How far are you able to swim whereas holding your breath underwater? For freediver Patricia Paige Ong, it was a record-breaking 174m in a single breath with the usage of bi-fins on the Worldwide Affiliation for the Improvement of Apnea (AIDA) Panglao Pool Championship Finale within the Philippines in April 2022. And simply final December, the 33-year-old achieved one other nationwide document when she swam a distance of 200m with a monofin.
These private bests got here two years after Patricia began freediving, an curiosity she picked up from an encounter in Indonesia. “I used to be a beginner scuba diver exploring the waters off Gili Meno in Indonesia after I noticed a person swim down to take a look at a turtle I used to be additionally taking a look at. Not like me, he had no respiration equipment,” she shares.
Patricia plans to proceed coaching to check her physique to “see how lengthy, how far, and the way deep I can go”. And she or he just isn’t alone in her endeavour. There are others like professional bike owner Chelsie Tan, the primary Singapore girl to earn a professional contract with an Australian staff to race in Europe in 2021, and swimmer Li Ling Yung-Hryniewiecki, who swam 34km throughout the English Channel in below 13 hours.
These superb feats of endurance show that ladies are simply as – if no more – succesful than their male counterparts in relation to excessive sports activities. For sports activities fanatics and rookies eager on following within the footsteps of Patricia, Chelsie and Li Ling, step one to beginning an endurance regime lies in (mockingly) figuring out your limits.
Understanding your physique and its limitations
It’s essential to have already got an lively train routine earlier than doubling down on bettering your endurance. Take content material creator and triathlete Cheryl Tay, for instance. “Being somebody who loves pushing herself simply because it offers me higher goal, I discovered the concept of triathlons to be very attractive,” she says. So far, the 36-year-old has accomplished 13 half Ironman races and one full Ironman.
Nonetheless, she additionally recognises that whereas beginning any coaching regime is simple, really sustaining it with out over-exerting your physique over time is the true problem – one thing that UFit’s senior physiotherapist Jade Sarsero has seen. A passionate triathlete herself, Jade factors out that almost all of her shoppers come to her as a result of they’ve overtrained.
“Swim, cycle, run – for those who do a few of that or all of that with out energy coaching, your danger of harm is excessive,” she says. Jade elaborates that for anybody beginning any sporting regime, it’s extraordinarily essential to zoom in on necessities like core work, and coaching higher and decrease physique energy.
It’s because if you do all of that, key elements which can be susceptible to repetitive pressure harm, reminiscent of your knees and again, are in a greater situation to completely help your physique as a complete because it pushes by the ache that naturally comes with endurance sports activities.
“Endurance sports activities are all about ache. Positive, you’ll be able to’t stop accidents 100 per cent, however you’ll be able to scale back dangers. Don’t ignore your physique when it tells you about ache, together with the seemingly small, persistent aches and pains. Put your physique by completely different actions. Don’t simply cycle or run intensely, deal with energy coaching too and blend it up. Get your basis – your muscle tissue and tissues – robust,” she advises.
Jade additionally provides that one other huge a part of ensuring you don’t overtrain is to have a construction in place, which is particularly very important for individuals who are new to endurance sports activities.
“Once you begin to prepare, you must put money into getting a coach, or pay for an internet programme the place you’ve got a coach… so long as you get knowledgeable to look in, and assess you and your wants, as a result of everyone seems to be completely different. The probabilities of you overtraining or injuring your self will increase with no structured coaching plan.”
Letting go of (unrealistic) expectations
Relating to beating one’s private finest, each athletes and non-athletes alike would have struggled with one of many greatest roadblocks sooner or later: overcoming the psychological hurdle.
Cheryl remembers the lead-up to a 2017 half Ironman triathlon in Vietnam, in addition to the preparation interval earlier than her first full Ironman in 2018, in Malaysia.
“Earlier than the 2017 race, I prioritised coaching over different features of my life, like my profession. And earlier than my first full Ironman, there have been instances the place I might work out excessively – between 15 to twenty hours per week. Throughout work hours, I might battle to remain awake and focus throughout conferences,” she recounts.
Even worse, all of it got here to naught, as a result of all she racked up have been accidents for her first full Ironman, and a poor race efficiency in Vietnam. Issues took a flip for the higher when Cheryl determined to alter her strategy with the age-old perception that “sluggish and regular wins the race”. Again then, Cheryl would take part in not less than 5 races a yr, however now she solely does two yearly.
She says she does this to keep away from cramming a number of races in a yr as a result of “it’s not about taking dwelling trophies”. As an alternative, the expertise is absolutely about higher time administration and having fun with the method.
“Collaborating in endurance sports activities exhibits me that I don’t must be the skinniest or the fittest within the room. It’s about you doing you, in addition to remaining constant [in your progress]. Present up, be ready to place within the hours and the exhausting work, and the outcomes will present,” says Cheryl.
Patricia agrees. She explains how simply earlier than her victorious freediving efficiency in Panglao, she was always hitting a wall and unable to make it previous the 100m mark throughout observe. A good friend’s recommendation, that “the gap you hit isn’t a mirrored image of your value”, lifted Patricia out of that rut. Since then, she has learnt to beat her self-doubts and ego, and – identical to Cheryl – launch all expectations of herself, driving dwelling the purpose that in relation to bodily endurance, it’s really thoughts over matter.
Discovering your tribe
One widespread tip from these girls is the significance of becoming a member of a group of like-minded fanatics to coach with.
Li Ling, who swam the English Channel to lift funds for a charity in Hong Kong the place she is now based mostly, firmly believes that that is the way you keep dedicated to your sport of selection. “Many golf equipment are very welcoming of these new to the game, and the very best factor is that you will discover individuals of all talents, sizes and styles. Members are normally very happy to talk with you and offer you nice recommendation.
“Having a social group of like-minded individuals makes it simpler to return time and time once more, and to participate in occasions. It’s simpler to push your self to go longer distances when you’ve got others doing that with you,” shares the 37-year-old.
She provides that becoming a member of a membership normally prices a charge, however there are teams on social media channels like Fb which can be free to hitch.
No begin is simply too small
Wherever you’re in your health journey, crucial takeaway is that you simply simply have to begin small, and with intent. Nationwide bike owner Luo Yiwei believes that an endurance sport is just measured by how lengthy you understand it to be, and it may be 100km, 5km and even 3km. The 33-year-old stresses that setting small achievable targets helps you meet your larger aim in the long term, and suggests beginning with one thing easy like biking across the block or exploring the native park connectors.
One other factor that helps is to create some sense of journey as you embark in your journey. This may be so simple as biking to a different close by neighbourhood to take a look at a brand new eatery, simply so you’ll be able to clock in additional miles with out it being a serious exercise.
“Earlier than it, you’re craving to discover longer routes on the highway. Keep in mind that nobody chugs a complete plate of meals in a single mouthful. It’s simpler for issues to be bite-sized. Get began and let momentum lead you on,” she says.
Supply: Her World