Swedish track and field athlete Madeleine Nilsson is sharing a plyometric training session and explaining why it’s so effective for runners. Nilsson, 32, posted a video of herself wearing green leggings and a blue tank top, holding heavy weights and she jumps up and down. “Did you know jumping can make you a faster and more powerful runner?! Plyometric training is a form of exercise that uses rapid, powerful movements that target fast-twitch muscle fibers. These fibers help generate explosive power that increases speed and strength,” she captioned the post. Here’s how Nilsson trains, relaxes, and is thriving in her 30s.
Nilsson trains hard, and loves to relax with yoga sessions. “The number of training sessions per week depends a lot on what part of the year it is and whether it is competition season or not,” she told Sportamore. “During the two competition seasons, which is inside from January to March, and outside from May to September, there will be less hard training. Then I run fewer sessions and focus more on quality and competitions on the weekends. The rest of the year will be between six and ten training sessions per week. In addition to that, I aim to do yoga at least once a day. It is the best relaxation in the world and even ten minutes makes a difference.”
Nilsson shares her strength training sessions on Instagram. “Strength training is essential if you want to improve your running performance. Single-leg exercises will help you improve balance and stability which is key if you want to run faster AND prevent injuries,” she captioned a post.
Nilsson loves the overall wellness impact regular exercise gives her. “In addition to the physical effects exercise has on the body, I love how it also affects me positively mentally,” she told Sportamore. “I like the feeling of feeling strong and physical activity in any form makes me so happy and harmonious. I very rarely get sick and the best thing of all is probably that good food tastes even better after exercise.”
Nilsson has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. “Because of my age (apparently 33 is considered old in this sport) people often ask me how long I’ll keep doing this for and my answer is always: ‘until it’s not fun anymore’. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do and it’s such a privilege to still be able to do what I love,” she captioned a post.
Nilsson doesn’t rely on motivation, but discipline, to keep training. “Of course motivation always goes up and down, that’s how life works and you have to accept that,” she told Sportamore. “If there are days when it feels heavy, I try to think about how much I’m passionate about exercise and health deep inside and I try to remind myself of the wonderful feeling I get after completing a good workout. I just decide to do it simply because I know it will pay off when I then perform well and when the goals I set.”