Every four years we witness Olympic athletes stretching the bounds of human ability, but these feats are not achieved overnight. Standing on the podium requires years of training, specialized skills, excellent coaching, significant resources, and luck. We, mere mortals, can take inspiration from these greats, but it is important to approach sports and exercise in a healthy and sustainable way and to avoid comparing ourselves too closely with elite athletes.
As the excitement of the Olympic Games continues to reverberate around the world, let’s take a look at the bodies and minds of top performers, and ways that we can push our own limits responsibly. You will learn from two experts: Dr. Michael Joyner of Mayo Clinic shares his perspective on the physiology of elite athletes, and Dr. Ulrick Vieux of Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center speaks from his experience as a sports psychiatrist.
First, let’s take a look at some of the most apparent athletic attributes: height and mass. Adjust the sliders below to see Olympic athletes with different body types, but remember, size isn’t everything.
Joyner says that those with certain observable characteristics often gravitate toward certain sports. ‘Bigger people tend to go to sports that require absolute power. And smaller people tend to go to sports that require aerobic power, or muscular power to body weight ratio. And over the years the sizes have converged and the variability amongst elite athletes is less.’
Joyner says that generally the best laboratory studies involve endurance athletes, especially runners, cyclists, rowers, and to some extent swimmers. ‘What you see is very high aerobic capacity in all of those people, but very different sizes. And you see that the swimmers are big and the rowers are even bigger, but the distance runners are tiny.’ Body shape, weight and composition change throughout an athlete’s career and they are not the only factors that contribute to Olympic success. Focusing too much on these attributes can stunt your progress and negatively affect your physical and mental health.
Up to 45% of female athletes and 19% of male athletes struggle with an eating disorder, according to a study in the European Journal of Sport Science. Vieux adds that 16.7 percent of the athletes had symptoms of OCD with 5 percent meeting the full criteria. Vieux urges empathy when you or someone you know may be dealing with an eating disorder. He also suggests that we should shift the way we think about weight loss. ‘Sometimes as lay people, we’ll look at these Olympic athletes, we’ll look at these professional athletes and then we’ll get motivated to lose weight. And then we’ll say, well, I’m going to go on a diet.’
‘Never use the word diet,’ says Vieux. ‘You want to use the word lifestyle change. Why? Because a diet can be temporary, but if you change your lifestyle, that is how you get the full benefits.’
Now, let’s explore the ways that innate physical characteristics like height, arm span, and leg length can play a role in an athlete’s success in various sports. We will also suggest ways that you can incorporate key aspects of these sports into your own exercise routine. While competing in the Olympics or following an athlete’s training routine is beyond reach for most, we can still allow Olympians to inspire us to try out the planche and front lever, to channel an inner gymnast, or to increase stamina and endurance at the swimming pool or track.
Gymnastics
According to Joyner, gymnastics often favors smaller, shorter people because of the ratio of their strength to body weight and the increased ability to tuck and curl. He also noted that Olympic gymnasts seem to have gotten shorter and more muscular over the years. ‘If you look at women gymnasts from the 1950s and 60s, they’re much bigger than the women competing today.’
While gymnasts can be shorter than other athletes, research shows that it’s not related to their training. Gymnastics routines require a tremendous amount of upper body strength for movements such as swinging, balancing, and holding various poses. These athletes often have muscular torsos that are V-shaped with a wide upper back and a developed chest and shoulders. However, while many gymnasts do tend to have a similar physique, research shows that these characteristics are not predictive of success.
Try it yourself: Heading to adult gymnastics classes could be a great way to improve strength, flexibility and agility at any age. A study that tracked women with an average age of 62 found that those who participated in recreational gymnastics weekly had greater bone density, bone strength, and muscular agility than those who remained relatively sedentary. You could also try calisthenics where exercises often involve horizontal bars or rings. Practicing calisthenics can help improve posture, strength and body composition without the need for major training equipment, according to a study published in Isokinetics and Exercise Science.
Weightlifting
Shorter weightlifters gain an advantage due to the way their bodies are structured, according to research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Our bodies use bones as levers during lifting, and when our limbs are shorter, it’s easier to lift weights because the muscles don’t have to work as hard. In contrast, taller lifters with longer bones need to exert more effort and do more work to lift the same weights because their muscles have to move the weights over a longer distance. Weightlifters generally need more muscle mass than athletes in other sports to generate power and explosiveness during lifts.
Try it yourself: Incorporating weightlifting into your exercise routine could be a great way to develop power and gain muscle mass. Weightlifting involves high-force and high-speed movements, making you better at lifting, pushing, and pulling, which are all necessary for daily activities. It might also lead to better development of the nervous system’s ability to control muscles effectively.
