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The gold medal-winning sailor discusses her fitness obsessions and why, as a Scot, she still loves anything deep fried
The real lives of Olympians: in the lead up to the Paris Olympics, we will be talking to former Olympian medallists about how they keep fit now – from ageing and retiring to what they eat and how much they exercise. Meet the sixth in our series, Shirley Robertson.
Robertson is a sailor and the first British woman to win an Olympic gold medal at consecutive games: Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. She was the first ever female skipper in the groundbreaking Extreme 40 Sailing Series and also broadcasts commentary on her sport. The 56-year-old lives in Cowes with her husband and teenage twins.
I feel really good. I feel strong in my body. If I had to lift up a sofa, I could, which wasn’t the case 10 years ago.
I’m not afraid of using my body still because it’s quite strong. Muscle is so important. A lot of women worry about putting on weight, but I think your body is more useful when it’s got strength. When you age you should be less concerned about thinness and calories.
I’m quite motivated to stay healthy because I want to keep doing things in my old age. I don’t want to get old and have a sore back and bad joints. I want to keep racing, swimming and being active.
I was born competitive and everyone will say that. Whatever I do I want to do well, I want to do it to a high standard. I’m still racing. That’s the beauty of my sport, you can keep going. So it’s important to me to be strong and not get injured.
I’m Scottish so I like anything that’s deep fried or sweet. So that can run away from me especially if I’m working hard and stressed.
Don’t be too accepting. Do a little bit of exercise often and you will see a difference. I’m a big fan of lifting weights and keeping muscle on your bones and doing a little bit of flexibility each week, gradually you can reverse ageing. Seeing that progress is really rewarding.
When I had to sail alone for the Olympics in Sydney. It was really physical and I needed aerobic and core strength. You’re leaning out doing a permanent sit-up.
Now when I’m at the gym I wonder, “How did I do that?” At the time though I never felt shredded in part because you always felt like you could have been fitter.
I did weight training mainly. You sail a lot – anything between two and seven hours. So there’s an element of fitness on the job. Sailing isn’t measured, it’s not quantitative. Your only comparison is against your competitor and you don’t know what they’re going to bring. So I was always one of those mad people who’d do something on Christmas Day.
If I was on the water all day I survived on chocolate spread sandwiches or power bars. Our race days could be quite long and I was so nervous so there was no way I was going to eat a chicken salad. When I was on a boat of three, diet became a real issue because we were weighed and we had to be really careful with what we ate. You wouldn’t eat red meat because it stays with you quite a while. It wasn’t great. I hate thinking about food all the time.
When I stopped the Olympic sailing I had twins and was working full-time. I was used to having a focus and a trainer. So it was quite hard.
I’ve had periods of inactivity. And periods where I’ve become obsessed by one thing. I live on the Isle of Wight, which is really good for road biking. So there was a period where I was obsessed with my bike. In the past five years I’ve got into outdoor long-distance swimming. And I love that. My shoulders have got more muscly and I can’t get shirts and blazers to fit.
It’s good exercise but you actually have to swim. I do front crawl. I don’t want to sound judgy but a lot of people dip. I love the social aspect aspect too. I usually go with a mate.
You can be having a sh–ty day but if you start your day getting in the sea you are really lifted.
I swim most days. I weight train three times a week, which has helped with bad back pain. I do Pilates a minimum of once a week and I go to the chiropractor every six weeks.
Stereotypically my digestion has got worse with the menopause. Now I have an intolerance to lots of grains, which is difficult when you work in television and are on the hop. All that’s on offer is sandwiches.
When I’m at home, I know it’s very fashionable now, but I restrict the times of eating so I don’t eat until lunch time. It’s helped with the sensitivity of the gut. I haven’t lost weight or anything. I still eat properly. If I’m being sensible I break the fast with protein, normally eggs which I eat every day.
I could easily eat lots of chocolate, and bread and butter with marmite.
All the normal things for people my age; magnesium, vitamin D, sometimes some vitamin C.
Adverts for collagen and protein come up on my Instagram but you end up spending loads of money. I try to eat less but better meat. If I’m going to have steak, I’ll have meat that lived a good life on the island. I also like the sausages from the local butcher.
There have been times when I’ve been a little bit obsessed with steps. I’m conscious that in the winter and you’re working at home, there are days when you’ve done 1,500 steps. That freaks me out a little bit.
Recently I’ve had a sore shoulder, and I’m not sure how I did it. I’m not accepting it as my range of movement though, I want a proper range of movement in my arm.
I’ve had back pain but I don’t want to live the next 30 years with a sore back. So I do something about it. Nothing happens quickly but with persistence you can make a difference.
I see the gym filled with young women lifting and building muscle. But my generation still talks like it’s a bad thing being the heaviest they’ve ever been – even though it’s the thing they should need to be doing. We were designed to carry weight. Don’t allow yourself to get weaker and weaker as you age.
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