Tell me how you train and I’ll tell you what kind of athlete you are

Observing the movements of Olympic athletes is pure poetry. Their technique, studied to the millimetre, the hundredth of a second gained by a tiny shift in their centre of gravity, the explosive power of a jump, resistance and fatigue turned into valuable allies when it comes to crossing the finish line in first place – these are just some of the elements that keep sports fans all over the world glued to their TV sets during the Olympic Games. As well as those who end up getting carried away by a discipline they know very little about. 

The Five Rings represent the culmination of every athlete’s life, but they’re also the planet’s biggest sporting event, which inspires people to be more active, even if only briefly, to try to emulate and celebrate those perfect movements, to strive for excellence and improve their own lifestyle. 

An awareness of the need to move to feel good is growing and more and more people are joining gyms or choosing to train at home, unaware that, often, the workout they’re doing could be perfect to be turned into a sport in its own right. Nowadays, there are machines available that offer highly customisable training programmes, as well as specificity and variability for training experiences adjusted to the needs of the individual, capable of getting to work on different aspects.

You might think that to be a good cyclist all you have to do is pedal, or that to improve your performance at five-a-side football on a Wednesday night, you just need to say no to that extra beer at the weekend. But in reality, every discipline is more complex than just the technique or physical condition of those who practise it, and it’s made up of several elements that need specific training. 

First and foremost, it’s important to make a distinction between sports, on the one hand, in which performance is linked to doing something specific, such as cycling if we’re talking about aerobic exertion or sprinting in terms of power, and, on the other, “situational” sports, such as tennis or volleyball, in which performance is determined by many different qualities, all at a high level. 

Despite this, in modern athletic conditioning, performance is now always considered the result of multiple skills and a series of factors. Let’s think about the amateur runner who has always and only ever run according to their training routine. In reality, modern athletes are aware that you can’t get to the top in any speciality by training a single skill. Runners should also dedicate time to flexibility, to working on their posterior chain, which needs to be lengthened with specific exercises.

Similarly, in tennis as in fencing, football and basketball, just having perfect technique isn’t enough; other characteristics have to come into play, such as coordination, rapidity, speed and muscle resistance.

So, if you get bored spending hours running on the treadmill at home or in the gym, but you prefer to switch things up by playing with the speed, resistance and repetitions, you should know that you’re actually doing a great workout that could help you prepare for a trail running session or running in the mountains. If you do a set of strength and interval exercises, exactly like in off-road racing conditions, you’re actually laying the foundations for a new experience without realising it. 

Alternating very intense but short-lived exertion followed by periods of active recovery is the perfect training for improving cardiovascular stamina, something that can be guaranteed by a modern treadmill such as Technogym Run. Various programmes suggested by the product also make it possible to train strength which, although it might seem odd, is related to both improving performance and reducing injury. 

The same is true if you like training on an exercise bike. The geometry of Technogym Ride by Technogym is inspired by professional road bikes and gives you the opportunity to enjoy an immersive experience thanks to the realistic feel of pedalling. If you alternate sessions on the bike with sets of abdominals and core strengthening, you’re training exactly like a professional cyclist, who, by working that particular muscle group, guarantees they’re going to get a stable pelvis, training the flexibility of their lower back muscles at the same time. Spending time outdoors also provides the opportunity to train with others and share in the experience. Cycling brings people together, creating a genuine community based on a shared passion.

If your training is based on muscle strengthening sessions instead, with weights, dumbbells and bands, you might be ready to head out onto court with a racquet. That’s right, because tennis players, as well as training dexterity and technique, also work on their strength. The same goes for fencers. 

Technogym Unica lets you do fifty different exercises for all-round, versatile preparation. Training sessions on Unica increase your strength and enhance your arm, leg and core muscles, also improving aspects such as coordination, fundamental in sports like volleyball and basketball.

In every sport it’s vital to always focus on the issue of safety, especially when starting a new sport or changing how you train. Improvements in your basic skills (strength – power – stamina – aerobic capacity) can bring with them a greater risk of injury. This is why it’s important to schedule recovery periods to relax and recover, whether that means an interval between one training session and the next or quality sleep.