How to Become an Olympian

If you want to become an Olympian, you gotta be made of the right stuff. It's a long, arduous path, but it will be nothing short of worth it if you succeed. If you're ready to commit years to a sport and to yourself, you may have the mindset of the next great Olympian. Since you're already dreaming of that medal, why wait any longer? Let's go!

Part 1 of 3: Setting Out

1. 1
   Assess your physical fitness. It's easy to look at the Olympians we see on TV (especially when it comes to sports like curling. Ridiculous but yet oddly hypnotizing...) and think to ourselves, "I could do that!" Well, if you're on this page with a family-size bag of chips in your lap and a 2-liter of Mountain Dew at your side, you may want to think again. This is serious stuff. This is stuff that people dedicate entire lifetimes to. Do you mean it?

   • That being said, certain Olympic sports require different levels of fitness. If you can't swim 400 meters (1,312.3 ft) in 4 minutes, don't sweat it. There's a million other things that determine if you're qualified, too. What would be reasonable?
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2. 2
   Choose your sport. So, here's the thing: you probably want to choose a sport you've been doing for a while. This whole 10,000 hour, 10 years of practice thing isn't 100% true, but it's not far off. Typical athletes invest 4 to 8 years of training before hitting the Olympics^[1], so it's best to pick something you're familiar with!

   • Normally, you want to start as young as possible. However, there are caveats: start too young and you may burn out or reach your peak earlier. But if the sport you're interested in has an older average age, this may not be something that concerns you. Heck, Oscar Swahn (shooting) was 72 years old!^[2]
   • Hate to break it to you, but there are a few reasons for automatic disqualification. If you're 6' tall, you probably won't be on the female gymnastics team. If you're blind, you probably won't be doing archery -- that type of thing. No surprises there, huh?
   • The other thing to keep in mind is the popularity of your sport. If you're a male, you have a 1 in 45,487 chance of playing basketball. For females, you have the same shot as the men in playing basketball, but your best bet is handball -- coming in at a ripe 1 in 40.^[3] Talk about game changers!
3. 3
   Start practicing every day. Every day. Sometimes twice! Even if you're not "practicing" per se, you should be doing something akin to helping along your career. That could be resting as part of your routine (which is a thing), working on flexibility and strength (instead of cardiovascular strength, just for an example), experimenting with your diet, etc. There's always something to be done!

   • Take weightlifters, for example. It's unwise to lift weights for 10 hours a day -- that's a surefire way not to get into the Olympics (and to get into the nearest hospital). But they are lifting for, say, 2 hours a day -- and then spending 8 more hours with time spent on recovery, rehabilitation, and active rest.^[4] It can be a full-time job, for sure.
   • Stay mindful. You know that old adage, "practice makes perfect?" It doesn't. They were wrong. It makes habit or permanence. If you're just shutting off your mind and going you won't learn a damn thing from the paces you're putting your body through. You have to be always aware of your form, habits, and how you can improve (and how you need to). This is partly what a coach is for, but some of it has to come from you, too. On that note...
4. 4
   Get a coach. If you got handed a paintbrush and went off into your study to paint, you could do it. You could do it every day for the rest of your life and you could probably get pretty good. But you wouldn't know how to experiment. You wouldn't know any techniques to try. You wouldn't know where you suck and you wouldn't know where you don't. And you might put the paintbrush down to go watch TV. See where we're going here?

   • You have to get a coach. Even if you're the best shotputter/swimmer/curler/runner/bobsledder this side of Timbuktu, no one will know if you don't get a coach and get into the network. They'll not only provide you with motivation, feedback, and critique (all invaluable), they'll get you going in competitions and basically act as your agent.
5. 5
   Keep your job. No really. Keep it. Or if it's super-inflexible and you're miserable, don't. But then find a new one that is. This Olympic stuff is pri-hi-hi-icey and that's how Bill Gates would phrase it. You need to pay for coaching, equipment, and travel and those are just the three big ones. It's so common for the parents of Olympic hopefuls to go broke that the US government is looking into a program to help them.^[5] So make sure the cash is a'flowin'.

