Training and Nutrition: The Formula for Athletes’ Fitness and Flexibility
For an athlete, being physically fit is not enough. The body must be able to work together to overcome the challenges in every competition. That’s why athletes have different daily activity patterns than others.
The activities that athletes do are usually aimed at having a body that is always fit and flexible. This is the same as what Vanessa and Mutiara do. Here is their story.
Vanessa Zaneta Herly
Vanessa became interested in rhythmic gymnastics when she was in the 3rd grade of elementary school. Initially, Vanessa accidentally watched videos on YouTube. From those videos, she became interested in following rhythmic gymnastics training.
Her interest was welcomed by both her parents by registering Vanessa at PERSANI Solo. In the organization, Vanessa was taught various movements by coaches such as Back Scale, Fouette, Pivot Sakura, and other movements.
Vanessa first participated in a championship in 2021 and immediately won first place. Until now, Vanessa has participated in 7 championships and only suffered 1 defeat. So far, she has collected 11 gold medals and 5 silver medals.
The achievements that Vanessa achieved were not only due to her talent but also because of her discipline towards various strict training patterns. In addition to the routine training she does every day at the GOR, Vanessa also does independent training at home.
Training at home is supported by several special tools that Vanessa has. One of them is a staircase-shaped tool called the Bar. She learned about the tool from various YouTube videos that appeared on her feed.
In addition to training, Vanessa also consumes various special intakes to keep her body fit and flexible. Vanessa seems to have a special alarm to choose which foods and drinks are allowed to be consumed and which are not.
Self-discipline like that is what makes Vanessa reach this point. Self-discipline is one of the keys to Vanessa becoming a champion in every competition.
Mutiara Oktaviani Nurul Pasha
This girl from Sleman became Indonesia’s delegate athlete in the long-distance middle-distance running branch at the 2023 SEA GAMES event. Although she is very proud of herself, at first, she did not expect to become an athlete in athletics.
Initially, when she was in the 1st grade of elementary school, Mutiara joined the Volleyball club. However, in 2016 when she was in the 3rd grade of elementary school, Mutiara was registered for a running race at the 100th anniversary of Sleman Regency.
The purpose of her parents registering Mutiara in the race was to train the physical strength of the Volleyball players by running. However, unexpectedly, Mutiara won first place in the competition.
Mutiara’s success in becoming the first champion made the Chairman of PASI Sleman offer Mutiara to join the running sports branch. Since then, she has begun to solidify herself as a professional runner.
This coincidence has now made Mutiara win 70 first-place titles, 5 second-place titles, and 3 third-place titles. These achievements also make Mutiara able to become an athlete on par with Asia.
The factors that cause Mutiara to be like that are of course the training pattern, rest pattern, and nutrition pattern that are continuously monitored. Mutiara always trains intensely twice a day, avoids staying up late, and only consumes food that has good nutrition for her.
Mutiara even intentionally stayed in the highlands for several months just to train her breathing. According to her, the higher a place, the lower its oxygen levels. The low level of oxygen can make Mutiara skilled in regulating breathing during the match later.
