Gold Medal Fitness by Dara Torres

Tuesday, 03 August 2010 08:48

We probably all remember what we thought the first time we saw Dara Torres at the Beijing Olympics. First, it was something like, “Wait, how old is she?!” (Forty-three.) Then, that was quickly followed by, “How does she do that?”

Story by Maghan McDowell

Well, it’s probably a question that Dara got so many times (those abs! those gold medals! and she’s a mom!) that she did the logical thing and wrote a book about it: Gold Medal Fitness, out last month from Broadway Books.

In it, Dara (who swam at our very own University of Florida) is quick to explain, “I am not a robot.” Well, that’s a relief. She then goes on to explain her current philosophies for getting the body you’ve seen on the Milk ads: including her nutrition, strength, stretching, cardio and recovery advice. (Yes, she eats dessert and she takes her rest very seriously.)

We were surprised at how many different options are in her (very detailed) eating plan (more than 12 breakfast options in 35 days), and loved the strength moves she demonstrates. Many of the exercises use the cable machine, using multiple “planes” of movement and rotation to mimic real life, which is a welcome update to any tired workout circuit. One thing that was different was that she suggests five sets of five reps, which will take a while to get used to.

Then, Dara explains how the Ki-Hara method of stretching changed her body. This part we thought would be better for someone with less flexibility, but the basic concept is resistance-based stretching, and it’s certainly interesting.

Finally, at the end of the book, she combines everything into a five-week program—just long enough to see results, and broken into three-, four- and five-day programs. Very versatile. This book had a lot of do-able advice, and although it would maybe be best suited for a busy mom like her, we could see anyone finding useful tips in it.

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