Bbc what kind of athlete

This makes the body systems respond by adapting to the stress placed on them. Applying the overload principle to training means that performance will improve - no overload, no improvement. Overload can be achieved by using FITT see below. Progression - training should progressively become more difficult. Once the body has adapted, the performer should make further demands on the systems.

However, increases must be gradual so that the athlete avoids a plateau in performance or, worse, injury. Reversibility - if training stops, then the fitness gained will be largely lost. The body systems reverse or de-adapt and performance deteriorates if training is significantly reduced, decreases in intensity or injury prevents training from taking place for any length of time.

She found an intriguing correlation: the better the player as measured by their golfing handicap the longer and steadier their gaze on the ball just before, and then during, their strike.

Novices, by contrast, tended to shift their focus between different areas of the scene, with each fixation lasting for shorter periods of time. The finding was also at odds with the equally prevalent assumption that expertise comes from more rapid mental processing. The quiet eye has since been observed in many other sports, including basketball, volleyball, football, tennis, archery, and ice hockey. Needless to say, the exact location of the gaze depends on the task in question. Budding athletes will be heartened to hear that the quiet eye can be taught, however.

By the end of the second season, the team had reached a level of accuracy that was even higher than the NBA average. Psychology is, of course, replete with apparently promising interventions that have subsequently failed to replicate.

But this was not just a one-off result: quiet eye training has since helped many other amateur and professional athletes — including national volleyball teams and Olympic skeet shooters — to achieve their potential.

A recent meta-analysis confirms that the quiet eye is a strong and highly consistent effect. In , the European Journal of Sport Science devoted a whole issue to exploring the phenomenon. Given these striking results, the scientists have now started considering applications beyond elite sports. A University of Exeter study, for instance, has found that quiet eye training can help children with coordination problems improve their physical abilities , contradicting a commonly held belief that they instead suffered from some problem with the motor system itself.

What that means in practical terms is a shuffling pace. Athletes wait to start the Spartathlon Credit: Getty. Back in Greece, Karnazes was last seen shuffling up a mountain in darkness as he was being pummelled with rain.

As a seasoned ultra-distance runner, he knows the extraordinary psychological strength required to keep putting one foot in front of the other. There is no doubt that long-distance running goes hand in hand with mental fortitude; there are Japanese Buddhist monks who run 1, marathons in 1, days on the road to enlightenment. Nepali Buddhist monks train for an ultramarathon in February Credit: Getty. Research suggests that around half of ultramarathon competitors experience significant changes in their mental state.

In those moments in a race where your body is exhausted, what are the psychological techniques you can use to push your limits? In the race itself, when your brain wants you to stop because you are in pain, use distraction, she says. Athletes start the handbike racing event during the Rome marathon Credit: Getty. She also suggests using active regulation strategies during a race, such as motivational self-talk or even relaxation strategies. Whatever you decide works best for you, Meijen says, you need to practise in advance.

Tiredness and sleep deprivation is, of course, a big consideration for those running a race that continues throughout the night — or even several nights. Rob Krar crosses the finish line to win the Leadville Trail ultramarathon with a time of Credit: Getty. Whether or not these elite athletes sleep during a race depends, perhaps unsurprisingly, on the length of the race.

For races under 36 hours, such as the Spartathlon, most runners tend to push through and not sleep for the whole distance. Paula Radcliffe shares her five steps for success, so you too can maximise your running potential….

Eat like Paula Radcliffe. Wondering if a vegan diet can fuel your training? We asked elite ultramarathon runner Fiona Oakes about the benefits of a plant-based diet for endurance athletes Eat like Fiona Oakes. Christine Ohuruogu won a silver medal in the metres at the London Olympics in Middle distance athlete Lisa Dobriskey came away with a silver medal during her Olympic debut in Here Lisa shares a love of chocolate, the benefits of ostrich steak and her tips for staying on top.

Eat like Lisa Dobriskey. Olympic legend Sally Gunnell broke numerous records during her athletics career and is now one of the best-loved names in British sport. We asked Sally to divulge her training diet, guilty food pleasures and top tips for aspiring athletes… Eat like Sally Gunnell. What does an Olympic heroine eat for breakfast? We caught up with Jessica Ennis-Hill to find out what her daily diet looks like, her top tips for the amateur athlete and how she rewards herself when competition season is over… Eat like Jessica Ennis-Hill.

The Brownlee brothers are unstoppable champions who have been steadily amassing a horde of Olympic, Commonwealth and Triathlon medals. So what do legends of the road, bike and water eat to stay on top? Eat like Jonathan and Alistair Brownlee. So what does a multi-sport, professional athlete eat to keep herself fighting fit?