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I remember Bjorn Borg doing very well in Superstars, plus Jody Schekter and David Hemery, three people from three completely different sports.
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www.formula1.com/insight/technicalinfo/11/980.html
www.sportandadventure.co.uk/pages/section/feature....h and Fitness§ion_feature_headline=The Human Engine
David Coulthards trainer, Terry Woods, said: ?David is an athlete now - thats the best way to describe him. Theres no question that David is fitter than most English Premiership football players. And I think hes fitter than Schumacher - but not by much.?
?Davids resting pulse rate is 40 beats per minute (bpm) and at periods of intense exertion this can go up to 196 bpm and will be back down to 48 bpm, within five minutes. One of the reasons for this fast recovery is that David utilises 70 per cent of the oxygen in his lungs whereas most people only use around 50 per cent.?
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It's well known that Continental footballers, in particular those playing in Italy, are far fitter than their Premiership counterparts in the majority of cases.
I presume it's due to different types of training routines. They also have superior methods of recovering after injuries and use specialists in this field to get back into action quicker.
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It's well known that Continental footballers, in particular those playing in Italy, are far fitter than their Premiership counterparts in the majority of cases.
Do you have a source for that? It's certainly not well-known to me.
Comparing the type of game played in England and in Italy, I would expect quite the opposite. The English game is far more physical and played at a higher pace.
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"It's well known that Continental footballers, in particular those playing in Italy, are far fitter than their Premiership counterparts in the majority of cases."
utter hogwash, I have never heard anything so far removed from the truth.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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>>utter hogwash, I have never heard anything so far removed from the truth.>>
Somewhat short memories abound.
Have you already forgotten England's laboured efforts in the World Cup and contrasted them, for instance, with the gripping no holds barred, end to end semi-final match between Germany and Italy, which the latter won 2-0 in extra time after playing a large part of the game with only 10 men?
Italy, of course, went on to actually win the competition a few days later.
There are numerous instances of UK based players going abroad to see sports injuries specialists to sort out their problems and one of these, IIRC, is Michael Owen.
There are also various comments by Italian players with regard to the difference between the training routines in, for example, the UK compared to their own country and the fact that they don't seem to suffer as many injuries.
Perhaps a clue lies in this link:
www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0277.htm
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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David Coulthards trainer, Terry Woods, said: ?David is an athlete now - thats the best way to describe him. Theres no question that David is fitter than most English Premiership football players. And I think hes fitter than Schumacher - but not by much.?
I certainly wouldn't expect David Coulthards personal trainer to turn around and say "he's a lump of lard - pub footballers look healthier" :-)
Seriously, the above quote shows that there really isn't much between them in terms of fitness - just that each athlete will specialise in different aspects of fitness so as to acheive in their respective careers.
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As already said, it's probably impossible to define which one is "fitter" - even in one area like athletics, its a bit like asking whether a 100M sprinter, a Marathon runner or a decathlete would be fittest.
To compete at the highest level at most sports (baring Snooker, darts etc. ;-)) you have to be extremely fit.
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They key surely is in the word "fit"
It needs a different type of fitness to play football than it does to drive an F1 car. So you could be fit to play football but not fit to drive the car, and vice versa.
In my opinion the athletes with the best overall fitness are boxers.
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Kickboxers.
My mate's into it big time and can run for miles without breaking a sweat. Wouldn't think it to look at him but he could drop me in about 5 seconds and I'm at least a foot taller than him and have about 6 stone over him.
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Wet Lettuce could drop you in about 5 seconds
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Oh yeah? Wanna make something of it?
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Oh yeah? Wanna make something of it?
My lettuce leaf is shivering in fear. - Oh no its just blowing in the breeze
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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>>My lettuce leaf is shivering in fear. - Oh no its just blowing in the breeze<<
You little.....
I'm just going out for a run, then a cycle, then a high speed motorway drive to prep myself and then (and only then) will I sort you out.
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Neither of them would be as fit as a Tour de France cyclist. From the days before they had a breakfast of EPO and male growth hormone, obviously.
