La Santa Training Camp

In March 2018 I had the pleasure of working with world class athletes for the first time. Shameless name dropping: Sam Briggs, Sara Sigmundsdottir, and Emma McQuaid

The first takeaway was just the staggering amount of training they are able to get done in a single day. On one day, I remember seeing them do 4 of what I would consider total write off sessions, nearly back to back.
AM1: Gymnastics pyramids: about 90 mins of nearly non-stop work, accumulating hundreds of reps of all CrossFit gymnastics movements, set sizes increasing as the session went on
AM2: BB Strength: deadlifts, 5 x 10 @ very heavy kgs

PM1: 10 x 400m on the running track
PM2: Swim intervals

The quality of the work was maintained despite the multiple sessions, a quick drink and snack between was all they needed. We enjoyed huge feeds in the evening however.

The week had a great variety of sessions, competitions and styles of training, including a 100km cycle and competition simulations. Observing the interpersonal dynamics was also fascinating and inspiring to see how they worked together and egged each other on in their various strengths and weaknesses.

As an individual sport, it’s rare for top-flight athletes to spend that much time together for sustained periods, but I believe it is necessary to keep pushing to higher levels when you’re already near the top.