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Embracing the promise of the cold

October 12, 2009 01:50 PM | Posted by   Heather Moyse  

The start of the season is so close I can now feel it in my bones. Part of that may be the chill that I haven’t felt since last winter. This, I’m sure, is due to the fact that I just flew back to Calgary a few days ago to push in the ice house before we fly to Whistler, B.C., this Saturday, and it’s full-on snowing outside!

People often comment how I must love the cold because I’m in a winter sport. Well, let me just say, I was NOT thinking about the temperature when I decided to take on the challenge of bobsleigh.

I am a very warm-hearted, but cold person. And by cold I mean chilled. After living in Trinidad for a few years, I couldn’t believe the words that came out of my mouth when I asked someone at an outdoor function if they had brought a sweater I could borrow. Well, to justify my request, the temperature HAD dropped to only 29 C!

My sister is not the only one who has jokingly said (unsympathetically, of course) that maybe I need to put some fat on my bones. Now, I am not a skinny/thin person. I am not a size small. I am certainly not tiny! I am a very muscular 5’10”, 166-pound healthy athlete.

More body fat

However, I am currently dealing with an issue that I never thought I would have to face. It’s an issue that I’m hesitant to bring up, for fear of being hated by all the women in the world who struggle with their weight…I have been officially told by a doctor who specializes in elite athletes that I need to try to put on some body fat.

As an athlete we get anthropometric testing done – a test that looks at muscle mass, fat mass/percentage, fat to muscle ratio, etc. This is the first summer that I’ve been able to train the whole summer focusing on bobsleigh. Since May, I’ve put on five pounds and my body fat has gone down five per cent.

Normally, that would be a good thing – a good reflection of my training – but my fat to muscle ratio has reached a level that may not be functionally beneficial to my sport. It may be too low to recover properly from training sessions or competitions. I may be more prone to muscular injuries when performing in the cold weather without much insulation.

And it may take me a lot longer to recover from a simple cold. I am NOT a dieter (and am, in fact, fortunate to be able to eat what I want), but this summer, I had simply tried to increase my vegetable and protein intake. Lately, I’ve been trying to add even more carbs to my meals, however.

Because I’ve never restricted my diet or avoided any foods, the doctor said that my training regimen would have to change instead. No more hypertrophy (muscle-building) training.

Focus on speed and power

Although my loving sister did offer to donate some of her body fat (of which she has very little considering the recent birth of her second son), my training is now focused more on speed and power, and I’m excited to see how it translates to the track.

I know some of you may be thinking that there are bigger problems than not having enough body fat, and you’re right in the grand scheme of things. I do realize that I am currently blessed with a high metabolism, but for me, and this particular career, it comes down to functional performance.

My first season bobsledding was also my first season of lifting weights. I have already trained more this summer than I did before I went to the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. What is the ideal amount or type of training? Who knows?

Well, when I mentioned being tested for body composition, it was during our last testing camp in September. Before the camp, I was a bit concerned since I hadn’t been able to do any running or jumping for about six weeks because a bone scan had revealed the early stages of a stress fracture in my left shin.

I was pleased with my testing results – the highest vertical jump and farthest medicine ball throw on the team, 0.03 seconds away from my personal best 30-metre sprint, tied my PB for single push testing in the ice house. I was pleased, considering what I’d gone through and where I was coming from, as long as I could keep things in perspective. I need to remember that I want to peak for the World Cup season, not for a testing camp in September two months before our first race.

It was a busy summer and I can’t believe that it’s over. I was fortunate to have been able to participate in a few charity golf tournaments, take part in the first week of the Canada Summer Games, be interviewed in the press box during an Argos football game, appear on Off The Record and Canada AM a couple of times, and find some downtime with my family at the cottage between workouts and public speaking events – feeding blue jays, chipmunks, and squirrels, and plunking around on my new guitar.

Spending time with my family was wonderful and I will cherish every moment and take any chance I get.

It was not easy leaving the peace and quiet of my cottage to head to the gym, so I am proud of my commitment and the training I did this summer.

But the bobsleigh season is now moments away and the cold is settling in for the winter. So here’s to me, embracing the promise of the cold, and looking forward to a great winter.

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