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How to Be an Olympic Athlete

Posted Jul 9, 08 12:45 PM CDT in Sports 

(Newser) – Before you clear a spot on the mantle for that gold medal, you may need a quick reality check: Forbes runs down the numbers behind the blood, sweat, and tears of an Olympic athlete's training.

  1. Training: 4 to 8 years to maximize lung capacity and heart strength
  2. Sessions: up to 3 a day, 6 days a week
  3. Goal setting: beyond annual benchmarks, some athletes plan 4 years out

  1. Pain: suck it up in 55-degree toxin-flushing baths
  2. Sleep: clock 10 hours a night...plus an afternoon nap to rebuild muscle
  3. Eat, eat, eat: up to 5,000 calories a day during intense training
Click the link below for the complete list.

Source Forbes

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