ATHLETE HIGHLIGHT: Meagan Duhamel

Everyone in the ROLL Recovery office runs, and so many of the R8's biggest fans are runners, cyclists and triathletes. We all LOVE our endurance sports and can sometimes forget there are others out there (aside from that sporting event in February with lots of food and good commercials and friends?) Yet so many of the most elite and world-renowned R8 lovers don't run a single day of the week for their training. Athletes that have won multiple championships, such as the 2x World Champions in pair figure skating, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, have used the R8 for recovery for years, even when they placed 2nd at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. We imagine their training regime is pretty vigorous, but when we asked Meagan Duhamel her favorite workout ever, she shared with us a class that helps preserve her health and maintain her strength. This goes to show we aren't as different as we may have thought; recovery in figure skating plays just as an important roll in optimal performance as it does in endurance sports! Meagan shared the details on her favorite class below:

What is your favorite workout?

My favourite training session is a class called essentrics. It's a body movement, stretch class developed by a ballerina and physiotherapist. It combines stretching at the barre and on the floor, body movement choreography to loosen and lengthen your muscles and injury prevention exercises geared towards certain body parts that are prone to injuries. Since I started doing this class five years ago I have been virtually injury free and I credit it to essentrics!

How does it benefit you?

It lengthens muscles without bulking them and the stretching aspect combines Physio therapy techniques to ensure safety. This class is not as difficult has doing cardio training at the gym but I feel like it treats the body as a whole and makes any aches or pains I have go away.

How do you fuel your training?

I studied naturopathic nutrition and am very picky about the foods I eat. I have beet juice every morning, because it is filled with nirates, which the body converts to nitric acid, which increases blood flow and lowers the amount of oxygen your muscles need. It helps athletes use their oxygen more efficiently. I also follow a whole foods vegan diet, with primarily organic food. I also have protein bars made from dates during training as a natural source of energy. Beetroot juice isn't my favorite tasting thing in the world but since I've started to have it before training I've felt more energized and now also recover more quickly after training. Thank you Meagan for sharing your favorite class— we are always open to learning about chances for injury-prevention and opportunities to learn about more efficient nutrition. Gaining the strength to support the hours of technical work involved in being a World-Champion figure skater takes time and commitment, and must be supported with thorough stretching, nutrition and recovery as well! - Jenny D.

Photos via Zimbio.