Penny Oleksiak, one of Canada’s most decorated Olympic athletes, is always pushing her limits, both in the water and on land. Currently, she’s training for a new challenge—Kilimanjaro—and shared a behind-the-scenes look at her preparation on Instagram. In her post, Oleksiak is seen hiking and gearing up for the trek. Dedicated to staying in peak condition, Oleksiak’s commitment to fitness extends beyond swimming as she explores new adventures and causes. She also emphasized the importance of nutrition in her wellness routine, revealing how she found out her food sensitivities and now incorporates functional mushrooms into her diet to stay mentally and physically sharp.
As you can see in her Instagram post, Oleksiak likes to go hiking to stay fit. Harvard Health states that hiking is very beneficial. “Navigating a winding, wooded trail can help your body build endurance, strength, and coordination, says Dr. Edward Phillips, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. Hiking over uneven terrain requires more energy than walking on a level surface, so it burns more calories. If you are hiking uphill, your body has to work even harder, he says. A rigorous hike may offer many of the same physical benefits as interval training, which alternates low- and high-intensity exercise to increase cardiovascular fitness. During a hike, your heart rate goes up as you move up an incline and drops when you head downhill.”
Oleksiak shared some of her wellness secrets in an interview with Narcity. She says that eating healthy is very important to her. “I’m a huge believer now in that nutrition is everything for your mental health, for your physical health, for your emotional health. I think it really does affect all of that and those all obviously play a part in my training, in my racing.”
Oleksiak revealed in her Narcity interview that she decided to learn what foods she is sensitive to. “I did a hormone test to see what I’m allergic to […] what my body has inflammation with and it’s literally such simple things like eggs and asparagus and stuff like that. So learning those little things that make your body feel good or not feel good is really important.”
Oleksiak shared some of her favorite workouts in her Narcity interview. “I also really love pilates. In Toronto, that was something I did twice a week, but now I’m just trying to find a place out in L.A. to do it.” Better Health states that Pilates has a lot of benefits. “In Pilates, your muscles are rarely worked to the point of exhaustion, so there is not always sweating or straining, just intense concentration. The workout consists of a variety of exercise sequences that are performed in low repetitions, usually five to ten times, over a session of 45 to 90 minutes. Floor based exercises performed on a mat and specialised equipment for resistance are often used.”
Oleksiak likes to take supplements to help her stay healthy. She tells Narcity that she likes to use functional mushrooms. “Having those functional mushrooms in the morning, in my coffee and then also when I’m training is really nice. It actually does make such a difference […] clearing that brain fog and just kind of getting more dialled in and also just during a training session replenishing those electrolytes.”