Jutta Leerdam is breaking records and flaunting her abs. In a new social media post the speed skater shows off her amazing body while celebrating the end of the season. “Finished the season in a Track record 1.12.86 🤯🥇❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥 Thank you all for the support ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥” she captioned the series of Instagram snaps. How does the Dutch athlete approach health and fitness? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
Jutta has a history of athletics. “I did a lot of different sports as a child. I played field hockey for eight years and did gymnastics. I had so much energy,” she told Body & Fit. “I started speed skating because my dad really liked the sport. He wanted his children to be able to skate so we could all skate together in the winter. I really liked to see myself get better every time I went. That was the fun part for me. I enjoyed seeing my dad happy and proud of me, too.”
“My goal is the race I need to win next. I’m focused on my fitness goals, too, making sure everything is in balance. I rely on my coach a lot. If I’m not fit enough, or good enough, I’ll find out on the ice. I don’t like to be too confident. You can lose sharpness because of it. I’m an insecure person but I let my insecurities drive me. If you’re a good athlete, you have to be insecure. You need to do better and better. Nothing is ever good enough,” she added.
Jutta detailed her diet to Body & Fit. “In the morning, I eat oatmeal and lots of fruit. It fills me up because I’m always super hungry from training. I really have to watch my protein intake. If I take too much I get too muscular. As a skater, I have to be strong but I don’t want to be too bulky. I see food as my energy. I need carbs. I need fat. I need everything. I eat plenty of vegetables and watch how much food I eat in general, but I wouldn’t say I have a cheat day. What really is a cheat day anyway? A burger contains animal proteins and good fats that I can use as energy. I’ll watch the saturated fats, but if I feel like it, I eat it, and I don’t feel guilty. I use the energy to train the next day,” she explained.
When she isn’t speed skating you can find Jutta biking. “We cycle a lot in the summer, block training, mountain biking, hours of easy riding. That’s the conditioning part. You need a strong base condition to be able to peak at the right moment. In winter, it’s more skating, weight training, and cycling. I train twice a day. We’re off one day per week,” she said.
Jutta focuses on being strong, not skinny. “For me, it’s mostly physical. I have to be strong. I need to work on conditioning, flexibility and strength to be fast and explosive on the ice. This sport is a combination of every aspect of physical fitness. Flexibility, endurance, power. If all of those things are in balance, I feel fit. I used to struggle with being skinny. I wanted to LOOK fit. I was a perfectionist. I saw fat on me and I didn’t want it. I didn’t eat much and everything was super healthy. Now, I’m eating way more to perform. I use food to improve myself as an athlete, not just for looks,” she told the publication.