Ryan Lochte Says Good Training Starts In The Bedroom

His secret to winning gold is more obvious than you'd think.
Olympian Ryan Lochte says his day typically starts between 6 and 6:30 in the morning -- and that a 90-minute nap is essential.
Olympian Ryan Lochte says his day typically starts between 6 and 6:30 in the morning -- and that a 90-minute nap is essential.
USA Today Sports / Reuters

When it comes to dating, relationships and reality TV, it has not always been smooth sailing for Ryan Lochte. Remember back in 2013 there was a show called “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?”?

Yes, it existed.

But in an interview with USA Today last week, the Olympic swimmer set the record straight: In the bedroom, he’s a pro ― at sleeping, that is.

Lochte, who will attend his fourth Olympic Games this year, revealed his secret to getting enough shuteye (and not sleeping through early morning practice): an afternoon nap.

“I’m usually so exhausted from morning practice that it’s so easy to take a nap,” Lochte told USA Today. “I try to get an hour and a half in. That’s the perfect ideal nap time.”

The swimmer has previously said his typical day starts around between 6 and 6:30 in the morning. He wakes up for a quick breakfast, then hits the pool and the weight room until about 11.30 a.m., has lunch and naps. Then it’s up again for afternoon practice ― an hour of cardio and back in the water for two more hours, he said.

“We’re the best nappers because I think swimming is one of the hardest sports to train for,” Lochte said. “You’re using every muscle in your body. You keep doing that day in and day out. You get worn down.”

“For how much I beat up my body, I could sleep for days.”

- Ryan Lochte

While there’s no definitive answer on which athletes are the best nappers, there is evidence that getting good sleep can help keep you at the top of your game.

The better you sleep, the better you train

“The better you recover, the harder you can train without the risk of overtraining. And most of recovery comes from sleeping,” Henri Tuomilehto, clinical director at Oivauni Sleep Clinics in Finland, told The Huffington Post.

Multiple studies have also shown that early morning practices ― a common practice time for swimmers ― do cut into athletes’ sleep, Tuomilehto said.

“And the easiest way to enhance performance is to sleep more or improve the quality of sleep ― for all of us, but especially for athletes,” he added.

Napping lets athletes recover some of that lost sleep to increase alertness, reaction time and mood, which can improve the quality of training and competitive performance, Tuomilehto said.

One study that followed a small group of collegiate swimmers found that extending daily sleeping time every day to 10 hours (one to three hours more than the National Sleep Foundation’s nightly sleep recommendations for most adults) did improve performance.

After six to seven weeks of sleeping longer, the athletes swam faster in a 15-meter sprint by 0.51 seconds, compared to their times before they started sleeping longer. The swimmers were also quicker to leave the starting blocks by 0.15 seconds. They improved turn times by 0.1 seconds. And they kicked five more times during the swim.

For Lochte, the siesta is essential to keep his training on track.

“For how much I beat up my body, I could sleep for days,” he said. (That’s why he says setting an alarm is pretty essential, too!)

But while the 90-minute snooze seems to be working well for Lochte, Tuomilehto said he generally recommends shorter naps.

“Physiologically, a half-hour nap is ideal,” he said. Shorter naps have the same benefits in terms of recovery and boosting alertness, but they also won’t interfere with nighttime sleep, he explained.

Whether the extra sleep will be enough for Lochte to win gold in Rio is yet to be seen. He’ll be competing in a leg of the 800-meter freestyle relay, as well as in the 200-meter individual medley race.

But the evidence suggests his commitment to his sleep schedule might do more to help him than his new hairdo.

Rio ready!! 🛫 #2016 #olympics #usa

A photo posted by Ryanlochte (@ryanlochte) on

Sarah DiGiulio is The Huffington Post’s sleep reporter. You can contact her at sarah.digiulio@huffingtonpost.com.

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