Old nutrition: smoking cigarettes, carbo loading, beer after workouts, and plain water preferably from a garden hose.
Running magazines were full of faddish drinks and diets.
That's total BS. It was only "nutrition" to non-athletes, couch potatoes and drinkers in pubs. Running magazines etc are still full of faddish diets. So what is the approved diet today?
In his prime with modern training, shoes, nutrition, etc?
He ran 3.30.77 back in 1983 which wasn't even his prime. And even though it seemed like there were tons of top quality races back then to go after times etc, there really wasn't when you compare it to the era we are in now.
I don't even think you need to change his training, shoes, nutrition - any of that. The fractional percentage of elite talent irrespective of era (* I think this concept would apply from the 70's onwards) would rise to the top no matter what era they were placed in. 3.30.0 was basically the pinnacle of the era and that's what he was aiming at. If you adjust that to 3.27.0 that's where he would be at - especially with the "pack" right now seemingly at 3.30 flat give or take half a second.
And I think Ovett as well was a great candidate for the benefits of wavelight and perfect paced running which he clearly didn't have back in his era. Ovett would be right there in any style of race in the year 2024
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
The intellgence level here is so low it is breathtaking. It appears the majority of you morons believe that Seb Coe would be running 1:39 today if he were in his prime. So then the 800m is the event which has declined so much that almost nobody can come within 3 seconds today of what you idiots think Coe would be running today.
Increased protein, nutrition shakes, better things for the body. I suspect Ovett was on a diet of fish and chips with an occasional pint thrown in. Think of all the changes in warmup dynamics, activation, prehab, etc since the early 80’s. At the end of the day, he was a ferocious competitor.
So in the 70's and 80's they didn't know about proteins, carbohydrates and fats? And top athletes trained on beer? They didn't know about stretching and warming up, either. Actually, they didn't even train. You're right - it was the Stone Age.
Not even near the extent to what is known and utilized now. Not even close.
Increased protein, nutrition shakes, better things for the body. I suspect Ovett was on a diet of fish and chips with an occasional pint thrown in. Think of all the changes in warmup dynamics, activation, prehab, etc since the early 80’s. At the end of the day, he was a ferocious competitor.
High protein diets are not meant for the world's best distance runners.
Moderate protein is.
The best guys in the world are skinnier than they look.
Increased protein, nutrition shakes, better things for the body. I suspect Ovett was on a diet of fish and chips with an occasional pint thrown in. Think of all the changes in warmup dynamics, activation, prehab, etc since the early 80’s. At the end of the day, he was a ferocious competitor.
High protein diets are not meant for the world's best distance runners.
Moderate protein is.
The best guys in the world are skinnier than they look.
Not “higher” as in body building. Rather, “increased” would have been a better word. Increased protein for repair and recovery. Anyway, it’s just one of many factors.
Keith Kelly quoted recently is highly applicable to the thread:
So in the 70's and 80's they didn't know about proteins, carbohydrates and fats? And top athletes trained on beer? They didn't know about stretching and warming up, either. Actually, they didn't even train. You're right - it was the Stone Age.
Not even near the extent to what is known and utilized now. Not even close.
So tell me about the rocket scientists coming out of Kenyan running today, with quite a number not having even a secondary school education (and some apparently even not having a sense of time).
High protein diets are not meant for the world's best distance runners.
Moderate protein is.
The best guys in the world are skinnier than they look.
Not “higher” as in body building. Rather, “increased” would have been a better word. Increased protein for repair and recovery. Anyway, it’s just one of many factors.
Keith Kelly quoted recently is highly applicable to the thread:
Not even near the extent to what is known and utilized now. Not even close.
So tell me about the rocket scientists coming out of Kenyan running today, with quite a number not having even a secondary school education (and some apparently even not having a sense of time).
There are foreign nutritionists, coaches and all other sorts of professionals working with some Kenyan groups in Kenya. Others do their research in their own countries but then the athletes benefit from it. Read about Maurten's "Bicarb System", for example.
Increased protein, nutrition shakes, better things for the body. I suspect Ovett was on a diet of fish and chips with an occasional pint thrown in. Think of all the changes in warmup dynamics, activation, prehab, etc since the early 80’s. At the end of the day, he was a ferocious competitor.
So in the 70's and 80's they didn't know about proteins, carbohydrates and fats? And top athletes trained on beer? They didn't know about stretching and warming up, either. Actually, they didn't even train. You're right - it was the Stone Age.