   • If you can, get a job that supports your training -- like working at a gym or pool. If you can, do some coaching yourself! That way work isn't really work. And make sure it's super flexible -- you'll be needing to take some serious time off.
   • For the record, being an Olympic athlete, even when you've made it is not a well-paying gig. The NFL football players that barely have a place on the bench will run laps around your bank account. Many start jobs (military, coaching, heck, even being a waiter) and when they're past their prime, keep their very normal, everyday, not-glamorous-at-all gigs. If you want to be in the Olympics, you're not doing it for the money.
6. 6
   Have the dream. You know how they say if you want to be an actor, you can't have a plan B? How if you want to be anything that takes work, you have to want it and nothing else? Being an Olympian is one of these things. You have to want it so bad you eat, sleep, and breathe it. You have to dream about it at night. This is not a Sunday afternoon hobby.

   • This will be the only thing that keeps you going. There will be days when you've worked out so hard you puke, days when you don't want to move a single inch of your body, and then you get up and do it anyway. Without the dream, you give up. And plenty do!
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Part 2 of 3: Getting Serious

1. 1
   Compete. It's all well and good to have a coach, to be practicing every day and to be super serious about it, but then you gotta put your skills up to the test. In many sports, it's the only way to climb up the ladder and eventually get noticed (loads of Olympic sports don't have "tryouts"). So start locally, go regional, and eventually hit Nationals!

   • The more you do something, the more common and no-big-deal it becomes. Imagine having the Olympics be your first competition! Getting loads of competitions under your belt -- even though they're of a ridiculously smaller caliber -- will prepare you mentally.
2. 2
   Monitor your life 24/7. You're not training a few hours a day -- you're training 24/7. Everything you do -- everything will determine your progress, performance, and success. This takes diligence, perseverance, patience, mental stability, and discipline. Here's why:

   • Your diet. Everything you eat affects you. Load up on carbs at the wrong time and your workout could crash and burn. Too much caffeine and you're not sleeping. Too much or too little of anything that keeps you from performing at 110% is off limits.
   • Sleep. Most Olympic hopefuls get a minimum -- minimum -- of 8 hours of sleep.^[6] It'd be impossible to work the body so hard without it.
   • Your lifestyle habits. If you're downing a 40 of PBR between bong hits, this isn't for you. Let's just leave it at that.
3. 3
   Get financing. If you've been competing for a while, it's possible you'll get noticed. Once you get noticed, you could receive a bit of money for your efforts. Just a bit. It varies by nation, actually, but the cream of the crop do usually get something for their time (the US is pretty low, actually). It'll come in the form of sponsors or from your sport's governing board.

   • Because of that, look into being a part of your sport's NGB That's the National Governing Board for whatever it is you're doing. The more you make yourself known, the better.
4. 4
   Set goals. Concrete, achievable, short-term and long-term goals. You need things to work toward that aren't "being awesome" or "training every day." There are records that deserve breaking. There is competition that can be quantified. So set goals for this week. Set goals for this month. And set goals for this year. It'll align your efforts like none other.

   • The great thing about this is that you'll probably be dealing with a lot of numbers. Whether it's going faster, harder, or doing more, there's a number associated with it. So keep an eye on yourself and what you're capable of. If you know where you started, you know where you've gone -- and where you can go.
5. 5
   Realistically evaluate yourself. Plenty of athletes are good. Millions the world over are good. To know if you're made of Olympic-quality stuff you gotta realistically look at yourself. How do you compare? How long will it take you to start comparing? Is the time investment worth it? What has your progress been like? What's feasible? What's coach have to say about it?

   • It's important to do this on the regular. It takes the fun out of it, sure -- but that's what happens when you take anything seriously. You have to know where you stand at any given point in time. You have to take your feedback and utilize it, get better, and see that. An underlying theme to all these points seems to be having a good head on your shoulders, doesn't it? So in addition to being physically fit, make sure you're mentally fit, too.
6. 6
   Let go of your social life. The Olympics aren't always tomorrow. There will be times when you're just training to get better. Those are the days where it'll only take the majority of your day! Then there's the time when the Olympics are six months away and it's your entire life. So say goodbye to your friends now (your friends are probably your coach and your teammates anyway, so never mind). Forget the Friday night parties. Forget the lazy, hungover Sunday mornings. You've got work to do.

