Podcast: Pretty Tough Peak Performance Episode 08

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:12 — 4.8MB)

Pretty Tough is proud to present the eighth in our series of weekly podcasts focusing on Peak Performance.

The PT Peak Performance series features leading experts from the fields of sports nutrition, diet, sports psychology and core and fitness training, as well as athletes, trainers and coaches. Each program is 6 – 8 minutes in length and provides cutting edge information and actionable advice to help athletes of all ages perform at their peak with a special focus on the female athlete.

Episode 008: Rebecca Scritchfield discusses the ins and outs of sports drinks.  Listen as Rebecca provides essential details about nutrition, hydration and maintaining optimum health.

About Rebecca Scritchfield: Rebecca Scritchfield is a Washington, D.C. based registered dietitian in private practice. Members of Congress, corporate executives, and professional and recreational athletes seek Rebecca’s  expertise to help them reach their performance goals. She received a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and was recognized by American Dietetic Association in 2009 as “Young Dietitian of the Year”.

Podcast: Pretty Tough Peak Performance Episode 007 Pt. 2

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:10 — 4.7MB)

Pretty Tough is proud to present Part 2 of our seventh podcast in our weekly series focusing on Peak Performance.

The PT Peak Performance series features leading experts from the fields of sports nutrition, diet, sports psychology and core and fitness training, as well as athletes, trainers and coaches. Each program is 6 – 8 minutes in length and provides cutting edge information and actionable advice to help athletes of all ages perform at their peak with a special focus on the female athlete.

Episode 007 Part 2: Rebecca Scritchfield discusses the ins and outs of energy drinks in our second of a two part  podcast. Listen as Rebecca provides more essential details about energy drinks, nutrition and maintaining optimum health and fitness.

About Rebecca Scritchfield: Rebecca Scritchfield is a Washington, D.C. based registered dietitian in private practice. Members of Congress, corporate executives, and professional and recreational athletes seek Rebecca’s  expertise to help them reach their performance goals. She received a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and was recognized by American Dietetic Association in 2009 as “Young Dietitian of the Year”.

http://www.rebeccascritchfield.com

Podcast: Pretty Tough Peak Performance Episode 007 Pt.1

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:27 — 5.9MB)

Pretty Tough is proud to present the seventh episode in our series of weekly podcasts focusing on Peak Performance.

The PT Peak Performance series features leading experts from the fields of sports nutrition, diet, sports psychology and core and fitness training, as well as athletes, trainers and coaches. Each program is 6 – 8 minutes in length and provides cutting edge information and actionable advice to help athletes of all ages perform at their peak with a special focus on the female athlete.

Episode 007 Part 1: Rebecca Scritchfield discusses the ins and outs of energy drinks in our first of a two-part podcast. Listen as Rebecca provides essential details about energy drinks, nutrition, and maintaining optimum health and fitness.

About Rebecca Scritchfield: Rebecca Scritchfield is a Washington, D.C. based registered dietitian in private practice. Members of Congress, corporate executives, and professional and recreational athletes seek Rebecca’s expertise to help them reach their performance goals. She received a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and was recognized by American Dietetic Association in 2009 as “Young Dietitian of the Year”.

http://www.rebeccascritchfield.com

Podcast: Pretty Tough Peak Performance Episode 006

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:27 — 5.0MB)

Pretty Tough is proud to present the sixth in our series of weekly podcasts focusing on Peak Performance.

The PT Peak Performance series features leading experts from the fields of sports nutrition, diet, sports psychology and core and fitness training, as well as athletes, trainers and coaches. Each program is 6 – 8 minutes in length and provides cutting edge information and actionable advice to help athletes of all ages perform at their peak with a special focus on the female athlete.

Episode 006: Rebecca Scritchfield discusses how an athlete can eat well while on the go.  Listen as Rebecca provides essential details about nutrition, hydration and maintaining optimum health.

About Rebecca Scritchfield: Rebecca Scritchfield is a Washington, D.C. based registered dietitian in private practice. Members of Congress, corporate executives, and professional and recreational athletes seek Rebecca’s  expertise to help them reach their performance goals. She received a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and was recognized by American Dietetic Association in 2009 as “Young Dietitian of the Year”.

http://www.rebeccascritchfield.com

Podcast: Pretty Tough Peak Performance Episode 004

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:20 — 6.7MB)

Pretty Tough is proud to present the fourth in our series of weekly podcasts focusing on Peak Performance.

