The 2018 Winter Olympics are in full swing and once again, us mere mortals find ourselves admiring the physical strength and stamina of the athletes from the comforts of our own couches. These games have already proven themselves to be exciting, boasting some of the youngest medal winners as well as some record breaking firsts. We were especially excited to see Chloe Kim become the first woman to ever land a back-to-back 1080s. That gold medal was well deserved! Olympians really are a special breed of human. But what does it really take to keep up the athletic lifestyle of an Olympic athlete?
Many of us remember learning about what Olympian Michael Phelps eats in a day and dreaming that in another life we too would be able to eat as much and still retain a fit figure. The fact is, the diet of an Olympic athlete is almost equally as important as their skill and training. Olympic athletes bring fueling their body to a science, and most athletes have the support of a full team of chefs and dietitians during the games that plan and prepare their meals in order to keep them on track during their biggest days. According to Megan Chacosky, one of the chefs for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team, most of the athletes consume anywhere between 3,000 and 4,000 calories a day. That’s nearly twice the amount of a non-athlete. But while athletes do consume a high number of calories, they tend to avoid counting those calories and focus more on eating lean proteins, lots of fresh vegetables, and foods high in crucial nutrients. Some athletes have to eat every 90 minutes in order to ensure that they consume enough calories to keep up their energy during days of intense training and competition. And of course, difference athletes have different diet requirements. Alpine skiers, for example, require a higher number of calories during training as they tend to burn more calories at higher altitudes and in colder temperatures.
On top of burning through food, the body of an Olympic athlete is constantly put through the ringer. The majority of athletes train throughout the year with almost no down time. They can spend anywhere from 20-35 hours per week training and may train for four to eight years before even making it onto an Olympic team. A study published in 2012 estimated that these athletes can put in up to 10,000 hours of practice and training leading up to an Olympic game. To put that into perspective, the average human spends only about 4,000 hours exercising in their entire lifetime. That’s a lot of added wear and tear on the body, and it manifests itself in several ways.
Putting in so many hours of exercise can shape the body and lead to a unique and specialized physique. It’s the reason why so many athletes that perform the same sport end up having similar body compositions. Alpine skiers tend to have unusually well built legs while snowboarders tend to have more arm muscle and a stronger chore that they use to propel themselves into the air and manipulate their bodies with during aerial tricks. Of course, putting the body through so much means that Olympic athletes also have a higher percentage of injury than the average athlete. Ice hockey boasts the highest percentage of injuries with nearly 18% of all players incurring some form of injury, mostly due to direct contact with other players as well as contact with the puck. Alpine skiing and snowboarding comes in second with a high number of injuries to the knees as well as head injuries that occur from high falls. Bobsled proves that most dangerous for head and neck injuries with some sledders even having experienced fractured spines from crashes. And with all of these injuries, many athletes push their bodies even further, continuing to compete and perform with injuries in order to get the gold and ultimately exacerbating the damage.
Through the intense physical exertion, immense amounts of food and the exhausting mental roller coaster that is the Olympic games, Olympic athletes truly are an entirely different breed of human. They’re inspiring in their ability to push the human body to its mental and physical limits, and while most of us will never find ourselves on their level, the Olympic games can always inspire us to step up our game and pursue a more athletic, healthier future.
