One of the most innovative things these athletes have in common is their highly technical and highly specific training regimen. These people are soaring above the rest, because they work on very detailed and specific things that make a big difference when added up.

1. Depending on the sport, athletes train the specific muscles involved in each specific movement of the exercise. In sprinting, for example, many knee extension and lunge exercises are performed to increase flexibility, strength, agility, and coordination in those specific muscle groups.

2. Emphasis is placed on very specific movements of the specific sport. In freestyle swimming, swimmers spend time on the initial dive from the starting platform. They also spend time doing special stretches and exercises specific to that movement.

3. The time and intensity of the exercise vary depending on the length of the event and the specific result you are trying to achieve. If they are trying to improve heart rate, a higher intensity workout is applied, and if they are trying to improve endurance, a more moderate intensity is applied.

4. They will train several times a day to condition more thoroughly and routinely. To be fully prepared and adapted to a specific event, these people sometimes exercise 3 or 4 times in the course of a day to fully automate the process.

5. Recovery phase. They eat a very specific calorie diet and stretch according to the specific exercises they are training on. A sprinter requires a very high-protein diet to help build more muscle, as a long-distance runner eating a high-carbohydrate diet is supposed to provide greater amounts of energy. A sprinter will require fewer but more vigorous post-exercise stretches than a long-distance runner.

6. Every millisecond counts. High performance athletes focus on every little area where they can improve their time. Starting grid, mid-race, final stretch, mechanics, pace, there are so many factors to consider, so it’s important to focus on all the little details.

7. These people have very specific and defined goals. In many cases up to 1/100th of a second! Guys like Michael Phelps, who visualizes in his mind swimming an exact time, it doesn’t get any more precise than that. These are extremely detailed ideas to get more juice out of the squeeze.