He’s won five Olympic golds, two World Cups and several national titles. But U.S. short-track speed skating champ Apolo Ohno also won over legions of reality TV fans last spring when he edged out boxer Laila Ali and singer Joey Fatone as Dancing with the Stars’ top hoofer. The 25-year-old über-performer has returned his A-game to the ice in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Get Active! caught up with Ohno during a rare training break at the Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City. Here, he talks about becoming a reality star and dynamic dancer while staying true to the sports strength-training and nutrition regimen that promises to produce more U.S. gold in 2010.
GA: Congrats on your well-deserved Dancing win. You were up against tough competition, but the Olympian in you again prevailed. You seem superhuman! AO: (Laughs.) That dancing show was more than I could ever have imagined. I had no idea what I was getting into with that show. It was a pretty big challenge and turned out to be very, very, very hard!
GA: What did it mean to you to suddenly become a “reality star” after spending so many years quietly training as an athlete off camera? AO: When I was first offered (Dancing), my initial reaction was, There’s no way I’m dancing on live television. I don’t even know what I’m doing! But when I started to get into the show, I got to explore more about myself. In the sense that I had to climb out of my shell. For people who aren’t close to me and don’t know me, I’m pretty closed off. That’s how I am as an athlete—I’m kind of guarded (and) a bit more isolated. The show forced me to reveal who I am and be my own personality. And I couldn’t escape that—the cameras are on more than 12 hours a day. They had every single piece of footage available. There’s no fake(ness). I decided, I’m just going to be myself. If I can succeed, I’ll succeed. If I can’t, then it’s not my time. But I’m going to do my damn best trying.
GA: And you continued your grueling Olympic training at the same time? AO: If I just did the show and nothing else, I think it would’ve been a totally different scenario for me. But because I was trying to balance my nutrition and training regime—that itself is straight up a full-time job. To add 12 hours of work in something where I don’t know what I’m doing was bizarre. And it was hard. But I had fun with it. I had to make sacrifices during the show with my training, but I tried to get in what I could.
GA: Now that you’re back in the rink full time, tell us about your daily schedule. AO: Saturdays are half-days—maybe jog or stretch, sauna or massage—and Sundays are off. Weekdays, I’m up at 6:30 a.m. and I’m in the rink from about 7-7:30 a.m. till about noon. I come back home for lunch, I rest a little bit, make a few phone calls. Then I’m back at the rink from 2:30 till 6:30 p.m. I come home, work on my skates, take care of e-mails and more calls. Then after dinner it’s pretty much time for sleep. It’s hardcore, baby.
GA: So you’re still living a Zen-like life—you call it “the Zone”—focused on your third Olympics? AO: It has to be (Zen-like). Without that (focus), I wouldn’t be able to accomplish the things I want to accomplish—on or off the ice. The Zone is the most amazing place to be.
GA: What does your workout entail—on and off the ice? AO: We skate three times a week, twice a day, usually on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We lift weights two to three times a week. (To increase strength and stamina) we do a ton of dry land (exercises) ever single day—depending on what training cycle we’re in, we do jumps, plyometrics, sprints, biking intervals, endurance running. We do a ton of conditioning—all very sport-specific. That’s why when people see me, they say, “Oh my gosh, you’re a little smaller in person.” But in reality, all of the power and weight comes from my core all the way down to my toes.
GA: You’re slouched over while speed skating, but Dancing required you to have perfect posture. So you had to completely re-train yourself for ballroom? AO: For the last ten years, I’ve been shaping my body into a unique form that’s not natural for a human body. And I was forced every single day on the dancing show to look at myself and say, Okay, this is wrong, this is wrong and this is wrong. You’re supposed to stand up straight, you’re supposed to have broad shoulders. Even for the average person, just to stand like that is uncomfortable; for me it was double.
GA: What effect does always pushing the limits as a performer have on your body? AO: It is absolutely amazing what your body can adapt to. And sometimes you look at a training program and say, I can’t do it. Because you know what you’ve done in the past and you know how bad it hurt. And you’re looking at something that’s basically double amount the work that you just did. So you’re doing a bigger workout and a month later your body’s adapted to it and it’s not even half as bad as you thought it would be. When I’m not training, that’s when I really notice how much we really train. Even the warm-up alone seems like a workout.
GA: Describe your nutritional intake. AO: My diet is (usually) very high protein. As for supplements, there’s vitamins, proteins, many different types of meal replacement drinks, herbs … But I eat for my activity. Depending on what type of workout I’m doing. Which is the only way to go, especially if I’m trying to become very efficient and lean. Anything else is extra. We get a schedule of (different) workouts every single week.
GA: Gotta stay lean and limber to round those tight curves on the ice. AO: Flexibility is huge. At the same time, we focus on our legs, hips and our core—our lower back and abs. Aerodynamics is more a technical aspect of the sport, so (mass) doesn’t pose too many problems with that. But we keep our upper bodies as lean as possible.
GA: Forget balancing your muscular legs on those razor-thin blades—how do you balance your Olympic diet with wanting to eat pizza or dessert on occasion? AO: I don’t eat like this 24 hours a day all year round. Though I probably should. But to me it’s a bit too intense. Of course, the closer I get to the Games the more and more I’m gonna eat like that. But sometimes I just want to eat what we call normal food. Your body creates such a high demand for calorie intake and fat that once in a while a meal like that doesn’t hurt you at all. Your body doesn’t even know.
On the other hand, we’re on this earth for how long? Not very long. And we’re all given these bodies to take care of. We have all the resources in the world to keep them where they need to be. Why not take advantage of that? Sure, we’re all human. We want to have snacks, junk foods and sweets sometimes. But you need to have balance. You need to stay true to a diet or nutrition program. I think that in itself is what will take your workout to another level.
GA: In terms of career plans, are you even looking beyond 2010 at this point? AO: I am. I’m involved in and love all aspects of real estate development. That’s my business side. I’m always gonna be involved in sports in some way or another. And the entertainment world, I’m kinda loyal to it. I have a couple of ideas for some real reality shows that I’d like to see go into production. But you’ve got to get with the right people with the right vision and who share some passion about sports and athletics. If I can stay true to myself and explore the possibilities, I think there’s nothing that can’t be done.
GA: And now for the most important questions: You were named one of People’s 50 Most Beautiful People. Were you the first soul patch to make the list? AO: I don’t know about the soul patch, but that was amazing. And then I was called the sexiest bachelor—that was hilarious! You have to approach this with a sense of humor.
GA: And the big finale: Where did you put your mirrored disco-ball dance trophy? AO: I’m still moving into my house, so I haven’t been able to do what I want to do with it. I want to put it on a little levitating pedestal for all to see. All my friends say, “We’ll hide your other medals somewhere, but we’ll display the trophy.” (Laughs.) I learned a lot about myself in the show. It’s just funny that I was dancing. And it was a lot of fun. I’ve danced quite a bit this year at speaking engagements, corporate functions. If I can dance with (show partner) Julianne (Hough), then I’ll dance wherever. It’s kinda fun. And I thought I’d never say that.
