ROY-ALLAN BURCH, an Olympic swimmer for Bermuda, competed in the
2008 and 2012 games. He is currently training for Rio 2016. His advice:
A strong discipline is required to reach the pinnacle of our sport. Each day is dedicated toward a vigorous amount of training and when not training, it's important to maximize recovery for the next workout… Having a detailed schedule to follow makes maximizing each day easier. Rather than thinking about what needs to happen in an allotted time, one can just execute the training or recovery that needs to take place. As there are thousands of athletes around the world training very hard, time maximization becomes the main race. The question of who can get in the best work for themselves each day becomes a major factor to the success of each individual athlete. KATIE UHLAENDER, an Olympic skeleton racer for the United States,
competed in the Olympics in 2006, 2010 and 2014. Her advice:
One of the most important parts to managing your time well is having an agenda, meaning you have a focus each day and a goal each week. When you are an athlete and constantly training and competing, rest is incredibly important so that you are able to be at your very best physically and mentally. It is important to also schedule time for yourself, to rest, or to refocus. Also, when you are in a competitive sport you have to be able to adapt and overcome the obstacles you face. At the end of the day it's how well you accomplish the process as a whole, not the long term goal, and how adaptable you are to change because processes evolves and is never perfect. The key to discipline is striving for perfection but understanding perfect isn't attainable. To strive for it means you’re willing to learn and overcome challenges; therefore creating solutions. It's a day-by-day process and if you walk in the light and focus on each step, you can see the imprint your footstep makes.
