Anna Shcherbakova: In quarantine I have to limit myself a little more in food
Anna Shcherbakova about her daily routine and training during self-isolation.
interview for radio Mayak, text versions by sports.ru dd. 19th April, 2020
Anna: Usually I wake up, do a little workout, after which I have breakfast, then I have classes with a tutor, because I still need to take school.
After that we have lunch, then I again take school tasks, then I do a full-fledged training, because I need to keep myself in shape.
Then until the evening I have free time, I try to have fun somehow. I have a lot of pets – a dog and two cats, I spend a lot of time with them. I also knit various toys.
How to train on self-isolation? In social networks, athletes call for online training, conduct them. But skater is without ice, especially such a high-level athlete as you. How are things going with this?
Anna: Of course it’s very difficult to train without ice. No matter how much exercise we do, it’s still not the same, the sensations are forgotten. But this happens every summer vacation, we train, then a long recovery period.
I try to do various exercises as much as possible, to jump as much as possible at home to maintain physical shape. But, of course, the sensations of jumping are forgotten. When we return to the ice, it will take a long time to recall how it’s done.
We have a lot of exercises that we do and by the way, I also shoot videos, post them on Instagram. I will conduct a live stream with training to show how you can keep fit at home.
Does the coaching staff controls your performance of some mandatory exercises?
Anna: We are not small children, and there are a lot of us, therefore they do not watch us. They don’t control how we perform the exercises, but, of course, they contact us and control. We are in touch.
We do these exercises every day at the rink, we have classes off the ice. Therefore, we all know what exercises need to be done, coaches just contact us sometimes – ask us how are we, how is shape, how we feel.
But, of course, it’s also hard to train yourself. Yesterday, Kamila Valieva and I talked on Skype, we worked together during video-call to make it more fun.
Anna also told what she would like to improve in her performances.
Anna: I can say that even now I have something to improve. I will learn new jumps, focus on the triple axel. This is what I lacked this season. In the short program, I often lagged behind the first place, because I don’t jump triple axel.
I will need to work a lot on this jump to include it into the program. And, of course, it’s possible to improve in spins ans skating skills.
Do you have an understanding of how many ultra-c jumps you can include into a program and still skate it clean?
Anna: This season I had a maximum of three jumps, and I know that for me it is absolutely real. When I’m in good shape, three jumps are possible.
At the beginning of the season, when I was skating with one, it seemed to me that two was my ceiling. And when I first tried with three jumps, I was sure that it was impossible, I won’t skate such a program clean at competitions.
But the work helped to realize that I can do three jumps. So far, three is the maximum content, but if I learn something new, and we put it into the program, then everything is possible.
Anna also told about her diet.
Anna: Usually I don’t limit myself, I try to eat the right food so that I have strength for training. At the same time, I understand that if I forbid myself to eat something, I will have moments of disruption. I control my nutrition, but I do not limit myself completely.
In quarantine I have to limit myself a little more in food, because I don’t have intense training . I try not to eat at night. So it turns out to keep weight.
Have I ever had to lose weight? Just a little bit. I try not to gain much weight, so that later I do not have to loose it.
from Anna’s Instagram account
Related topics: Anna Shcherbakova
Love this interview! Her obstacle course video is great!
Anna is an exceptional young lady. Everything about her radiates warmth, kindness and excellence. She is a delight to watch. She is nearly perfect on the ice consistently and is lovely in her demeanor and behavior all the the time.