Harsh training methods aren’t necessarily abusive.  Consider that athletes already subject themselves to the kinds of environments that most people actively avoid, and would probably be considered ‘harsh’ by the average person. These routinely involve long days, week after week, often planned out years in advance, practicing special diets and routines [1] and in some countries this may mean being isolated from home and family for years at a time.  Athletes consent to having very harsh training in order to reach the prize, they’re used to putting themselves in extreme discomfort to achieve their goal. To the average person these things may seem abusive but an athlete considers these physical and mental demands differently.  Communist teams used these kinds of training methods frequently and achieved lots of Olympic success, [2] why can’t an athlete choose to emulate these methods in the pursuit of their professional and personal dreams?  [1] Dusen, Allison Van, ‘How To Train Like An Olympian’, Forbes, 8 July 2008,   [2] ‘Olympics: planned economies and the need to succeed’, euronews, 20 July 2012,