It's hard enough not to over indulge in treats over the Christmas period and even tougher when you're an Olympic athlete.
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Lithgow's silver medalist Lachi Sharp knows all too well the importance of keeping fit and healthy for hockey over the festive season.
The 24 year-old is home to enjoy the holiday period with family and friends and he shared with the Lithgow Mercury how he's going to maintain his food intake and training.
"Nutrition is a funny thing and I am not the biggest guy, so I tend to find that the more I eat, the better I feel," he said.
He said he was generally "pretty good" with his food intake but of course he was going enjoy himself over Christmas.
"Christmas time is a period where I'll be able to indulge a little and enjoy tasty food and have some beers while enjoying the company of my family," Sharp said.
"I am human after all and it's my way of switching off from the high performance mindset and enjoying the short period of the year where I'm home and can have a break from hockey."
Sharp also shouted out his mum Tania who's a talent in the kitchen and looks after him.
"I'm lucky my mum is a really good cook and she looks after me while I'm home with great food which ticks all the boxes from a performance point of view," he said.
While taking the time to indulge in delicious food and spend time with family and friends, Sharp won't stray too far from the gym.
Lithgow Fitness Centre has offered to be his training facility while he's home and assist him in his strength and conditioning sessions.
Sharp said he will do strength sessions with his main focus being on injury prevention.
"My strength sessions when I'm training full time are mainly focusing on injury prevention exercises, not so much just putting on muscle all over my body," he said.
He said he has experienced many hamstring and hip flexor tears since increasing his training load in Perth but over time has learnt more about his body and what it requires to compete at a high level.
"Hamstring, hip, glute, core and back strength are five main muscle groups hockey players target because they are the muscles that are used the most in the position we play in.
"These exercises will for the basis of my strength work at Lithgow Fitness Centre while also increasing the load on thigh, calf and upper body exercises," he said.
Sharp said his conditioning sessions will involve running anywhere from five to 10 kilometres every second day and will be his main focus after Christmas.
"Conditioning will become more of a focus for me once I've built a new foundation of strength work and after I have enjoyed some time off which I haven't really had since the completion of Tokyo," he said.
He will also transition into hockey training at the Lithgow turf along with his strength training.
Sharp wanted to thank Lithgow Fitness Centre owners Jody and Lyne Presbury for their support and allowing him to train at their gym.
"It's an honour to have Lachi training here, we're happy to support him while he's home and have somewhere to train," Lyne said.
"It's important for him to keep his fitness up, he's a local boy, he's done well and we're looking after our own," Jody said.
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