U.S. Olympian and 13-time U.S. National Champion Giddeon Massie!!!
I had the pleasure of spending time with a new friend and world-class athlete on Wednesday. Giddeon and I shared background stories and got to know each other over lunch. I was introduced to Giddeon through a good friend we both share, Mark Fretta. Mark is professional triathlete and one of the coolest guys I know.
When Giddeon was telling me about the training and intensity of indoor cycling I was blow away! I had no idea the amount of stress they were subjecting their bodies too. I guess before I continue, I should tell you a bit about Giddeon’s background. I will put his credentials in bullets to make it easy:
- Olympic Games (2004, 2008)
- World Cup Medalist
- 13-time U.S. National Champion
- Pan American Games, gold and silver medals, 2003
- 3-time Pan American Championship Champion
- 8-time Sr. Worlds team member (1999, 2002-2008, 2010)
- 2-time Jr. Worlds Team Member (1998, 1999)
Giddeon is the #1 ranked US indoor cyclists and if all goes to plan he will represent the USA in his third Olympic games in 2012.
I was impressed with the gym workouts that Giddeon does to get himself ready for these short burst of speed inside the velodrome. He performs a lot of Olympic style lifts like the clean and jerk, deadlift, squats, and several rounds of isolated one leg movements. All moves that help create explosion. He also spends a lot of time working on plyometrics. Plyometrics is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sports. Plyometric movements, in which a muscle is loaded and then contracted in rapid sequence, use the strength, elasticity and innervation of muscle and surrounding tissues to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on the desired training goal. Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, providing explosiveness for a variety of sport-specific activities.
Outside of the velodrome Giddeon is considered to be one of the good guys in the world of competitive sports. Giddeon was one of seven Olympians chosen to support the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in a series of public service announcements with the them: My Health, My Sport, My Victory. I compete clean.