Olympic Psyche

So far I’ve watched less of this Olympics than ever before but with most of my favorite events coming up that is likely to change. I love the Olympics and pretty much everything that goes along with them. So for today’s Psyche, let’s look a little forwards and backwards.

I blogged on Bradley Wiggins and his revolutionary training schedule at the start of the Tour de France. Now that he’s got an Olympic Gold Medal as well as a yellow jersey we can definitively say that he’s established a new training template for the sport of cycling. The three links here are all articles about his training. It give you some idea of what he did but we’re going to have to wait for the nitty gritty to come out. I’m sure they’ll keep that close to the chest for as long as possible.

Wiggins's training program began on 1 November but he did not merely begin riding his bike and bring in intensity later: he rode at intensities he would normally have hit in the racing season, which is anathema to most cyclists, who have always built up in a more measured way. "Tim took the swimming approach where they train the top end constantly throughout the year. He has totally revolutionized the way we train."

I fully realize that reading about a training template isn’t exactly Friday Psyche material, unless you’re me, so on another note; athletics (or Track & Field if you’re American) begins today, which is always my favorite part of the Games. Obviously how you prepare for those races is important, too, as shown with great flair by Aussie hurdler Michelle Jenneke