We're counting down the days until the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics start, so mark your calendars for Feb. 9. As we gear up to watch our favorite figure skaters from Team USA (lookin' at you, Nathan Chen and Adam Rippon), we can't help but look back and remember the icons of past Olympic games. Two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan is one of those American athletes we won't be forgetting anytime soon.
POPSUGAR spoke with Michelle Kwan about what she's up to these days. In preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics, she has partnered with Procter & Gamble for the #LoveOverBias campaign, which celebrates the strong, dedicated moms behind every successful Olympic athlete. She says she's excited for each and every athlete on Team USA, and she'll be cheering them on from the sideline.
We asked her to tell us a little bit about her training program when she was competing, and she admitted she wishes she would have incorporated more strength training into her program earlier on in her career. In 2003, when she was 23 years old, Michelle won her last World Championship, and she thinks it had a lot to do with the fact that she started strength training more often with her trainer before that competition.
"I felt like I was in the best shape of my life, and I think I won that World because of the combination of being smart with my body and being able to balance strength training off the ice," she told us. "I think it had a lot to do with strength training."
She and her trainer used to work on a combination of power and strength at the beginning of their workouts, and then they translated that work to the ice. "But transference takes time," she said. "It was a mathematical thing." After working on power and strength, her trainer also had her doing intervals. "This was all done by a very smart trainer who knew my timeline."
"I wish I had done strength training throughout my career," she admitted. Michelle also found a love for Bikram hot yoga after she was done competing, which helped her heal her injuries. Being an avid yogi today who practices yoga three or more times a week, she added, "I wish I had found hot yoga throughout my career."
Anybody feel like hitting the weight room? Or maybe a hot yoga class? If it worked for legendary Michelle Kwan, we have a sneaky feeling it can only do good things for us as well.
from POPSUGAR https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Michelle-Kwan-Strength-Training-44545475
via IFTTT
