KELVIN BATEY IS one of Ireland’s best hopes of a medal at the Olympic Games in Rio this year but he’s hardly known outside of his sport of BMX.
The 34 year-old missed out on qualifying for the last Games in London 2012 by a single point after he crashed in the final race in which to secure entry while four years prior to that in Beijing, he missed out because of injury.
He has promised to make 2016 his year and he’s leaving absolutely nothing to chance in his quest for a medal.
He’s won World titles in the past but knows they count for nothing as he heads into the most crucial few months of his sporting career.
Batey might have only declared for Ireland in 2010 but you’ll do well to find a more passionate and dedicated sportsman in this country.
“My life will be dedicated to my sporting goals over the next 4 months before Olympic qualification takes place at the World Championships in Colombia at the end of May,” he said.
And here’s what he’s doing to be in the best possible shape…
7am: Wake up and head downstairs to do a few house chores.
It’s nice to begin the day having the house in order as it gives me a clear mind to focus on what I need to do throughout the day.
7.15am: Drink a pint of water to rehydrate myself from my sleep then walk our dog.
This gives him a good start to the day but also wakes me up both physically and mentally. Being out in the fresh air whether it be a nice summer’s day or cold winter morning is so refreshing.
7.45am: Get home and get some breakfast. Right now I’m eating a high carb/high protein diet to ensure I get the calories I need to help me tolerate the high volume of training and recovery.
For breakfast I’ll have porridge oats with semi-skimmed milk with a banana and acacia honey. This is a good mix to start the day with and I’ll follow it with 4 egg whites and a slice of wholemeal toast.
8.30am: I do some connectivity exercises to get my upper and lower body working better together. This benefits me both in the gym and on the bike.
My coach is looking at all areas to help me make the marginal gains needed that make the difference in elite sport and I’m really feeling the benefit from this.
I also incorporate knee rehab exercises to aid a knee injury I sustained at the back end of last season. Despite it being fully healed I need to make sure it’s strong enough to take the rigorous strains of my sport for the year ahead.
9.30am: I do some emails (BMX-related), take my partner Maria her daily cup of tea in bed, shower, then get my kit ready to head to Buxton University for my gym session.
10am: I leave for the one hour drive to Buxton. On the way, I’ll think about techniques I’ll need to focus on in the session.
I’m lucky to be working with some great strength and conditioning coaches at the University and the drive there twice a week is well worth it. I’m learning a great deal from being there and making huge progress in what I’m aiming to achieve both on and off the bike.
11am: Arrive at Buxton and head over to the gym to meet my coaches. We talk through what the aims are for the session and how we’re going to execute them in the best way possible.
11.15am: Begin the session with a light to moderate warm-up using bands and quick movements to prepare me for lifting.
A combination of squats, Olympic lifts and complete body exercises make up the gym session where I’m focusing on engaging the exact muscles I need to perform the various sets.
Throughout the session I’ll drink water and snack on cereal bars to give me a few carbs and sugar to keep my energy levels high. As soon as the session is complete I drink a protein shake and head to the shower to freshen up.
1.15pm: Sit down with my BMX coach to discuss the past week of training and how things are and how I’m feeling.
It’s important to meet like this so we can iron out any issues either of us have and ensure we’re on the same page.
We have some lunch I pre-packed and brought with me from home.
Today it was two big wraps filled with a chicken breast, salad and some light mayonnaise. I have a homemade fruit smoothie and a couple of rice cakes. I rehydrate fully with a litre of water.
2pm: Travel home (which takes an hour) but I stopped at the supermarket to top up the fridge. Into my basket go plenty meat, fruit and vegetables.
I always enjoy looking round the supermarket and thinking of new ideas for dinner recipes or ideas for snacks through the day.
3.30pm: Get home and have a snack of tuna and tomatoes in pita bread.
I sit down and relax with Maria. Sometimes we’ll watch our favourite programme, Prison Break. This series is so addictive and we’ve already seen two seasons in the last month.
I like to have a bit of time throughout the day to sit and relax as it’s refreshing to prepare me for my second training session of the day, if I have one.
4pm: Drink a pint of water
4.30pm: Go out on the BMX bike on a quiet stretch of road to do some acceleration work.
It’s a short, sharp session but it really focuses me in getting everything out of myself and putting everything I have into my pedalling as there are no other factors to think about such as the start gate or jumps that you find at the track.
I do two sets of five 40-metre sprints from a standing start and feel really good. This session only takes me 40 minutes with a good cool down and stretch afterwards.
5.45pm: Shower
6pm: Help Maria to prepare dinner. Tonight it’s one of my favourites (that she makes); Lebanese chicken skewers with rice, tender stem broccoli and carrots. I also throw in a slice of bread and have an orange juice as my drink.
7pm: Eat dinner, wash up before settling down to relax for the evening. I like to sit down and relax by 7.30 each day to give myself time to wind down before bed.
7.30pm: Sit down and relax to watch some TV and also have a phone call from my parents to see how my day was. I’m really close to my family who have supported me all the way through my BMX career.
They’d love to see me wearing the Irish jersey in Rio as they know how much of a journey I’ve taken over the last 12 years. They’ve lived all the highs and lows with me in that time.
9.30pm: Eat some Muller rice yogurt as a bit of a muscle fuller through the night. It’s low in fat and nothing heavy to put in your stomach before bed.
