Dara Torres on Swimming, Health, and Fitness

Dara Torres, an Olympic swimmer in five different games, is also well known for her motivational speaking and work helping others realize that nothing needs to stand between themselves and their health and fitness goals. Dara is taking some time away from swimming in 2010. She does a 45 minute aerobic workout, followed by an hour to an hour and fifteen minute of dry land strength training. She also meets for 30 to 45 minutes for knee rehabilitation.

Dara Torres is busy. She's a mom, Olympic swimmer, media personality, and Dara is taking an active role in promoting fitness and health. She is the author of several books and has directed a DVD:

• Age Is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams at Any Stage in Your Life - Dara Torres
  
  
  
• Gold Medal Fitness: A Revolutionary 5-Week Program - Dara Torres
  
  
  
• Resistance Stretching With Dara Torres (DVD)
  

I checked in with Dara and asked her a little about swimming, fitness, and health.

Dara Torres, Rapid Fire Questions:

What's your favorite stroke?
My favorite stroke is butterfly. It's weird because it's my least favorite in a practice, but it's my favorite in a meet. Most people have no idea that I swim it-but I won the bronze medal in the 100 fly during the Sydney Games.

Share a technique tip.
Butterfly - don't lift your head up too high when you breath. It will cause the rest of your body to sink.

What was your favorite swim workout?
I love a workout that has anything sprint oriented involved. Sprint workouts are short and challenging. I feel like I can get a lot done in a short amount of time when I'm sprinting.

What was your hardest or most challenging workout?
Anything over a 200 is difficult for me. Aerobic exercise doesn't come as naturally to me.

What is your favorite memory from a swim practice?
I really like when you see one of your training partners achieve a best time in a workout. It's great to see their hard work pay off-and it's motivating.

Can you think of a low moment in a practice and how you overcame it?
It's always hard when you set a goal time and you don't achieve it. But you just always have to think towards the next practice. Every practice is another chance to keep getting better and keep achieving your goals.

What are a few of the thoughts that went through your mind during a swim workout?
I don't think a lot when I'm swimming, unless I'm doing stroke drill work. I get songs stuck in my head a lot, though. There will be a song in the car on the way to practice-and it will get stuck in my head while I swim. I play it over and over. It's kind of annoying!

What is your favorite pre-workout food/drink?
Before practice I drink Living Fuel. I also have Fitness Nutrition Amnio Acids before a workout.

Favorite workout food/drink?
Vitamin Water

Favorite Post-workout food/drink?
I have more Fitness Nutrition Amino Acids and also chocolate milk

Guilty pleasure food/drink?
Rice Krispies Treats

Dara shared an core execise from her book, Gold Medal Fitness (), that you might want to add to your workout routine:

QL-Core Twist

1. Sit on the floor with your right leg bend, heel toward your crotch. Take your left leg out at about 45 degrees, bending your knee slightly so it's about 4 to 5 inches off the floor.
2. Drop your left arm down torward the inside of your left leg, trying to get your shoulder as close to the knee as possible. Keep your arm externally rotated (thumbs up), and grab your toes, ankle, or calf (whatever you can).
3. Place your right hand behind your head as if you're hanging out at the beach. Contract your body forward as if doing a crunch, and try to get your right elbow to touch the ground.
4. Push your left arm/ shoulder against your left knee and your left knee against your arm (so it stays straight up and doesn't rotate outward), and open your body up toward the ceiling.
5. Return to start position.
6. Do 5 to 10 reps on each side.

A few more thoughts from Dara Torres: I am so focused on reaching women and moms through my new book Gold Medal Fitness (). It's a 5 week training guide for anyone who wants to make a difference in their life. This isn't a book for Olympic athletes. In fact, this is focused on anyone who wants to discover happiness through a change in their body. Whether I ever swim competitively again or not, swimming has been such an instrumental piece of my entire life. Now I have my daughter Tessa to show that the only barriers to your goals in life are the inability to believe in yourself. I meet thousands of parents who share similar stories of wanting something more out of their lives but aren't sure where to start or what to do. I hope my book is a great first step to someone's lifelong happiness.

Dara Torres is a featured athlete with USA Sports Clinics. USA Sports Clinics has unique and independent programming for Swimming, Gymnastics, Open Water Swimming, and Triathlon. Not only do they have terrific one day, high energy, once in a lifetime experiences with some of the greatest athletes and coaches each sport, but they offer the ability to fully customize a program, clinic, camp, fundraiser, motivational speech, new facility grand opening and/or personal appearance.