Motivation

One of my friends regularly posts Workout Motivator of the Day on her blog. Basically it's photos of  ridiculously hot-bodied athletes, who will inspire you to eat a teaspoon of dust for your lunch.

I'm to be a bit of a copycat today because I came across this lady today, thanks to a Woman's Health tweet.

photo: Francesco Carrozzini/ESPN The Magazine

Gretchen Bleiler, Olympic Snowboarder. 

No, I am not aiming to get her body. My desk-job does not require and will not transform my body to be so sculpted. The only olympics I will be taking part in is tweeting and facebooking at the moment. But the magazine did an interview with her, and an interview offers a peek into what the hell motivates someone to get this fit. 

Highlights from the article (and the interview page):

1. She says to espnW: "Being involved in sports, you think less about how your body looks and more how it performs." 

Good for you, Gretch. I'm no athlete, and I've been watching a lot of Keeping Up With the Kardashians lately, so I'm thinking a lot about how my body looks. I'd like to see smoother curves on mine. Improved performance will follow. I'll be cat-walking the whole of KL when my body looks better. 


Yes, I did a blog about how I'm comfortable with my fat, and this is kinda contradictory to that blog, but I'm not aiming for something bad by wanting nicer curves, no? Plus, it'll mean I can shop more. If you can't beat 'em...

2. Q: How do you stay motivated when you don't feel like training?
    A: Goals are the secret. I have at least one goal that I work toward each day. It's all about taking hold of the day, rather than letting the day run you. 

A goal each day. Got it. I can do that. Today my goal is to shave off 20 seconds off my 3km "run". Two days ago, my time was 25m 29secs. 

3. During the off-season, how do you keep your body in shape?

I love to surf, mountain bike, hike, and practice yoga and Pilates. I also have a consistent gym program in the off-season, which includes squats, lunges, plyometrics, agility, and weight training.

What are your fave fitness moves?
To strengthen my lower body, I do tons of squats a day [including single-leg and barbell versions] to work my glutes, hamstrings, quads, and hips. My favorite upper-body muscle builder is a shoulder exercise called YTWL. Lying facedown on a bench, I grab a one-pound dumbbell in each hand and do raises with both arms in the shape of a Y [out in front, elbows straight], then in the shape of a T [out to the sides], then like a W [elbows bent, palms facing down], and finally, in an L shape [elbows at 90-degree angles, forearms up and parallel to the body]. 

Urm...You go, girl. I shouldn't expect to be doing the same stuff, obviously. So I'll run, and run harder. And I should really start doing weights. 

Thanks, Gretchen! My will to exercise today just got stronger.