Nike Women Presents: U.S. National Team Midfielder Carli Lloyd

U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team playmaker and self-proclaimed fitness fanatic Carli Lloyd launches N+TC Fitness Diary workout.
 

The journey to the top is steep. If it weren’t, one wouldn’t have to fight to get there.

For U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team center midfielder Carli Lloyd, the level of commitment needed to reach the top wasn’t always obvious.

“In the beginning stages of my youth career, I just relied on talent,” Lloyd says. “I wasn’t fully fit and didn’t have the discipline that was needed to make it to the highest level.”

Wake-Up Call

Lloyd was undeniably gifted. But her struggles with fitness and mental toughness pushed her to the brink of quitting. It wasn’t until she met James Galanis, a personal trainer from Lloyd’s native New Jersey, that her outlook began to change.

“He told me from the start, ‘If you want to be a professional, you’ve got to put soccer first – soccer has to be your No.1 priority and everything else in life comes second,’” Lloyd says. “Every day, you have to train and play as if it’s a World Cup final.”

“Every day, you have to train and play as if it’s a World Cup final,” says Lloyd.

Galanis provided the wake-up call that his student so desperately needed. With hard work and determination, Lloyd transformed from a player who struggled with fitness to a player who is now known for her unbelievable stamina.

“I’ve become a bit psycho with fitness,” Lloyd laughs. “In a good way though. I enjoy being fit. Being fit is one of my strengths now and pushing my body to the limits has been beneficial for me – it has helped me at the later stages of games and tournaments.”

Goal-Oriented

As a center midfielder, Lloyd relies on endurance to patrol the pitch from box to box. It helps her late in matches and deep in tournaments. Her hard work is also essential to a fundamentally simple goal.

“I want to be known as one of the best ever female soccer players,” Lloyd says. “I want to leave my own legacy and in order to do this, I have to outwork my opponents on a daily basis. Being fit and strong will help me achieve my goals.”

If Lloyd keeps improving, the rest of the world is in trouble. She scored the game-winning goal in each of the past two Olympic Games and has more than 50 international goals to her name. Lloyd has also landed in the top 10 in scoring in the National Women’s Soccer League each of the past two seasons. What’s even scarier for her competition is that Lloyd is more motivated than ever after finishing as a runner-up in the last World Cup.

“All eyes are on June 8,” Lloyd says. “We qualified. We have been putting in the work. We are ready, and I want nothing more than to be on that top podium come July 5.”

Lloyd's Metabolic Kick High Intensity Workout

The Nike+ Training Club Better For It Challenge presents its third and final phase with Lloyd's Metabolic Kick High Intensity (HIT) Workout launching June 1. In keeping with her relentless zest for fitness, the workout includes a series of high intensity training moves modeled after some of Lloyd’s favorite drills.

 “Soccer is a sport that requires you to be agile, quick and light on your feet, so the explosiveness of high intensity training translates really well,” says Lloyd. “Endurance is really important — I have to be prepared to run 90-plus minutes — and the types of drills in my workout will help all levels of athletes build their fitness base.”

The workout keeps things moving with high-energy drills such as Dolphin Push Ups, Split Squats to Jump and the Cha Cha Shuffle, a fun drill mixing fast feet and lateral hops.

The N+TC Better For It Challenge’s final phase is available on nike.com.


Source Nike©