Lukáš Sedlák: A state of flow is the holy grail for every athlete
He did a great thing in the match against Sweden. Two almost identical goals within two minutes in the semi-final, which moved the Czech team closer to a medal. The forward and captain of HC Dynamo Pardubice also has experience in the NHL. You guessed it right, it is Lukáš Sedlák.
But hockey is not only about medals and confetti, but also demanding training sessions and great stress on the body and psyche. So how to prepare for regeneration and what would Lukáš recommend to all athletes? That's what we asked the new world champion.
Lukáš, first of all, big congratulations on winning the home WC.
What does that mean to you?
So much! All the more so because it was at home in Prague, and I think it is my greatest hockey experience so far. It's hard to beat anything else. I am very happy that we succeeded and at the same time I am grateful that I even had the opportunity to play in Prague and enjoy the championship, so it was a really great experience.
Every athlete goes through countless difficult moments during their career.
What motivates you to keep going and not give up? What always gets you back in the right frame of mind?
When I didn't do well, I guess what always brought me back was the desire to perform at my best and constantly improve, perfect myself and always be a better version of myself. That was probably the biggest driving force for me. I have always craved team success. Sacrifice yourself for the team to be successful. These things probably drive me forward the most so far.
Do you know the state of flow? These are the moments when a person completely merges with time and space and everything goes completely by itself.
Do you ever experience this? Do you remember the last time that was?
I know the state of flow very well and I think that it is the holy grail of every athlete. Every athlete wants to work on it and know the instructions on how to get into this state as easily and as often as possible. When we get there, it's unbelievable how simple everything is and how everything suddenly works out. That's where great successes are born. I myself work on it with various coaches to induce that state as often and as simply as possible.
I think it happened to me in almost every match at the championship. I remember it most from the two goal escapes, when I escaped twice against the Swedes. There I didn't perceive anything else at all but myself. Not even the audience, just nothing. Those were probably the most outstanding moments of the championship.
What was the biggest "aha moment" in your career that moved you the most?
The biggest “aha moment” that really opened my eyes was when I got to the NHL. All those players were far more professionals than I was. It was even a level higher than what I knew from the AHL. At that moment it dawned on me how much work I still had ahead of me to match them. That was probably the biggest "aha moment".
What helps you manage the huge physical load? Do you have a hack that you use for better performance, regeneration or health?
I have quite a few recovery hacks, like cold water. After every match and after training, I go into cold water. I like it here a lot and I think it helps me a lot. Sometimes the sauna too, but it doesn't suit me at all, so I'm careful with it. Then there's the red light, which speeds up recovery after exercise, and then of course I have a lot of different food supplements. I try to use all this.
In professional sports, every percentage of performance can be decisive. And I try to look for the little things to be the best I can be. So even if it only helps me one percent, I always want to use it as much as possible.
Since you mentioned supplements... We know you've been using Flow products for over a year. Why did you choose Flow and what supplements help you the most?
I saw the Flow brand at my friend, teammate Roman Will, who actually introduced it to me and I had the first products from him. I think it helps me the most with regeneration, which is essential for me.
I would like to keep my body in balance as much as possible, so I try to supplement all possible vitamins, minerals and all important substances that leave the body through physical exercise. It's important for me to be as healthy as possible and not have any downtime during the season, so Flow helps me with all of this. I feel that I'm not even that sick when it comes to colds, flu, colds and those basic illnesses that are common in winter. I manage to catch this a lot.
Do you have a favorite from the Flow portfolio?
The favorite will probably be magnesium ( Mg 2.0 ), which I use a lot, and then probably Recovery drink , which I will not tolerate. I miss it a lot, so I would probably stick the two products here.
What is the biggest challenge in your life?
For me, the biggest challenge in life is probably some sort of balance. To be in balance with both physical and psychological forces, because after all the demands on us are quite high and we live in a time when even mental health is starting to be addressed. In my opinion, it is a very important topic for us athletes. To somehow still be cool. I work with it a lot, I struggle and that is probably the biggest challenge for me. Both for humans and athletes.
If you could give your 20-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Probably to work on myself even more than I did and of course to give back to the body to an even greater extent. After all, the body is my instrument and I think that I could have worked with the body much better before and I could have given it much more of its activity.
And then to do everything with joy. Any sport and of course every training to simply come from joy and to enjoy hockey as much as possible.
What advice would you give to young athletes who dream of one day reaching the World Championships?
Well, probably the same as my younger self. So that they enjoy what they do. And they worked on each other. Because when I was young, I always thought I was doing a lot extra. But when I got to America, I found out that probably not. That maybe I could have done more. It was important for me that I always enjoyed it and was happy about it. I think that's the basis of everything. If the player is happy about it, then he can do extra things, so this would probably be my kind of advice. The main thing is to do everything with joy and then the results will come.