The PT Peak Performance series features leading experts from the fields of sports nutrition, diet, sports psychology and core and fitness training, as well as athletes, trainers and coaches. Each program is 6 – 8 minutes in length and provides cutting edge information and actionable advice to help athletes of all ages perform at their peak with a special focus on the female athlete.

Episode 004: Rebecca Scritchfield discusses the importance of pre and post game meals for athletes.  Listen as Rebecca provides essential details about improving athletic performance through proper nutrition.

About Rebecca Scritchfield: Rebecca Scritchfield is a Washington, D.C. based registered dietitian in private practice. Members of Congress, corporate executives, and professional and recreational athletes seek her expertise to help them reach their performance goals. Rebecca received a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. She has been recognized by the American Dietetic Association in 2009 as “Young Dietitian of the Year”.

http://www.rebeccascritchfield.com

Podcast: Pretty Tough Peak Performance Episode 003

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:57 — 8.2MB)

Pretty Tough is proud to present the third in our series of weekly podcasts focusing on Peak Performance.

The PT Peak Performance series features leading experts from the fields of sports nutrition, diet, sports psychology and core and fitness training, as well as athletes, trainers and coaches. Each program is 6 – 8 minutes in length and provides cutting edge information and actionable advice to help athletes of all ages perform at their peak with a special focus on the female athlete.

Episode 003: Rebecca Scritchfield discusses the importance of meal balancing for athletes.  Listen as Rebecca provides essential details about improving athletic performance through proper nutrition.

About Rebecca Scritchfield: Rebecca Scritchfield is a Washington, D.C. based registered dietitian in private practice. Members of Congress, corporate executives, and professional and recreational athletes seek Rebecca’s  expertise to help them reach their performance goals. She received a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and was recognized by American Dietetic Association in 2009 as “Young Dietitian of the Year”.

http://www.rebeccascritchfield.com/

Podcast: Pretty Tough Peak Performance Episode 002

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:55 — 6.3MB)

Pretty Tough is proud to present the second in our series of weekly podcasts focusing on Peak Performance.

The PT Peak Performance series features leading experts from the fields of sports nutrition, diet, sports psychology and core and fitness training, as well as athletes, trainers and coaches. Each program is 6 – 8 minutes in length and provides cutting edge information and actionable advice to help athletes of all ages perform at their peak with a special focus on the female athlete.

Episode 002: Rebecca Scritchfield discusses the importance of meals and meal timing for athletes. Listen as Rebecca provides essential details about avoiding hunger and maintaining good nutrition and overall health.

About Rebecca Scritchfield: Rebecca Scritchfield is a Washington, D.C. based registered dietitian in private practice. Members of Congress, corporate executives, and professional and recreational athletes seek Rebecca’s  expertise to help them reach their performance goals. She received a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and was recognized by American Dietetic Association in 2009 as “Young Dietitian of the Year”.

http://www.rebeccascritchfield.com/

17-year-old Ashley Freiberg wins karting race, then teaches sports stars to drive fast

Our nom for Pretty Tough Girl of the week:

LAKEVILLE, October 6, 2009: Ashley Freiberg has been jet-setting with the best of them lately. The 17-year-old racer from Homer Glen, Ill., isn’t about slow down either.

Freiberg participated in four racing events a week ago in Atlanta and West Palm Beach including winning a charity karting race, setting the fast race lap in the BFGoodrich Skip Barber National open-wheel competition and teaching other women sports stars, (Olympic Medalists and XGame’s World Champions) how to drive fast in the AMG Mercedes Driving Experience.

Now, the Lockport High School senior prepares for her final Barber National race of the year this weekend (Oct. 9-10) at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut, currently ranked sixth in the national point standings in her rookie season.

“That was a pretty wild week with all of the racing and driving events,” said Freiberg, who spent much of last week working on her studies. “It was a blast winning the charity karting feature with Shannon McIntosh in the John Gorsline-sponsored charity race event. Then I ran well at Road Atlanta in the Skip Barber National events. And finally, it was a great experience to drive with these amazing sports stars in the AMG Mercedes experience. It was just a great week for a young woman like me to be involved.”