Running
Athletes running at different distances need different training regimes. Those racing distances of 100, 200, and 400 meters are often heavier because muscles play a crucial role in sprinting, according to research in Scientific Reports. It’s particularly important for sprinters to have strong core muscles, as they activate before the legs and help to stabilize the trunk. Athletes running 5,000-meter, 10,000-meter and marathon tend to be more slender.
Try it yourself: You could improve both mood and the brain’s executive processing with as little as a 10-minute running session, according to a study in Scientific Reports. Exercising at a moderate to vigorous intensity for 60 minutes or less, like running, swimming or cycling will also give your immune system a boost. By doing it nearly every day, these benefits add up over time, making your immune system stronger and enhancing your overall health.
Swimming
Top swimmers do not need to be slim to succeed. A study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B showed that athletes swimming the 50-meter freestyle shared a similar body mass with those competing in the two-hour, 10,000-meter open-water marathon. Core muscles also play a crucial role for swimmers. Strong trunk muscles can lead to faster starts with less splash and resistance, and make it easier to maintain a streamlined position.
According to Joyner, ‘While some sports require a big engine – the engine meaning the heart and the lungs and so forth – relative to body size, with rowing, you’re in a boat, and if you are a bigger person, you add drag to the boat, but the power you add is greater than the drag you add. The same is true in swimming.’
Try it yourself: Aside from taking to the pool for a few laps, a strong core is critical to almost all movements in sports, and everybody can benefit from regular core muscle workouts. Planks, bicycle crunches and similar exercises can improve your balance and stability and stabilize your lower back, preventing or reducing lower back pain.
Tennis
Taller tennis players can benefit from a stronger serve because longer arms help create a more powerful movement and their height allows them to strike the ball from a higher point, according to a study published in PLOS ONE. Upper body strength can also contribute to a more effective serve. But speed, agility and endurance are crucial for success in tennis making it possible for shorter players to excel.
Try it yourself: Taking up tennis as a hobby can improve and maintain bone health, increase stamina and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. It’s also a great way to meet new people and make friends. One study reported that people playing tennis feel a sense of community. Following quick and random movements of a ball and positioning yourself requires quick reflexes, good eyesight and hand-eye coordination, and quick processing of information, so it’s no wonder that playing tennis can lead to improvement in cognitive processing abilities.
Volleyball
Volleyball is another sport where successful athletes are taller on average. High-ranking players often have more lean body mass, bigger arm spans and can jump higher, according to a study in the Journal of Human Kinetics.
Try it yourself: Like tennis, volleyball requires constant decision-making and adaptation, which can really boost these brain functions. The mental demands of volleyball also activate important brain areas involved in planning and problem-solving. When playing volleyball you are also a part of a team, providing you with social support that might also enhance these cognitive skills. So joining volleyball games can not only get you moving but also get you more social engagement, and help feeling more connected and supported.
Train safely
Vieux says that one of the most important things to emphasize to aspiring athletes is the difference between performance and longevity. ‘It goes back to the mindset, realizing that longevity is really the key thing. The problem is, for elite athletes in the high school realm, in the college realm, and in the professional realm, this concept of ‘I need to perform maximally and the longevity perspective will take care of itself.” Instead, Vieux advocates healthy, long-term goals and lifestyle-based approaches.
Both experts stress the importance of proper coaching and a supportive community. ‘This is where having a solid team, a coach that you can trust, an agent that you can trust, having family members that you can trust is vital because it’s very easy to get lost,’ says Vieux.
If someone is working out for general fitness, Joyner says that ‘moderately vigorous physical activity, 30 minutes a day is terrific. You get tremendous health benefits, but if you’re trying to get a little bit better, at anything that requires technique, get coaching, especially for tennis, golf, bowling, rowing, and swimming.’
Keep it fun
Both experts also insist that sports should remain fun and enjoyable, no matter what level you are competing at, or how old you are. ‘If you’re doing this for fitness and you are a person in their 20s, 30s, 40s, middle-aged or older, I think the main thing is just find an activity, do it, and then apply the principles that the elite athletes use, which are consistent training, hard day, easy day, what we call progressive overload, and some cross training. And I think the main thing we have to do is help people find an activity they enjoy,’ Joyner says.
Vieux urges parents not to put too much pressure on their children and asks aspiring athletes to avoid comparing themselves with apparent representations of athletic perfection. ‘Focus on yourself, really focus on self-realization. Oftentimes, what we’re seeing is not accurate, whether it is print media or from a television. I would say that when it comes to sports, the point of sports is really to enjoy yourself and to get healthy.’
‘Not every sport will be ideal. You have to find the sport that makes sense for you.’
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