Imagine getting training from a world-class athlete in the comfort of your own home? Figure skating fans everywhere can delight in knowing it's possible, thanks to a collaboration between Olympic figure skating icon Nancy Kerrigan and iFIT.
Nancy has contributed a series of custom workouts to the iFIT library. These elliptical workouts appear as part of the iFIT games, an Olympic-themed 28-day workout challenge. Nancy guides elliptical athletes, skating on the stunning Lake Placid in four different workout videos that help athletes push themselves and work on endurance.
Nancy spoke with LittleThings about these exciting workouts and what it's like skating at 52 as a mom of three.
Nancy says her workouts are great for skaters at all skill levels.
Nancy created these workouts to focus on fundamentals and push endurance, which is necessary for building skating skills regardless of where your skill level is at.
"The iFIT workouts we created for the Lake Placid sessions emphasized endurance, leg strength, and concentration, all of which are important for developing skating skills," Nancy shared.
"While we didn't focus on the skating itself, an office workout program was always important for me. I would have loved having the iFIT equipment available when I was training for the Olympics."
Nancy has been fortunate enough to skate so many places throughout her career, but Lake Placid is still extra-special.
Watching Nancy on Lake Placid in the videos is a mesmerizing sight. She relishes in opportunities to skate outside.
"Skating outdoors is always so much fun," Nancy gushed.
"To be able to do what I love in the beauty of a frozen pond or lake is special. And Lake Placid is even more so. I have had some great memories there, including shooting my Disney special there many years ago. It is hard to beat skating outdoors in Lake Placid."
Nancy has been able to continue her skating career with the love and support of her family.
Whether it was being a competitive outlet or continuing her skating career after becoming a wife and mom, having a good relationship with her team (and her family) has always been a major priority to Nancy.
"As I have said many times throughout my career, it takes a team to enable me to skate," she noted.
"My family, including my kids, have been the most important and supportive part of that team, so finding time to skate is something everyone understands and helps out with."
Nancy's been busy off the ice as well.
Nancy loves volunteering her time to the organizations dear to her. She's also working on an exciting new creative project, a film about figure skating called Fire & Ice. Nancy will executive produce and choreograph the skating for the film.
"Over the course of a week at a Winter Olympics training camp, the two lifelong best friends and competitors must juggle pressure from sponsors, romantic temptations, mental health and their own drive to win — possibly at all costs," the movie's description reads, per The Hollywood Reporter.
There's an important message at the heart of the film and the sport Nancy hopes viewers will walk away with.
Nancy has channeled her experience as a young skater in an extremely competitive environment into the film's message.
"I think the most important lesson is that when we fall, we get up," she shared.
"In skating you literally fall thousands of times and get back up thousands of times, but that same thing is really true in all areas of life. Perseverance, preparation, and loving what you do gets you through the exciting times and the tough times."
There's also an important message in there for skaters in particular.
"Fire & Ice is about the strength of friendships and the power of working together to overcome obstacles," Nancy noted.
"I hope the audience will take away a message that includes the idea that you can compete hard against each other on and off the playing field and still respect one another and get along with one another. I am really excited about being part of this project."