Freiberg, a former karting champion, defeated a very competitive field in Tuesday night’s Petit three-hour endurance charity race before concentrating on the Barber action.

In the two-race weekend at Road Atlanta, Ashley qualified fourth and was running competitive with the leaders in the opening race before being knocked out of contention by another driver. In the second contest, Freiberg charged from 11th to fourth including establishing the race’s fastest lap. The fourth place finish moved Freiberg to sixth in the current national standings entering this weekend’s season finale at Lime Rock.

“I felt pretty good about the second race at Road Atlanta,” explains Freiberg. “I wasn’t happy about getting taken out of the first race. At the green flag I knew I had to make up some time starting 11th. I patiently chose when and where to make my passes and not put my car in a position to risk not finishing the race. I was getting accustomed to the track. It was a great feeling to move up and race with the leaders again. It was similar to the Road America race where I finished on the podium. It was also great to set the fastest race lap, too.”

Freiberg wrapped up her busy week by participating in the prestigious two-day AMG Mercedes Driving Experience at the new Palm Beach International Raceway. She drove a variety of AMG Mercedes sedans with world class female athletes from different forms of competition such as XGame’s Champions in surfing and skiing, and Olympic Medalists from skiing and snowboarding.

“I flew to West Palm Beach where I met many female athletes at the reception dinner before the AMG Driving Academy weekend started,” said Ashley. “They were all great people. It was cool for me to relate to them with how they had to sacrifice everything to follow their dreams. I mentioned to them that tonight was my homecoming dance at school, they all laughed. They said they never made any of their dances at school or most anything else either. It was an awesome motivation for me to hear them tell me to never give up. It was weird, yet amazing, to be teaching some of these girls how to drive fast.

“They caught on so quickly to what I would tell them, and they were really fast! Shannon Bahrke, Olympic Silver Medalists of 2002 and World Champion in 2003 and I connected well. We were always in the car together. She would always say to me ‘you’re a little bad ass on the track.’ Shannon will be returning to the Winter Olympics in 2010. As for the AMG Mercedes, WOW, what can I say, they are incredible!

“And then it was time to go home. I arrived in Chicago at 1:00 a.m. from West Palm Beach, and I had to get up for school at 4:45 a.m. I was out of school at 1:00 p.m., worked on homework until 5:00 p.m. and then had to attend traffic school for a SPEEDING TICKET!”

(via press release)

Podcast: Interview with Gabby Reece

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:33 — 11.5MB)

Gabby Reece possesses a look that conveys both athleticism and feminine beauty. At 6’3”, she is a dominate force on and off the pro beach volleyball circuit, and an inspiration to all who meet her.

California born, Gabby was raised on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. She didn’t take up volleyball until in the 11th grade when she and her mother moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. Gabby won an athletic scholarship to Florida State University where she majored in Communications and played two seasons of volleyball before accepting offers from the modeling world in New York.  Gabby returned to FSU campus and set two school volleyball records before being inducted into the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Gabby trained hard to hone her skills in 2-person beach volleyball and competed domestically in the 1999-2000 Olympic Challenge Series and the 1999-2000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. In 1997, competing with the best global beach volleyball players ever assembled, Gabby’s 4-person team took first place at the first-ever Beach Volleyball World Championships.

Gabby was Nike’s first female athlete to design a shoe, and Nike’s first-ever female cross-training spokesperson (1993-99). The Air GR was the first women’s shoe to outsell men’s and outsell the Air Jordan.

Gabby’s skills cross over onto the big screen where she played a pro beach volleyball player in ‘Cloud Nine’ with Burt Reynolds (2004), a guest star in ‘North Shore’ (2004) and as a physical trainer in the film ‘Gattica’ (1997). She’s graced the cover of Sports Illustrated for Women, Travel & Leisure Golf, Women’s Sports & Fitness, Outside, Elle, Shape, Self, Harpers’ Bazaar, Volleyball, Fitness, Life, Vogue, Experience Life and People.

Gabby is currently the creator  of The Honey Line, a fast-paced, magazine-style program that delivers realistic solutions to women’s questions concerning style, health & fitness, home, food and the environment. She’s also married to surfer Laird Hamilton and is the mother of two young daughters and a step-daughter.

