By Amy Lawrenson
At just 26 US athlete Allyson Felix is an Olympic Gold medallist and currently the 200m World Champion. With this years Olympics being her third, I took the time to find out a bit about her training and if she had any tips for us unprofessional exercisers...
On getting started... If you want to start running, start slow and gradual. Id recommend running with a friend which will make it fun.
On being motivated... Setting goals is really important. Also, make sure you schedule your exercise, setting a time to train always helps.
On eating healthy... I eat lots of grilled chicken and fish with vegetables, and I snack on almonds. Its important to have one day where you eat what you want though.
On her gym bag essentials... I keep Olay face wipes in my gym bag as I like to cleanse my face after training; these great hairbands from Nike and a stretching rope, assisted stretches are really important'.
On barefoot running... as a runner its really important to run bare foot for strength. I wear Nikes Free Run trainers which are a lot lighter and incorporate the bare foot running idea. I run on the beach a lot too. You just need to know that your feet will hurt straight away, so you need to build up gradually.
On her Nike Training Club App... The free workout has a lot of core exercises. A strong core is so important for any athlete, so you need to work it'.
On preparing for the Olympics... Im training six days a week at the moment. When I get back to America Ill being going on a camp where well be working out twice a day doing lots of sprinting and plyometrics (explosive exercises to help improve performance on the track). I cant believe how quick its coming around.
Allyson Felix features in the Nike Training Club App. Visit www.facebook.com/niketrainingclubuk to find out more.
