OLYMPIC ROLE MODELS

The grand spectacle of athletic performance has now come to a close. Those that took the opportunity to witness this event which comes to us every four years saw the best of the best athletes the world had to offer as a representation of their country. The accumulated hours of training time that goes into the preparation for such an event consumes the life of each of these athletes. Eat, sleep and train. Get up and do it again tomorrow.
I was able to watch some of the performances and before long I came to an unsettling realization. Many of the athletes representing the U.S. had a less than desirable physique. Compared to other countries, athletes from the U.S. in particular events were carrying much more body fat than their counterparts.
I have always been a big follower of the Olympic Games and I have never seen this phenomenon as pronounced and noticeable as in these games. Could this be a direct correlation of the health of our entire country? It is my view point that indeed it is. If the best of the best athletes from the U.S. are carrying a higher body fat ratio than those athletes from around the world and we average Joe's are accepting of this, then either we are ignorant to this fact or accepting of it.
Where are the role models? One needs to be inspired to put forth effort when effort is required. Not to say that these Olympic athletes did not put forth effort, clearly they must to even qualify. Though I challenge the possibility that certain athletes from the U.S. contingent were in the best shape possible.
I'm about to cross a line into clear criticism here. That being said, arguably the greatest athlete of these Olympic Games showcased his diet for the entire nation to potentially mimic and I am here to say that I would not recommend his feeding cycle to any of my clients. Yes, it's obvious he maintains an incredible physique. Yes, he needs to take in massive amounts of calories and yes, it no doubt worked for him. My challenge is simply this, the nutritional value of his diet scraped the bottom of the barrel in my opinion.
A body can only sustain neglect such as this for a period of time before it shows signs of deprivation. Needed in a diet are many more fruits and vegetables and a whole lot less processed foods. Energy drinks? The body doesn't need them when appropriate calories, exercise and rest are prescribed.

So, take this advice as the real deal. Consume fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and essential fatty acids as part of your everyday, "real life", training regimen. Drink plenty of water and limit your exposure to artificial and processed this and thats. Move your body regularly and do whatever it takes to positively relieve your body and being of unnecessary stress. Don't forget to look toward Habitsforming to get you started on "real life" training.
Critically yours, Rochelle Gravance