Passionate about fitness, Gabby has produced and released numerous  exercise DVDs and health & fitness products. She’s a spokesperson for Simply Nutrilite, a line of vitamins and supplements and her fitness tips can be found on the pages of Shape magazine where she is a monthly contributing editor.

Gabby can also be seen hosting various TV broadcasts for ESPN, Discovery and others. She won a huge following by taking risks road-luging, white water kayaking, drag racing, surfing, and sky diving on “MTV Sports” and “The Extremists with Gabrielle Reece” in the 90’s, and she was a commentator at the 1998 Goodwill Games.

Women’s Sports & Fitness named Gabby one of the ‘20 Most Influential Women in Sports’ in 1997, the same year Crown published the book, “Big Girl in the Middle,” which Gabby co-wrote with Karen Karbo.

To learn even more about this athletic superstar, and all-around Pretty Tough gal, listen to our candid interview.  Gabby talks  about her incredible career, her advice to girls pursuing athletics in school or for a career and what she thinks about the evolution of women in sport.

Sporty Saturday Spotlight

This week marks our very first Sporty Saturday Spotlight. Jersey Girl softballer, Lauren Lesser, shares with us her thoughts on teammates, injuries, softball, and balancing it all. Check out Lauren’s insightful interview below. And be sure to stop by Pretty Tough every Saturday to check out  interviews with sporty girls like you from across the country. Enjoy! :)

Name: Lauren Lesser

Age: 15

Sport(s): Softball and Field Hockey

Hometown: Mt. Laurel, New Jersey

High School/Middle School/College: Holy Cross High School

Number: 40

Position: I’m a pitcher and short stop for my softball team, and I protect the net as a back for my field hockey team.

What’s your fave sport? Softball! :)

How many years have you been playing your fave sport?

I started playing softball on a team 10 years ago, but I first picked up a ball and bat much earlier than that!

What was your fave sporty moment?

My favorite sporty moment definitely wasn’t my fave when it happened, and it actually didn’t even happen while I was playing!  I injured my ankle and had to have several surgeries along with months of casts, crutches, and doctor appointments.  After my first surgery I went to watch a softball tournament and every single one of my teammates either came up to me before or after the game telling me about games I missed or informing me that my nickname was about to change to something that related to being injured.  Even though I couldn’t be on the field, it was great to feel the sense of being part of a team and knowing I had a group of friends to put a smile on my face.

What was the biggest lesson you’ve learned from playing your sport?

The importance of teamwork and support of one another!  The way you treat your teammates and how well you work together really affects the way you play and your relationship with one another.  No matter how big of an error someone may make or how many times someone strikes out, you have to keep motivating your teammates and refrain from getting frustrated or annoyed.  By caring for only yourself and not working well with the others on your team you’re only hurting yourself in the long run and meanwhile you are also hurting your team.

What lessons have you learned about work ethic from your sport?

By playing sports I have learned how important it is to give 100% in everything I do along with responsibility.  It’s not fair to your team if you decide not to give it your all because you stayed up late and you’re tired or something along those lines.  You have to learn to be responsible enough to do what is best for yourself while keeping your team’s best interest in mind.

What have you learned about teamwork?

Teamwork is key!  If you and your teammates don’t act as a team, you’re not going to play as a team.  You should be a personal cheerleader to every single one of your teammates whether you’re best friends with them or not.  Rather than being angry and aggravated when someone makes a mistake, you should brush it off and try to keep the other person from getting frustrated.  It doesn’t matter how well you play yourself if your team doesn’t play well together.

How do you balance school and sports?

School has always been very high on my priority list, especially after my injury this year.  I’m in honors classes at my high school which require a lot of hard work and very little time for sports and fun, and there have been quite a few times where I have stayed up extremely late to finish up a project or homework that should have been done well in advance.  I try to make deadlines for myself to force myself to get my work done so I’m not scrambling at the last minute.  I also try to get ahead of school work on days I don’t have practice or games.  The time management skills that I’ve learned over the years from sports helped me a lot this year when I had to make up the work I missed when I had my surgery.

Who’s your fave athlete, both male and female?

Jennie Finch and Jamie Moyer! :)

What’s the girliest thing you like to do?

I love painting my nails and reading teen Chick Lit!

Thanks, Lauren!! I’m definitely with you on the value of teamwork, giving 100%, and loving Chick Lit. :)

Happy Labor Day!

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