The New Zealanders of that period were famous for liking a few beers after races. I can't imagine that Jakob and Nguse regularly get smashed after a DL meet.
Cram has stated that he didn't pay much attention to 'nutrition' at all. it was likely different for somebody like Coe.
It's also the diet when they are children, which has improved especially for working class children (too much perhaps). Vitamins are added to so many foods these days. Why do you think this generation is an inch taller than the 70's and 80's generations?
Track was one of the top sports back then, and every schoolkid wanted to be the 1500m Olympic champion. Nowadays I doubt if more than 1 in 20 could name the Olympic champion.
So tell me about the rocket scientists coming out of Kenyan running today, with quite a number not having even a secondary school education (and some apparently even not having a sense of time).
There are foreign nutritionists, coaches and all other sorts of professionals working with some Kenyan groups in Kenya. Others do their research in their own countries but then the athletes benefit from it. Read about Maurten's "Bicarb System", for example.
So Kenyan athletes don't know much about what they are doing, it is all foreign coaches telling them how to do it? Yet Kenyan athletes have been successful since the mid-60's. It is surely insulting to suggest it is all due to foreign coaches.
Some runners may be intellectuals but running is not an intellectual activity. Most sports aren't, or they would require degrees to participate in them and succeed. They don't. The fact that anything can be analysed intellectually does not make it an intellectual activity that requires either high intelligence or education to succeed at it. Most runners show this is the case. Running requires physical talent, training and determination. That's it. (Of course I have left out doping but that's now a given at the top.)
So in the 70's and 80's they didn't know about proteins, carbohydrates and fats? And top athletes trained on beer? They didn't know about stretching and warming up, either. Actually, they didn't even train. You're right - it was the Stone Age.
The New Zealanders of that period were famous for liking a few beers after races. I can't imagine that Jakob and Nguse regularly get smashed after a DL meet.
Cram has stated that he didn't pay much attention to 'nutrition' at all. it was likely different for somebody like Coe.
It's also the diet when they are children, which has improved especially for working class children (too much perhaps). Vitamins are added to so many foods these days. Why do you think this generation is an inch taller than the 70's and 80's generations?
Track was one of the top sports back then, and every schoolkid wanted to be the 1500m Olympic champion. Nowadays I doubt if more than 1 in 20 could name the Olympic champion.
Nzer's didn't "train" on beer. But it wasn't necessary to live like a monk, either. "Nutrition" is basically a fancy term for a healthy diet. Athletes have long known what that was. It largely meant not smoking and only having alcohol occasionally.
Runners aren't getting bigger and taller. Cram was over 6'. El G was much smaller, as was Farah. Kipchoge is 5'7". Few runners are 6'. A big physique is not conducive to running success.
The biggest change to what athletes consume today is not what they eat but what they put in their veins. It makes all the difference. Modern sport depends on it.
The intellgence level here is so low it is breathtaking. It appears the majority of you morons believe that Seb Coe would be running 1:39 today if he were in his prime. So then the 800m is the event which has declined so much that almost nobody can come within 3 seconds today of what you idiots think Coe would be running today.
Well most of us expect he would test positive shortly after😂he had a combo of speed/strength that I am not sure anyone else can match. The few guys that are faster are 4+s slower in the 1500m. The guys who are stronger are a second slower in the 400m. I don’t know if he gets to 1:39 but a low 1:40 doesn’t seem that impossible. but also put me in the group that thinks Kipketter and Rushdie also had a few tenths in the tank also given how there races were run.
Not even near the extent to what is known and utilized now. Not even close.
So tell me about the rocket scientists coming out of Kenyan running today, with quite a number not having even a secondary school education (and some apparently even not having a sense of time).
Goodness, why so dramatic and angry? One only simply needs to go spend some time in kapchorwa to see what a difference some of the new knowledge has made, especially regarding fueling during both workouts and races.
So tell me about the rocket scientists coming out of Kenyan running today, with quite a number not having even a secondary school education (and some apparently even not having a sense of time).
Goodness, why so dramatic and angry? One only simply needs to go spend some time in kapchorwa to see what a difference some of the new knowledge has made, especially regarding fueling during both workouts and races.
I'm not angry. I am sceptical. It isn't dramatic changes in training and nutrition that have greatly added to modern performances, particularly amongst a pool of athletes who come from a limited educational background. The rate of doping violations shows it is something else.
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