Get an Olympic Workout
By Courtney Dunlop
Photo Credit: Corbis Photography/Veer
TRY IT: ICE HOCKEY
THE EXPERT: Angela Ruggiero, 30
Ruggiero has been keeping up with the boys since she was a kid. "At a young age, I realized that people didn't want me on the ice because I was a girl, and it actually motivated me to go out there and prove myself," she says.
WOW FACTOR: Ruggiero has 1998 Olympic gold, 2002 Olympic silver, and 2006 Olympic bronze medals.
WANNA TRY IT? Penalties don't allow for fighting, so "you shouldn't worry about losing your teeth like you see in the NHL." Plus, with all the padding, you don't feel the falls.
PRO MOVES: Stationary lunges strengthen the lower body for skating. Stand in a lunge position with your front knee in line with your toes. Keeping your upper body straight, dip down so your back knee touches the floor, then straighten up. Do three sets of 10 on each leg.
TREAD HARD: During a game, "you're constantly sprinting and resting, and you can't be dead at the end of the third period," Ruggiero says. She does interval training on the treadmill to teach her system how to recover after intense play. She puts the incline up as high as she can handle and sprints as hard as she can for 30 to 45 seconds, then jumps off for a minute, and jumps back on. "I'll do eight to 10 sprints. It's such a good workout, and it only takes 15 to 20 minutes. The cool thing is that when you're done, your body is still working, unlike after a 15-minute steady jog."
post a comment