Try Heat Chamber Workouts to Train Like an Olympian
Athletes are great role models if you're looking to adopt intense training routines to transform your body and health. Most professional athletes commit to fitness regimens that are challenging and produce exceptional results. Here are the 20 most intense ways that athletes train.
1. Altitude Training
Long-distance runners and cyclists train above 8,000 feet to help their bodies adapt to lower oxygen levels. Elite endurance runners, like the Kenyan running teams, use altitude training to stimulate red blood cell production and improve oxygen transport.
2. Underwater Weight Training
NFL players and MMA athletes use underwater resistance workouts to improve their explosiveness without harming their joints. Part of this training involves holding dumbbells underwater while running or jumping. This challenges one's strength and lung capacity.
3. Heat Chamber Workouts
Training in temperature-controlled heat chambers lets athletes experience the extreme conditions of competition. Endurance athletes work out in extremely hot temperatures to acclimate their bodies to heat stress and reduce the risk of dehydration.
4. Strongman Lifts
Instead of normal weightlifting, professional athletes flip 600-pound tires, drag heavy sleds, or carry atlas stones. The goal is to develop their raw power, core stability, and functional strength to make them more explosive.
5. Altitude Mask Sprinting
Athletes will train by wearing restrictive oxygen masks during sprint drills to simulate high-altitude conditions. This can boost lung capacity and one's mental thoughtfulness
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6. Cryotherapy Recovery Sessions
Cristiano Ronaldo and Serena Williams use cryo chambers for quick muscle recovery and to reduce inflammation. Standing in near-freezing vapor for three minutes can increase your pain tolerance and promotes health. This is a great method for athletes who train multiple times per day.
7. Sand Dune Sprinting
This exercise involves running on soft, unstable sand, which forces every leg muscle to work overtime. NFL stars and sprinters train on sand dunes to improve their agility, acceleration, and endurance. Each sprint burns double the energy of running on flat ground or grass. This one is brutally effective but not for the faint of heart.
8. Plyometric Explosion Circuits
NBA players use these drills, which include box jumping, depth jumps, and bounding. It maximizes fast-twitch muscle response and can make movements more exposive. It also helps with reaction time and sprint starts.
9. Altitude Tent Sleeping
Here's another form of altitude training used by athletes. This one mimics high-altitude benefits by having athletes sleep in hypoxic tents that reduce your oxygen levels. This tricks your body into producing more red blood cells and makes resting a part of your training. Bascially, recovery becomes an edurance workout.
10. Resistance Sled Runs
Used by football players and sprinters, sled runs is when you pull or push a weighted sled across the ground. This can improve an athlete's explosive acceleration and drive. It's effective but truly excruciating.
11. Hill Sprints
Lots of professional athletes train with steep inclines to improve strength and power. This workout is literally an uphill battle that increases resistance, forcing you to put more into every stride. It also trains your heart and muscles to withstand maximum output.
12. Boxer's Endurance Circuits
Many boxers train through nonstop and challenging rounds of jump rope, heavy bag work, and sparring with minimal rest. A typical session lasts about two hours, and should involve a combination of strength, cardio, and rhythm exercises.
13. Cold-Water Ocean Swims
Athletes often train in open-water swims in icy temperatures to push the limits of their mental toughness and endurance. Triathletes train in freezing oceans to simulate the unpredictable nature of competition.
14. Battle Rope Endurance Sets
This traning program is popular with MMA fighters and CrossFit athletes. Using heavy battle ropes, atheltes train their arms, shoulders, and cardiovascular systems all at once. Sets last about 30 to 60 seconds and you need to go all-out to get the full effect.
15. Weighted Vest Calisthenics
Athletes use weighted vests for bodyweight workouts, including pushups, pullups, and squats. The added weight improves muscular endurance and bone density and can simulate the fatigue of intense competition.
16. Altitude Cycling Camps
In anticipation of the Tour de France, cyclists train for weeks in mountain regions, climbing over 10,000 feet every day. This grueling workout improves oxygen efficiency and lactic acid tolerance. Each climb requires precise pacing, endurance, and recovery discipline.
17. Strongman Sled Drags and Carries
Strength athletes and rugby players pull weighted sled or logs across a variety of difficult terrain. This intense workout requires coordination, grip strength, and powerful endurance. Every step burns energy rapidly, and tests the athlete's power and pain tolerance. This one is not for beginners.
18. Underwater Breath-Hold Workouts
This workout is ideal for MMA fighters and professional surfers. You must hold your breath underwater while doing pushups or sprints. If it sounds tough, it's because it is. This simulates moments of oxygen deprivation that athletes experience during competition, like being trapped under a wave or during a long, grueling fight. It strengthens lungs and helps an athlete hone their composure and mental toughness.
19. Ladder Agility and Speed Drills
Soccer and tennis players rely on these drills to imporove their footwork. To do this workout successfully, you need to go through complex ladder patterns at full speed. It can improve neuromuscular coordination and reaction time.
20. Sled Pulls in Altitude Chambers
This workout is used by Olympic sprinters, and it combines sled pulls with altitude simulation to maximize power and endurance. The low-oxygen air increases lactic acid buildup, which is vital for athletic success, as it forces you to push through your fatigue.
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