Day in the life: Olympic freestyle skier Rowan Cheshire
When I’m away on a training camp I wake up early, around 6am, to make sure I can get onto the mountain for 9am.
Breakfast tends to be porridge with some fruit and nuts, but I alternate that with avocado on toast with tomatoes or smoked salmon.
I normally use an app called Headspace to do some meditation in the morning because it helps me focus on the day ahead and clear my mind.
I also use a foam roller in the morning to get the body started before heading off for training, where I do a freestyle skiing specific warm-up.
In the UK’s summer I typically go to New Zealand and in the winter season it’s Colorado in the US, but when competing I’m constantly going back and forth from Europe to North America.
It depends on where we are but we normally spend four or five hours up on the mountain training. Because I compete in half-pipe the training is very specific.
Rowan Cheshire has to do plenty of strength and conditioning in the gym
If I’m at home I do a lot of gymnastic training or go to a trampolining centre once or twice a week, because I need to practise new tricks and obviously can’t get out skiing.
Once the morning training or gymnastics is done it’s lunch. I’ve really got into doing vegetable stir-fries at the moment, because it’s really easy to prepare, healthy and homemade. I’ll usually have that with quinoa or noodles.
Sometimes I’ll have a salmon fillet with vegetables and rice. I need to make sure I get all the nutrients, carbohydrates and macros.
After an hour or so of relaxation it’s off to the gym, which I do five times a week. It varies in activity, from strength and conditioning, or a recovery weights session to a yoga class – all of which take around 90 minutes.
For a warm-up it’s stability exercises – things like single-leg hops and gym ball balancing – and activation movements. The main session tends to be heavy squats, dead-lifts, but I also do a full-body work out.
Recovery sessions can focus on mobility, which are done when we’re more tired. When I’m staying in the same place as others on tour or at a training camp it’s nice to work out together, or go for a coffee.
Once home I’ll do a stretch, either free-standing or with a foam roller, to try and wind down.
I’m doing a personal training course at the moment. I’m on level four for nutrition for sports and exercise, so lots of my evenings are spent studying.
Evening meals are similar to lunch. It depends what I’ve eaten earlier: if I’ve had a high-carb lunch I might have a salad, which helps me sleep, especially when abroad, because I struggle with jet lag.
Otherwise I try and have a protein source, which is normally fish, and then some vegetables, like spinach or broccoli.
Before going to bed I like to meditate to relax and de-stress. I find it helps me get a better night’s sleep.
Olympic freestyle skier and personal trainer Rowan Cheshire, @rowancheshire, will be launching her Online Personal Training plan in September.