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Well one things for sure, a Tour De France man or a Motocycle GP man can fall off, and what do they do? they tumble along the tarmac, then shake their fists and try to carry on, often they race with broken bones etc... from previous falls only days or weeks before.
A poncey footballer wears makeup, trips over a daisy and falls on the grass crying like a big baby and then they're off for months, years or career over due to injury. What a contrast!
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Neither of them would be as fit as a Tour de France cyclist. From the days before they had a breakfast of EPO and male growth hormone, obviously.
I remember a top cyclist in Superstars, a Swiss guy, I think. I seem to recall he was rubbish in Superstars.
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I think you'll find that the fittest people on the planet are ballet dancers...
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F1 drivers and GP bike racers have to develop a high level of all round fitness, and do well in all rounder events like Superstars. In physical sports the fitness is much more specific to the type of events in which they compete. Cyclists, for example, despite having a very high level of physical fitness are often hopeless and un co-ordinated at other disciplines. The worst ever competitor in Superstars was Tour de france winner Joop Zotemelk who was so bad that even the comentators were falling about laughing.
Alan Prost is a regular and high placed competitor in the Etape du Tour, a mass participation event which follows a mountain stage of the Tour de France each year. Troy Bayliss is another top class cyclist and it has been said he could have had a pro career had he gone for pedals instead of an engine.
I think sportsmen have a unique drive and ability to suffer pain that the rest of us lack, and had they the particular talent and desire to succed they would have reached the top in almost any sport they went into.
--
Robin Reliant, formerly known as Tom Shaw
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The worst ever competitor in Superstars was Tour de france winner Joop Zotemelk who was so bad that even the comentators were falling about laughing.
That's the fellow I remember.
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To deal with such extreme demands, a driver has to be physically and mentally prepared in a way that is unique in professional sport. He uses every major muscle group in the body, so he can?t train in one specific way, like a runner might train for the 800 metres, or a swimmer for breaststroke. He needs to have the upper-body strength of a boxer, the reactions of a fighter pilot and the stamina and aerobic fitness of a long distance runner.
footballers would have a tough time coping in a F1 race.
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Seem to remember Brian Jacks (Judo) was a regular winner at Superstars?
Re cycling , just read Graeme Obree's autobiography - great book and the stamina building that he did at his peak was scary. One throwaway comment was that his family went away to holiday in Nairn (they lived in Kilmarnock). The family went in the car but he just went on his bike and met up with them in the evening. A distance of over 200 miles. A lot of the time he used his track bike (ungeared, or rather one very high gear) on the roads to build up his stamina as well.
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A top footballer has to be dedicated and disciplined. Take Gazza for instance, he would stop drinking at least an hour before a match and never more than one pint at half time.
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Apart from when he played for Rangers and at half time in a game against Celtic he nipped into the boardroom and downed a double whisky before running out on to the pitch for the second half!
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And Graham Hill would drink Champagne by the quart prior to a race.
The levels required from modern sportsmen preclude that kind of behaviour these days. Not least because of the vast sums of money they earn and the paymasters demand full value all the time.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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...From the days before they had a breakfast of EPO and male growth hormone, obviously.......
In days gone by it was a steady intake of amphetimines IIRC. Allegedly what did for Tommy Simpson on the col de Ventoux - what a cracking documentary that was on BBC4.
I think Button put his success down partly last year to an improved fitness routine.
Coulthard was quoted as saying, when Montoya broke his shoulder allegedly playing tennis ´well, that´s what happens when fat people exercise´
Nighty night.
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Its a pity Coulthard couldnt match his acid and sharp wit with his driving skills
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The worst ever competitor in Superstars was Tour de france winner Joop Zotemelk who was so bad that even the comentators were falling about laughing.
Hence why I went into cycling - very fit atheletes, but not necessarily skilled in other disciplines (I was rubbush at football) !
F1 drivers over pro footballers on 'fitness only' !!
Pro cyclists over most other atheletes except ultra triathlon competitors - now they are nutters ! By fitness I exclude any skill, just pure cardio vasculor performance.
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