Soccer Star Abby Wambach Talks Training, Eats and Olympics Predictions!

We don’t have to tell Abby Wambach what a good workout soccer is! Credit: evoo73

Interview with Soccer Star Abby Wambach

• FBG: What about your training schedule. How much soccer do you play or practice versus time in the gym?
• AW: I would say at least three hours a day, whether it’s on the field or in the gym. To some people that seems like a lot, but for me it’s just the way of life. I get one solid day off a week where I don’t do anything. If it is a session where you’re out in the field for a couple of hours, you may want to take it a little easy in the gym where you’re only lifting a little bit. If it’s a little bit lighter on the field, that’s where you go power; that’s where you try and go for some sort of endurance lifting. The muscles that you need to perform on the field sometimes you need to get into the gym to create them, and it’s not easy work by any means. But we all know that in order to be able to do that kind of workload day in and day out, you have to put the right nutrients in your body.
• FBG: Do you have a particular move or exercise that you love—or love to hate?
• AW: You know what? It’s funny because I have such strong legs, you would think that I love to do squats and what not in the gym, but I love to hate squats. I think it’s my least favorite lift that I have to do. And more so, it’s a little odd that a soccer player likes to do arm exercises, but I love to do arm exercises. Whether it’s dumbbell curls or a chest press or whatever, I love to use my arms in that way. It makes me feel good.
• FBG: What about a pregame ritual before you play?
• AW: I have tons of them. The one I am going to talk about here is focused solely on my nutrition. I always have a really good, solid sandwich with 100 percent whole-wheat bread before any game. And you know, it’s a thing that I can’t go without now. It’s something that, if by random chance, we don’t have bread on the road or whatever, it feels very different and odd for me to go on the soccer field and play.
• FBG: Any thoughts or prediction for the 2012 Olympics in general and for the women’s soccer team?
• AW: I think it is going to be fun. I think for the first time ever China is going to compete for the overall medal count, so it will be interesting to see how things kind of fall into place for Team USA. But specifically for our team, this gives us a really good incentive. The World Cup last year was obviously heartbreaking for us. But we all want to bring home gold. And for me, it’s gold or bust. I’m not scared of talking about it; it’s on all of our minds. I think that we all know we want to come home with gold, and we also know that is going to take a complete effort by every single player on the field, and even on the bench, and even in the stands, and even back here willing us to win. We’re going to have to do a little bit more than we did this past summer in the World Cup to ensure bringing home the gold.
• FBG: Any favorite workout tunes?
• AW: I have a few different new artists that I am kind of into right now. Fun is actually one of favorite bands at this point and Gotye. I enjoy a lot of different kinds of music. Sometimes I do like to listen to the slow songs—depressing some of my friends call it—but the truth is I am pretty emotional and attached to the songs I enjoy. If they are relevant to my life, they’re going to have some impact and meaning to me.