The Paris Olympics proved to be one of the most strenuous events for athletes regarding their prep work and training. Yet, Kenny Bednarek took it as a challenge to get better and learn more. His practice sessions for his sprinting events at the Olympics were a glimpse into how tough sporting events could be.
In his recent Instagram post, he teased an extended YouTube video capturing all of his prep work for the Summer Games. This also included recovery and physiotherapy, which helped him heal and get stronger during practice.
What makes Bednarek special is his consistent performance throughout various races, which has gotten him success. While he still has a long way to go to become the fastest person on track, things have been looking up for him this year.
Before the Olympics, Bednarek made sure that he was in his athletic prime with the help of some recovery techniques. Just like training, repairing the muscles on time is equally important for athletes to give their best shot at their sport. For this, the sprinter’s physiotherapist, Langdon Dinsdale, talked about how he helped Bednarek achieve success.
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“I am Kenny’s…secret weapon. I’ve been working with him for four years…we do a lot of things to optimize…”
From stretching out deep muscles to making sure Bednarek moved various parts of his muscles, Dinsdale made sure that the 25-year-old didn’t have any form of setback with the wear and tear of his muscles. He would incorporate stretching, some osteopathic work, and proper warmup to get things going.
This video focused on how detailed the training for an Olympic block start could be, with the amount of exercises used to mimic the positions and movements. Dinsdale made Bednarek perform some Nordic curls, kettlebell swings, generic weight-lifting exercises, and so on to help reinforce those muscles.
While sprinting, even for shorter distances, requires endurance and strategy, what one might not take into account is the wear and tear of the joints and ligaments that Dinsdale takes care of. Muscle control is one of the primary aspects of Bednarek’s training, and he makes sure that his physiotherapy sessions help him achieve that.
Additionally, the duo focused on disabling the protective mechanism of the body that prevented the sprinter from performing sudden movements necessary for an ideal block start.
“What we have to do is dampen the protective mechanism so that his body has more access to the muscles.”
The video ended with Bednarek perfecting his start – a portion that would go on to help him win an Olympic silver this year in the Men’s 200m sprint. Now that he’s in the spotlight giving his best, fans are rooting for more such accolades.
