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Post by gr8ful on Jul 25, 2021 14:50:26 GMT -5
Obviously beach volleyball players are in incredible shape, and being forced to play in mid 90 degree heat in high humidity is incredibly difficult (if not borderline dangerous). But are they the best conditioned athletes overall at the Olympics?
Obviously, cycling, soccer, gymnasts, table tennis and equestrian are prime examples of sports requiring the highest level of peak performance and physical conditioning...but I think I'm giving my nod to Water Polo...those men and women are beasts. I've never played it, don't really have a desire too, but watching it is damn entertaining....
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Post by maplespear on Jul 25, 2021 15:03:52 GMT -5
I'd say swimmers are up there, and water polo like you said above.
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Post by akbar on Jul 25, 2021 15:09:26 GMT -5
Wrestlers.
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Post by naujack85 on Jul 25, 2021 15:17:06 GMT -5
Water polo is insane
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Post by trollhunter on Jul 25, 2021 15:25:17 GMT -5
It depends on your definition of "best conditioned". VO2 max?
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Post by KO7 on Jul 25, 2021 15:34:01 GMT -5
I’m incredibly biased, but I personally strive to look and perform as much as I can like pro beach volleyball (important distinction from indoor volleyball), and basketball players. Therefore I’d vote for those two as having the best conditioned athletes.
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Post by bbg95 on Jul 25, 2021 15:45:25 GMT -5
This is a good answer. I don't think a lot of people realize how exhausting wrestling for even a few minutes can be.
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Post by gr8ful on Jul 25, 2021 16:00:29 GMT -5
This is a good answer. I don't think a lot of people realize how exhausting wrestling for even a few minutes can be. Actually this is true, and even when doing the serious mental checks in my mind I didn't think of this and should have...Aleksandr Karelin's training regime is still possibly the hardest of any athlete who has participated in the olympics...
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Post by basil on Jul 25, 2021 16:03:49 GMT -5
I think water polo has to be insane, and I’m sure wrestling is very difficult too.
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Post by bbg95 on Jul 25, 2021 16:08:10 GMT -5
This is a good answer. I don't think a lot of people realize how exhausting wrestling for even a few minutes can be. Actually this is true, and even when doing the serious mental checks in my mind I didn't think of this and should have...Aleksandr Karelin's training regime is still possibly the hardest of any athlete who has participated in the olympics... Yeah, the only reason I know is from personal experience. I had no idea I could be so tired until after my first competitive wrestling match.
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Post by ebes1099 on Jul 25, 2021 18:05:42 GMT -5
If you’re talking VO2 max those cyclists have to be up there.
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Post by bayarea on Jul 25, 2021 18:14:37 GMT -5
I remember in a previous Olympics, the announcers said that water polo players had the best aerobic conditioning of all of the Olympic athletes.
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Post by bumpsetsonly on Jul 25, 2021 18:33:16 GMT -5
If you’re talking VO2 max those cyclists have to be up there. was gonna say, vo2 max wise I think triathletes or marathoners. It blows my mind how fast they can be at almost pure aerobic levels.
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Post by netsetter on Jul 25, 2021 18:36:25 GMT -5
I announced a lot of polo games and worked a lot of wrestling mats in California, so I agree with both of these.
Polo is nuts because there is absolutely no period of rest. You can't stop pedaling and coast at all. You can't stop running when the ball goes out of play. Wrestling is nuts because the moment you engage it is pure physical exertion. There was a coach on our volleyball coaching staff that was a state champion wrestling coach. The offseason workouts he would put us through were what I thought were brutal at the time. Then I saw this documentary on Dan Gable's program at Iowa and it made a lot of sense that they were similar (we obviously didn't do the volume that Gable put his college wrestlers through). What I admire about wrestlers' training regiment is that a lot of it is mental. Tasks are set up to finish certain benchmarks after the body has surpassed a point of exhaustion.
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Post by universal on Jul 25, 2021 19:20:59 GMT -5
Maybe the information at this link might be interesting for this discussion. ESPN: Degree of Difficulty Sport RankingsNot sure if I first read this ten years ago or a million years ago. But it is probably of no less value now than when it was first published by ESPN.
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