Manitoba Athletes, it is no surprise that the impact of COVID-19 has caused a drastic change to your training regimen. When gyms and performance centers abruptly closed to stop the spread of the virus, an abrupt shift in priorities took place. Barbells and racks were quickly replaced by body weight exercises at home as we all worked together to ‘flatten the curve’. These exercises were good in the short term, but as the days turned to weeks and months athletes started feeling their optimum performance and motivation slip away. -As tournaments and competitions were cancelled, we began to wonder when we would be able to return to training and competition. We also wondered what sport would look like in the future.
As we begin to see gyms and performance centers begin to open their doors in Manitoba, athletes are excited to get back to training. Many are hoping that they will be just as strong, fast, and powerful as they were before the COVID-19 pandemic forced gyms and training facilities to close their doors. For the most, that will not be the case. Athletes will have to work hard in order to return to the level they performed at in early March. Athletes will have to adjust to their new training programs as they begin to build up their strength, speed, and power. This process will require time, hard work, and determination. When training in this capacity there may be incentive to “fast-track” this process by using banned performance enhancing substances. The Substance Use in Sport and Health (SUSH) committee discourages the use of banned, performance enhancing substances and seeks to hold athletes to the highest standard to provide clean sport to all who compete. There is no short cut to success, and the SUSH committee firmly believes that banned, performance enhancing substances have no place in sport.
To obtain more information on what is and is not allowed for athletes, please visit the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