   • It's not gonna be easy. There will be days when it feels like it's not worth it, too. Those are the days when you gotta grab your mind by the corpus callosum and wrestle it into submission. You haven't done all this work for nothing. You can go back to drinking boxed wine and watching bad movies with your less fit friends later.
7. 7
   Know pain. You don't necessarily have to love it, but you have to know it, tolerate it, and even sometimes ask for it. You have to throw your muscles into freezing ice baths, you have to sweat until you feel faint, you have to run until you vomit. You almost have to crave it. It will be a daily thing. You won't be able to lift your arms above your head some days. But then it'll go away and then the next time it happens, it won't feel so bad.

   • Injury is not a laughing matter here. We're talking wasting years of your life if you get hurt. And sometimes, sure, it takes a little pain to prevent a lot of pain. If you take one thing away from this, it's be safe. Never hurt yourself so hard you can't come back from it. Know what you're body can handle and what it can't. And be careful.
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Part 3 of 3: Going for a Medal

1. 1
   Attend national championships. For many, national championships in their sport is the key to the rest of their career. It's there that you may get scouted for the Olympics and secure the next couple years of your life. So once you've gotten all the smaller competitions out of the way, it's about time to go big or go home.

   • Not all sports work the same way, of course. Some sports have Olympic trials and some even have tried-and-true tryouts. But being on a national team, while not a guaranteed way to get into the Olympics, is a pretty darn good step.
2. 2
   Qualify for and dominate the Olympic trials. Again, though not all sports are the same, you may have to participate in the Olympic qualifying trials. And there you must be in the top of those participating -- not just do well. Once you score in the top of your sport, you're officially in! WAHOO! Look at you go.

   • Okay, that's not necessarily true. Take boxing, for example: even if you dominate the trials, you may still have to participate in a national tournament (new regulations you can imagine competitors aren't super happy about).^[7] But take solace that you are nearing the end of the line!
3. 3
   Get used to traveling. Between competitions, camps, and visiting different training centers, you may be traveling all the time. Not only does this take a pretty penny, but it can be quite exhausting in its own right, too. It's hard on relationships and it sucks living out of a suitcase -- but hey, you'll be able to see stuff!

   • Olympic Training Centers in the US are located in Colorado Springs, Lake Placid, and Chula Vista. Apart from those, you'll be traveling around the world, too. It's quite common for future Olympians to visit competitors and their facilities to get a feel for what's going on on the International forum. Talk about exciting!
4. 4
   Rest. No joke. Many Olympians take it a little easier as the Olympics approach. "A little easier" here is, of course, way harder than any normal person would ever dream of, but still. You don't want to hurt yourself, burn out, or otherwise risk your chances. So relish it. The hard stuff is coming up. You deserve a little downtime right about now.
5. 5
   Visualize. An integral part of succeeding at the Olympics is visualizing. Visualizing every step of the process and how you want it to play out. Visualizing every inch of your event, every placement of your body, every smile you want to make for the camera. Having it all played out in your head before you go on can be incredibly calming, too. And not freaking out is half the battle!

   • Every serious athlete has their own "zoning" ritual. Yours could be meditation, yoga, or even jamming out to your own personal theme song. Whatever gets your brain in the right place is what you should be doing. You'll know it when you feel it!
6. 6
   Have heart. It's a little cheesy, but it needs to be said. Even the most naturally talented people fail when their hearts aren't in it. A decent athlete who wants nothing in the entire world but to win can best an athlete whose mind is 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away, wishing he were somewhere else. So get your heart into it. It can make all the difference.

   • Okay, if you're looking for something a little more scientific, we got it: a British study has come out that says it's not innate talent that's the end-all-be-all. "Differences in early experiences, preferences, opportunities, habits, training and practice are the real determinants of excellence."^[8] So if you don't believe cheese, argue with science. Even if you're not born the best, you can become the best.