Optimizing Performance for Elite Athletes
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Elite athletes push their bodies and minds to the limits. Training, nutrition, injury prevention, and even technology play a role in how well they perform. A recent international consensus conference brought together scientists, coaches, and athletes to agree on the best strategies for boosting performance and maintaining health. While aimed at the highest level of sport, many lessons apply to anyone serious about training.
Train for Your Sport and Your Needs
The experts agreed that training should match the exact demands of your sport. Endurance athletes, for example, need to focus on three key factors: maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂ max), the ability to sustain a high percentage of VO₂ max, and movement efficiency. To improve these, athletes should combine moderate-intensity training with high-intensity intervals that go beyond race pace. This mix builds speed, endurance, and finishing power. Another key factor is resilience—the ability to maintain form and speed in long events. Training plans should include workouts that build this resistance to fatigue.
Mix Training Methods for Better Results
Combining different training types, known as concurrent training, can improve both endurance and power. This means including resistance training, plyometrics, and speed work alongside endurance sessions. The fear that one type of training will cancel out the benefits of another is unfounded—when planned well, they complement each other. The exact mix should be tailored to each athlete based on experience, training background, and recovery capacity.
Fuel Your Body with a Plan
Nutrition is just as important as training. What, when, and how much you eat affects energy levels, recovery, and adaptation to training. Athletes should work with qualified sports nutritionists to develop personalized meal plans that account for training demands, competition schedules, and personal preferences. Energy availability is critical—training with too few calories can harm health, slow recovery, and even reduce performance.
Adjust Nutrition for Training and Competition
Periodizing nutrition—changing energy and macronutrient intake depending on the training phase—can help the body adapt better. This includes adjusting carbohydrate and fluid intake before, during, and after training to match the workout’s purpose, and scaling it up for competitions. However, weight loss to improve performance should only be done with expert guidance, as it can backfire if not managed carefully.
Be Smart with Supplements
Supplements can help in certain cases, such as correcting deficiencies or providing a proven performance boost from safe substances like creatine or caffeine. However, very few supplements are consistently effective, and contamination risks can lead to doping violations. Any supplement use should be based on evidence, safety, and expert advice.
Special Considerations for Female Athletes
Female athletes have unique needs, especially regarding menstrual health, hormonal changes, and iron status. Tracking cycles should be done with reliable methods rather than unverified apps. Heavy menstrual bleeding, certain diets, and high training loads can increase the risk of iron deficiency, which affects performance. Regular blood testing for key iron markers is recommended. Low energy availability can be especially harmful for female athletes, leading to hormonal disruptions and higher injury risk.
Prevent and Manage Injuries
Injuries remain common in elite sport. Overuse injuries, such as tendon problems, can last for years and sometimes end careers. Early signs—like stiffness, soreness, or swelling—should be taken seriously, with training loads reduced to prevent worsening. Achilles tendon ruptures, for example, require long recovery times, and avoiding tendon elongation during rehab is critical. Decisions about returning to sport should be made collaboratively between the athlete, medical team, and coach, using sport-specific testing rather than fixed timelines.
Harness New Technology Wisely
Emerging tools like wearable sensors and multi-omics (detailed biological analysis) can provide deeper insights into an athlete’s body, from fatigue levels to recovery needs. While these technologies hold promise for truly personalized training and nutrition plans, they are still developing and need more real-world testing before becoming standard practice.
The Bottom Line
The consensus is clear: the best results come from personalized, evidence-based strategies. Train for the exact demands of your sport, fuel your body according to your needs, stay alert to early injury signs, and make use of technology where it’s proven effective. For female athletes, additional focus on menstrual health and iron status can protect both performance and long-term health. While some recommendations still need more research, this roadmap offers practical steps any serious athlete can start applying today.