Meryl Davis, 26 and Charlie White, 26, figure skating
This dynamic duo have been skating together since they were just 10-year-old kids in Michigan, and they’ve been unstoppable. They won the silver medal in the 2010 Winter Games in addition to winning numerous championships, and you know they’ve got to work hard to stay in shape for that. As part of our Look Like and Olympian series, Meryl and Charlie share their tips and moves to get started.
Their move:
The wall squat, held at for one minute. As you become stronger, hold for progressively longer. Charlie’s recommendation: Do it with a friend and have a conversation to make the time fly by!
Why they do it:
“Our quads are so important, we use them so much,” Charlie said. “It’s really important for us to get down on our knees when we’re skating and if we are not in good shape, at the end of the program they’re going to be dead and betray us.”
Their diet tips:
“We really like consistency in our diet,” Meryl said, with Charlie adding, “Generally I don’t think we’re trying to meet a calorie count and we don’t have set meals, we eat little bits throughout the day. Breakfast is really important. For me, it’s a bowl of cereal and a banana. When you train early in the morning, you want to go in with energy, but you don’t want to go in overfull. Then we may want something In the middle of training, so we may have a protein bar and fruit. And lots of water!”
“It’s really important for us to eat right after practice for recovery, so protein and carbs,” said Meryl.
“Then for dinner, eating some chicken and vegetable and maybe rice is good,” said Charlie. “It’s often not super exciting, but we find ways to make it tasty. As we’ve gotten older, I notice more how food affects me, six years ago, I could eat probably have eaten pizza every night and been fine. But now I really need to have a balanced diet.”