What Perform Smart means to me by Sam Oldham

I’m currently deep into my preparations for a competition in Russia at the end of November, where I will be representing my club team, Notts Gymnastics Academy. The past twelve months have been a constant battle following a series of injuries throughout 2017 and 2018. All-round gymnastics is an incredibly difficult pursuit. You have to master six apparatus and perform 50 complex skills and one vault during a competition.

For the first time in around 30 months I am now training at a high level of difficulty across the board. The big challenge now, is that I am three years older than the last time I was at this level and consequently my body is fighting to adjust back to the heavy load. My biggest asset now is my experience and I have to constantly tap into that to make well educated decisions.

Training smart is vitally important to me and if I am going to stand a chance of being selected for the Tokyo Olympic Games, I will have to be the smartest athlete in the gym. I will soon be entering my 20th year of gymnastics training which means there are a lot of miles on my clock. My recovery is almost more important than my training, now that I’m a 26-year-old elite athlete. I have learnt all the fundamental skills I need to make my charge towards the Olympic trials in the new year. At this point it’s all about making sure my body and mind are in the best possible place to maximise my performance.

During my training sessions I eat a PhD Smart Bar to make sure my body but also my brain is fuelled properly. I am essentially performing super complex problem solving and adjusting my body in the air, which means concentration is paramount and the PhD Intra BCAA is a key component to my performance strategy. I have the experience of preparing for two games already under my belt which gives me lots of confidence heading into Olympic year.

My goal going into the competition in Russia is to successfully perform six routines and focus on my execution score. High Bar is going very well in training right now and I hope to continue to improve the difficulty of my routine throughout the winter. I believe that I have a lot to offer especially on the Pommel Horse and High Bar events in 2020. I can’t wait to get back out there on the competition floor and where better to compete right now than in Russia who are currently the best team in the world.

Written by PhD Ambassadors