Walsh Jennings

Although the 2020 Summer Olympics have been postponed, Kerri Walsh Jennings' beach volleyball gold medal continues to approach her health from the perspective of an elite athlete during COVID-19.
She emphasizes that people don't have to be Olympic to focus on their health and happiness during the pandemic.
Focusing on small changes in your diet and exercise levels can make big changes in how you are feeling during the block.
However, taking on too fast can lead to frustration and possible injury. Go slow and be kind to yourself.
Kerri Walsh Jennings, the most decorated beach volleyball player in the history of the Olympics, hoped to have a 2020 very different from the one she is living in now.

 She won four medals - three of them gold - and after winning bronze at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016, she was training hard to reach the podium again at the Olympics planned for the summer in Tokyo.

 But the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world and everything changed.

 In early April, the International Olympic Committee announced that this year's games would be postponed until the summer of 2021. In a context of how significant this news was, the modern Olympic Games were canceled only three times, once during the First World War. and twice. during World War II.

 Of course, this means a disorienting life change for an elite athlete like Walsh Jennings. It takes years to prepare for the Olympics. In fact, she started qualifying for the 2020 tournament in the fall of 2018. Last year, she told that she was "focused on the laser to qualify and win a gold medal".

 So, where are things now? She said the news of the postponement was not a shock - "the writing was on the wall".

 "I think my subconscious was ready, and once they made that decision [to cancel], it was a relief," Walsh Jennings told in late May. "Once I know what I'm working on, I can literally handle anything, I can understand, I can make a plan."

 This ability to compartmentalize and stay focused on the task at hand served Walsh Jennings well in her sport and in dealing with the adjustments needed to shelter at home during the coronavirus outbreak.

 She is doing what she can to maintain a healthy and nutritious diet, to maintain a strict exercise regime, but this is certainly not without challenges either.


How an Olympic athlete stays healthy during COVID-19


When COVID-19 arrived and the Olympics were canceled, she explained that she needed to change her "pre-season to off-season" mentality.


"It took the pressure off me not to train as usual," said Walsh Jennings. "So, my life looks different, but my goals and dreams haven't changed, I just have a longer track now."
She believes in consistency, answering questions about what is the difference between training and competition with the fact that there is not much difference between the two.
Walsh Jennings strove to master consistency in her nutrition and fitness, something that works for her whether she is preparing for a major tournament or trying to look good during the current health crisis.
At the moment, she is consuming less because she is not exercising with such intensity. She says she focuses on avoiding over-processed foods.
She is also cooking a lot more, looking for "raw and healthy ingredients", something she says is a good example for her children.
When it comes to exercising, she said she intentionally needs to perform routines to keep her on track. She puts her gym clothes on her bed every day.
"If I schedule a workout, it will be done," added Walsh Jennings.
Understandably, for a world-class volleyball player "movement is extremely important", she said that her exercise regime is necessary to help her clear her head during our stressful and anxious days.
Currently, she is doing everything she normally would during a regular season, except professional volleyball. At the station, his withdrawal regime would be more intense.
"Now, as I am in this perpetual pre-season, I am working on my strength gains and aligning my body and emphasizing my base so that I can be in the best alignment possible," he added.