10pm: Check my training schedule for tomorrow and make sure I have everything I need for the morning. I always like to be well prepared as there’s nothing worse than searching for equipment just before you go training.
10.30pm: Bed time.
Representing Ireland is a really proud thing for me.
I’m one of the proudest Irishman that you could meet; I might not have the accent but at the same time, every time I pull the jersey on or hold the flag I’m really proud and I’m privileged to be able to represent the country.
After a few successful seasons winning World Titles and having great support from my partner Maria, my family, friends, BMX Ireland and Cycling Ireland, I’m in a great position to make the Irish Olympic Team and represent our great country at the biggest sporting event on the planet.
You can follow Kelvin on Twitter.
Defence is the biggest difference that sexton ( and henshaw) will bring. Taking the line up is a very strong part of his game. Leinster over the past few months have been very passive in defence this has to stop. Seanie looks like he’s going to start ( not sure I’d go with that but hey) he needs to dominate contact, so far this year he’s been very passive, he’s not go the skills and ability of Max or the work rate of Ruddock so he needs his best game in about 2 seasons.
@Chris Mc: O’Brien shouldn’t start this game. He has no form at all. Leinster have plenty of practice winning massive games without him.
@grandslamkbo: I agree, my backrow who be Fardy, Conan and Ruddock. But it looks like Sean is starting.
@Chris Mc:
So Chris do you think J Lowe wont make the team , even if we need tries ::can you let us see your team ::thanks
@Martin Quinn: I never said lowe not to start. I wouldn’t pick O’Brien.
My team
Healy, Cronin Furlong
Ryan and toner
Fardy toner and Ruddock
McGrath and sexton
Henshaw ringrose in the centre
Lowe, Kearney and larmour
With Leinster back to more or less full strength they should have too much powder for Toulouse. It’ll be a cracking game but I think home advantage is worth around 7 and with the bookies calling it an 8 point Leinster win I’d say that’s about right, maybe even slightly more.
The two key factors will be the form of their returning key men – sexton and ringrose especially and secondly they need to tighten up defensively. They’re leaking on average 24 points a game over the last 7 games so if they can bring that number down then there should be handy enough winners against a young but very talented Toulouse side.
@Jim Demps: gun powder. Toulouse like leaking points as well haha
@Fred McHugh: they absolutely do but getting into a high scoring slug out wouldn’t be the best idea for Leinster. Structure and wear them down and they’ll walk it.
Your anti Leinster bias is old and predictable. You might pepper it with occasional compliments but everyone knows you can’t stand us.
At least some of us admit we can’t stand the other.
@Fred McHugh: apologies Fred that reply was meant for Jim Dumps.
@Baz Dunne: i thought you had me muted? Couldn’t go a week without me eh?
@Jim Demps: you get some amount of stick on here. Good job your not sensitive. Anyways tell your mob to keep up their end and we’ll see you in the final.
@Chris Mc: era I take no notice. If some grown man spends his day slinging insults at me then I figure let him at it, he can’t have too many important things going for him. Once they make it personal I normally just ignore them until they want to talk about rugby. The only person I’ve muted is Martin though.
I fully expect munster to win. It won’t be easy but the result is there for us if we show up.
@Chris Mc: bless you Chris you say every yr there’ll be an all Irish final and it never happens. Can’t see it happening this yr.. in fact I’d say Sarries v Toulouse is more likely than Leinster v Munster in my opinion.
@Jim Demps: He misses you Jim. Baz gets lonely with all those Dubs ; )
@Baz Dunne: It’s going to be a Munster vs.Leinster HC & Pro 14 final .Believe Baz , believe.Eire Abu !!Éire Abú!!!
@Baz Dunne: this is the third year in a row where both sides got to the semis. It might be this year, I hope so. As long as we win the 5th I’ll be ok but it would be so sweet to beat munster in the final.
@Baz Dunne:
Baz I hope are not annoyed with me, just because he has Muted me and not you, does not mean you need to up your game !! He does run away when things get hard and someone sees his hidden knife jabs at all things Leinster.
@Martin Quinn:
Just love his comments saying you are a “grown man spends his day slinging insults at me” Baz all your posts are about 2 sentence’s long and you post maybe 2 posts where his 10 posts a page tells it all >> One page had 28 posts ::WOW now he is hoping for the 42.ie to hire him ::the lad has a problem ::and he says you “cant have too many important things going for you”
Keep happy : ) ; )
@Fred McHugh:
Regarding the 24 points per game I feel we were through to the play off for all that time. I feel it would a lot less if we put a better team out, but it does not matter now as it all comes down to this weekend .
Regarding Munster
I believe Munster will bring out one of their famious European games and get through (and I may have a go at some posters but I will always cheer for Munster in these games) Wish you the very best
COYBIR
“We can’t kick loosely to them or their counter attack Will punish us.”
He has a tenacity to kick when there’s a need to keep possession, I hope he remembers this during the game. COYBIG
@Con Cussed: You really are concussed.
@Camroc: What for? This is the biggest weakness in his game, other scrum halfs too within the Irish setup, they keep kicking the ball away when we need to protect it. We often kick the ball to the opposition at crucial parts of the game (often the last few minutes) and have lost games as a result.
@Con Cussed: I think some of that is he’s trying to show joe he can do the Conor Murrary role. There’s a time and place for kicking the ball away and Luke’s not really a master at it.
@Con Cussed: Which games have we lost as a result?