In the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, The Independent’s Kate Gill looked into what it takes to train like a Team GB athlete ahead of competing on the world stage.IndependentTV’s How To Train Like A Olympian is a series focused on the individual fundamentals Olympians have to focus on within their training.While navigating tight gates down tumultuous white water rapids, two-time Olympic canoe slalomist Adam Burgess, 32, makes split-second decisions that determine the outcome of his race.Watch more How To Train Like An Olympian episodes here on The Independent’s YouTube.
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00:00I just, I felt that heartbeat relax, it wasn't beating out of my chest so fast.
00:04Look for the space, because that's what I was always trying to do.
00:07I think so much clearer now.
00:09It can feel like things are going in slow motion at times,
00:12that's when you really know you've nailed it.
00:14I'm Adam Burgess and I'm on Team GB's team for Paris 2024.
00:33So I was brought up in a place called Stone, Staffordshire.
00:36I had an opportunity to try canoeing through a link that my school had with a local club.
00:40I'd say from pretty early on I took it serious.
00:43I was probably about 12 years old thinking, yeah I'm an athlete,
00:46yeah I wanted to be this when I grew up.
00:49And yeah, here we are like over 20 years later still doing it.
00:54I'm usually in bed sort of between half eight and nine, still sleep through till seven.
00:58Yep, take my tape off and then I'm outside into the ice bath.
01:13I like to get out there as well.
01:15It kind of doubles up as, yes I've got the cold exposure from the ice bath,
01:18but we're also outside getting natural light on my face in the morning.
01:29Then I move inside, really important for me to hydrate first.
01:32So I'll drink, you know, a big bottle of water at the start of the day with electrolytes.
01:38And then I move on to my breakfast and then coffee.
01:43The training for every day, it's kind of like a normal job to be honest.
01:45Like I tend to get in here about an hour before I start,
01:49warm up in the gym and then we're on the white water for between an hour, hour and a half.
02:08So being in control of my breath when I'm out there on the white water is so important.
02:15And my ability to make decisions in the moment,
02:19it's the contrast is night and day to before I mastered this stuff.
02:23Previously, you know, you get to the kind of last sort of third of the course
02:27and really you kind of roll the dice as to whether I'm going to finish the runoff or not.
02:33I used to have a bad habit of capsizing actually,
02:36important moments at the end of races and like that just doesn't happen anymore.
02:41I feel so much more in control and I'm really aware of moments during the run where
02:47I could potentially gas and lose control of my breath,
02:52which when you're out there, it's then really difficult to regain that control.
02:56It's that awareness of when that's about to happen.
02:58I don't want my competitors to find out about this because part of it is what's giving me an edge.
03:05But really, the main thing that I found was,
03:08yes, when I got into it, it helped me to get over a shoulder injury.
03:11I found loads of benefits to my performance,
03:13but I just started to notice that like every area of my life was improving
03:18and having the skill to deal with that and keep that control.
03:22And I find, yeah, I just I think so much clearer now.
03:27It can feel like things are going in slow motion at times.
03:29That's when you really know you've nailed it.
03:32The ability to calm myself down in the start pool.
03:36One of my selection races for Tokyo was probably one of the first times that I
03:42really felt the power of the breath in the start pool.
03:46I was so aware of my heart beating so fast
03:49and I knew that if I extended my exhale, I could slow down my heart rate.
03:54I felt that heartbeat relax.
03:56It wasn't beating out of my chest so fast and relaxed enough.
04:00Made the final and won the Olympic selection race.
04:03So that was enough proof for me that there's really something in this.
04:12Once I finish on the whitewater, I'm straight into the gym.
04:15And then after that, it's usually a nap and then lunch.
04:19And then it depends on the day.
04:20So Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I'm back on the whitewater again in the afternoon.
04:24And then Tuesdays and Thursdays, I take more rest.
04:27Sometimes I'll do some yoga in that time,
04:29or maybe we've got a meeting with coach or psych or analysis, something like that.
04:40Decision making in our sport is everything.
04:43Previously, we used to try and plan quite a lot of that run.
04:47We don't really speak about technique anymore, particularly that close to the race.
04:51One thing that we've started to do is prime what opportunities I might see in the moment.
04:57Where are the little bits I can just take a bit of extra time?
05:00Where are the race winners?
05:02And we prime that from the bank.
05:03So we say, in that scenario, I might see this.
05:06And then, yeah, surprise, surprise.
05:08Once you've primed it, you're way more likely to see it.
05:11And then the second layer to that is then taking that opportunity.
05:14I've found that once we've primed it from the bank,
05:16I'm way more likely to take it in the moment.
05:18I am a firm believer that this sport, the river can just teach us so much.
05:27To take away from the sport, too.
05:30I mean, we literally do a sport where we're doing ups and downs.
05:35It's the same in life.
05:36We have ups and downs.
05:38That ability to quickly change a plan and react.
05:42In life, we constantly have to pivot when we're hit with an obstacle
05:47or some kind of adversity we've got to overcome.
05:50The river's literally taking you somewhere.
05:51You're on a journey for me to be.
05:53There's just so many ways.
05:55There's so many parallels between what we do on the water
05:58and what life can throw at us.
05:59And yeah, it's just a constant teacher.
06:02And I think, you know, when you do something this long,
06:05I've been doing it for 20 years.
06:07You know, you do anything for that long,
06:09then I think you learn a little bit about life.
06:11You know, even outside of the specifics of the sport,
06:14just on the day, you know, you've got one chance and you have to perform.
06:19You know, you go to some interesting places in your head in those moments.
06:22It's not always comfortable as well,
06:25but, you know, I will say it's when I feel most alive.
06:29Yeah, you know, super grateful for all of those experiences,
06:32the negative ones too.
06:35I'm definitely ready for Paris 2024.
06:39I'm Adam Burgess and I'm an Olympian.