set up your exercise goals and do them. Then, when all is said and done, get a good night’s sleep.

It takes discipline and that’s where Olympic athletes can inspire. They stay focused on what’s important to them. Your personal health and fitness are important so stay focused on your event – living a healthful life.


Julie Hodges graduated from Cornell University and has a master’s degree in kinesiology and a minor in sports psychology from the University of Maryland. She is a former competitive gymnast and is ACSM Health & Fitness Instructor® certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. Julie and her family live in Anacortes. E-mail her with comments and questions at .