The Olympic Games are full of drama and great stories.  It’s thrilling to watch a well trained athlete perform at his best and achieve amazing success.  But we also watch as others succumb to the pressure or lose battles with their nerves.

Performing on a world stage with one opportunity to display the results of literally years and years of training is a setup for both great disappointment and unparalleled accomplishment.  Although luck and outside conditions play a part in these outcomes, there are things that the top performers do to give themselves the best opportunity for success.

One of the best examples is Evan Lysacek, the new Olympic Gold Medalist in Men’s Figure Skating.  He performed two stellar routines on the world’s biggest stage, landing all jumps and displaying a level of artistry and excellence that propelled him to the top of the podium.

The commentators frequently mentioned his extremely disciplined training regime.  His coach was often quoted as saying that Evan was the most determined skater he had ever trained, and that he had to actually make him stop practicing.

I firmly believe that one of the key reasons Evan was able to skate two clean programs and perform well under such extreme pressure was because of this excellent preparation.  Hours of practice and endless demanding repetitions of his programs prepared him for these performances under pressure.

In skating, like all physical activities, the body has a muscle memory, has learned the “feel” of a movement repeated correctly over and over so that it can replicate this even without us “thinking” about it.  Evan was so well trained that his instincts and body memory were ready to take over when needed and move him through the motions of each jump and step.

During the warm-up before the long program the commentators noticed how “tight” Evan seemed to be.  The nerves were understandable, and he had to skate first in his group.  I firmly believe that his extreme level of preparation allowed him to move through these nerves and accomplish each task.

It was said that during practices in the rink before the competition, Evan would skate his entire program “full out” while many other athletes would conserve their energy and simply “mark” their program as traveling over the ice.  When asked about this, Evan said something to the effect of: “I do this program 3 or 4 times every day back home, so I should be able to do it once here without a problem.”  After he skated his short program, it was commented that he was so well conditioned that he could have gone right out and skated his long program right then, an amazing statement given the rigors of this activity.   He was the hardest training and best conditioned athlete in the competition.

Take a page from Evan Lysacek and prepare yourself for your big moment under pressure.  Whether you are practicing for a marching band competition, a bodybuilding competition, or just wanting to perform a great set in the gym, practice perfectly and prepare yourself for success.  This is the surest way to set yourself up for success and will allow you to achieve your goals and do your best, regardless of whether you’re in the gym, on the practice field, or on the ice in Vancouver being handed a gold medal.

Photo Credits: 1 – Mark Baker AP, 2 – David Phillip AP, 3 – Stockman Getty