"Rounding into form" or "Getting fit" describes an athlete, human or animal, slowly reaching and progressing to his best performance level.  This takes place over time, through training, conditioning and actual competition.  Getting better each week, he continues to train and compete until he reaches his best performance level.

I have mentioned in many articles that fanciers tend to over train and over work their birds before the actual race series starts.  This over training will cause the birds to "burn out or break down", causing them to reach their peak (best) performance level too early in the series, or before the series even starts.  Then, the birds are too tired and exhausted (mentally and physically) to complete the race series.

Look at the race series in EXAMPLE #1 (THIS RACE RESULT IS NOT PROVIDED WITH ARTICLE, BUT INFORMATION IS CLEARLY STATED IN ARTICLE TO UNDERSTAND MEANING)  The best bird in the series #61078 is a good example of "rounding into form or getting fit".  Each week #61078 continued to improve his race position. At 220K (443), 240K (207), 250K (12), 270K (3) with a top score of 4993.871.

The second bird #62386 also improved each week with positions of 168, 40, 38, 32.  This is also true of the fourth bird #61357 with positions of 321, 307, 107, 26.

If we look at the first race, 220K, the best position for the final 33 birds was 11th.  The best position in the 240K race was 40th, and in the 250K race the best position for the top 33 birds was 12th.

None of the top 33 birds ever finished in the top 10 positions in the first 3 races.  Where are the birds that finished in the positions (1-10) in these first 3 races?  Only the trainers of these birds have the real answer to that question, but I have always believed that the majority of birds entered into a race series are over trained, not under trained.  Trainers like to concern themselves about what other handlers are doing, and they worry that their birds are not conditioned enough to compete successfully.  It was always our policy not to concern oneself about other fanciers or when they trained, how long or how many times per day or week.  We only worried about our birds, because they were the birds that we needed to have ready for the race.  Our concern was to keep our birds in the best condition possible, not to worry about other fanciers' birds, or how they trained them.

If we did all that we possibly could to bring our birds to the race in the best condition to compete, then we felt that the birds must do the rest.  A good trainer with good birds is tough to beat.  A poor handler with good birds will win his share.  A poor handler with bad birds has no chance.

A trainer must bring his birds to the series in condition or fit enough to complete the first race and qualify for the second.  Between races the trainer will give his birds plenty of rest, proper diet, medication, motivation and loft flying in the morning if the birds desire, and maybe 2 short tosses of 20-30 miles before the next race.  The birds second race should be an improvement over the first, and should improve the fitness and condition of the birds.  The key is not to over train the birds between races.  I know we all desire our birds to be in the top positions each week they compete.  However, the birds that finished in top ten positions in the first 3 races in Example #1 were not around to pick up the money at the end.  WHY?  We must realize that athletes (human or animal) only hold or stay in top form and condition for short periods of time.  It would take a super bird to fly in the top positions each week and complete the series.  Every race is different, as is every bird's condition before and after the race.  A trainer looks for gradual improvement each week from his birds.  If he is able to achieve this goal, his birds will be around at the end of the series.

When we study the 4 races in Example #1, we see a wide range in the speeds of the races, from the low 700.000 to the high 1500.000.  This is not surprising, considering the various weather changes for each race.  Race distance is not a factor.

This gradual improvement we require from our birds each week, and rounding into form or getting fit as I call it, is not possible with all birds.  WHY?  Not all birds can handle the tough races and hard weather.  They are done (exhausted) or lost when asked to fly in such conditions.  The type of bird required is the tough distance birds that can handle such changes.  These distances birds get better each week they race, and they have no problem adjusting to various conditions on the race course.

It is very difficult for some fanciers to understand and accept that all birds do not have the ability to adapt to various conditions and speeds during a race.  The specialty birds that have been bred and suited for one style or type of racing do not handle changing conditions over a race course very well.  The birds that have a history or bloodlines that can preform at various speeds and distances have a much better chance to be successful and complete the race series.  This is why the H.V.R.'S have had great success in Taiwan, because of their versatility to adjust to various speeds and distances and their ability to compete each week.

All of the fame and fortune that the H.V.R.'S have had in TAIWAN over the last 40 plus years could not have been achieved without the fanciers who conditioned and trained the birds properly.  This means that they did not over train the birds, kept them healthy, medicated, motivated and fit enough to complete the race, and ready to improve their performances for the next race.

A good example is the race record of #2001. (EXAMPLE #2 SEE RACE RESULTS IN PIGEONS SECTION OF THIS SITE) This cock flew 3 times, 494 miles in a 16 day period ( 5/15/99, 5/23/99, 5/31/99), and won large prizes / pools in each race.  The days between each race the trainer gave #2001 a free loft to exercise as he wanted in the morning, kept him with his hen at all times, fed him all he wanted to eat of various grains, including extra peanuts, medicated and allowed him to rest and relax with his mate during the rest of the day.  It was not necessary to train between races because #2001 was in condition to fly the 494 miles.  He needed time to rest and relax before the next race.

When a bird with strong distance bloodlines races every week, he is in condition and fit enough to compete in the next 6-7 days.  He requires little training and the fancier should allow him to loft fly at his own choice in the morning, keep plenty of feed, water with vitamins / minerals in front of him and let him rest and relax for the next shipping night.  Always send the bird to the race or shipping night with a full tank of gas (fully fed and watered at all times) and well rested.

Although the birds seem to get most of the fame and credit, the trainer plays an important role in the success at the end of a race series.  He must know and study his birds to see how he needs to train them.  He must feed, medicate and motivate them to improve each race, until the finish of the series.  A fancier needs "good common sense".  He must be mentally and physical alert, just like his birds.  He must learn from his mistakes and continue to improve his own ability as a trainer.  Accept that each bird is a individual and train, feed, medicate and motivate it according to its own needs.  These needs will change on a daily bases and the trainer must observe them each day.  A good trainer looks and listens to his birds, spends "quality time" with them studying their actions and behavior, treats each bird as a individual and learns from his own successes and mistakes each day.

Give me a bird that steadily improves each week that it races, "ROUNDING INTO FORM OR GETTING FIT", and in most cases I will show you a bird that has completed the series.  Show me a bird that has flown in top positions in the first few races of the series, and in most cases it is not around at the end to collect the money and fame.

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