A conditioning factor in a sports career is the one that point to the top of a sportsman’s form. The multiple champion of Tiumenia, winner of Russian Cups and Master of Sports, Mikhail Shavaleyev, puts his regeneration trainings first.

He trains hard, but tries to maintain a balance between good form and health.

It’s important to stay healthy, especially when you need to watch your hormones. They are the main factor that decides training effectiveness – says Mikhail. – You need to test yourself periodically, especially when you experience plateaus. Test results can answer many questions about our progress. It’s important to monitor electrolytic balance (levels of minerals: calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, etc.), especially before tournaments. An imbalance in those factors may lead not only to cramps (especially when regenerating), but also lower the speed of nerve impulses, which negatively affects the start.

Mikhail eats eight times a day, 200 grams every two hours, and tries to get in at least eight hours of sleep. If he doesn’t manage this at night, he takes naps during the day.

I train every day – says Mikhail. – I tried training plans many times, but every time circumstances forced me to change my plans. So I’ve started training intuitively. I use a lot of regeneration training – small weights, many reps and light static exercises. This mode helps me to do more strength training during preparations for tournaments. Then I train three times a week, while my regeneration periods are about five times a week.

The heart of healthy armwrestling is to feed well, rest well, exercise, and also a few other factors. The system is as strong as each cell. Often sportsmen don’t pay attention to diet (not to mention supplementation), but they train hard. Their progress is not as quick as they would like. Mikhail is certain that if one keeps balance between diet, training and lifestyle, then the road to better achievements will be easier.

Overtraining – the ailment of many sportsmen – says Mikhail. – Armwrestlers often forget that more is not better. They exert themselves with frequent, complicated workouts and they get stuck in one place.

A rational approach to training is the key to success. Evaluate your training, look at all the elements of your plan, find errors and remove them. Let progress arrive!

Arthur Grigorian

Photos from Mikhail Shavaleyev archives