Jennifer Lynn Suhr is an American pole vaulter. She has been an Olympic and World champion, has been ranked #1 in the World, has been the #1 American pole vaulter since 2006, and has won a total of 17 US National Championships (7 Indoor, 10 Outdoor). She holds the world indoor pole vault record at 5.03 m (16 ft 6 in). She holds the American women’s pole vault record indoors. In 2008, she won the U.S. Olympic trials, setting an American record of 4.92 m (16 ft 2 in) and won a silver medal in the Beijing Olympics. She won the gold medal at the London Olympics on August 6, 2012. Track & Field News named her American Female Athlete of the Year for 2008.
Women Fitness President Ms. Namita Nayyar had a candid interview with Jenn Suhr Olympics and World Champion in Pole Vault talks about her workout, diet, hair & skin care, beauty secrets and success story.
Namita Nayyar:
You have been an Olympic and World Champion, has been ranked world No.1, has been American Pole Vaulter No.1 since 2006, and has won a total of 17 US National Championships (7 Indoor and 10 Outdoor). And have been declared as the pole vaulter of the decade by Track & Field News. Share your mental & physical strategies that go behind the victory?
Jenn Suhr:
A lot of people look at the accomplishments for me in Pole Vault and think I was a “natural” and destined to pole vault. That couldn’t be more false. I have to work really hard at pole vaulting and it was very awkward because I was not a gymnast and I started vaulting at age 22. I played basketball on scholarship in college and at the end of my senior year at Roberts Wesleyan College is when I tried pole vaulting. I had to learn a lot fast but mainly I had to learn to compete in an atmosphere that was extremely different than Team Sports. I had to learn to deal with the feelings that come with individuals sports. The pressure is on you, everyone is watching you, and you don’t have teammates as a support system right next to you or to pick up the slack if you have an off day. I had to learn how to focus and execute under stress. I am someone that gets very nervous and I had to learn how to channel it to save my energy and use it as adrenaline during performance. I look back at the accomplishments and each one had its struggles and challenges that accompanied it. Perseverance, determination, and coaching are what got me to be Vaulter of the Decade. Each of those successful moments is a result of not willing to give up.
Namita Nayyar:
You got involved in sports at a young age, playing softball at age 6. At 9, you competed in an adult golf league with your grandfather. Factors that drew you towards the sport?
Jenn Suhr:
I actually started golf first with my grandfather in an adult league at age 9. The reason I went into softball at age 12 was I saw my neighbour come home with a “uniform” and I told my mom I wanted to play softball. So basically, I started competitive sports for the fashion of the uniform.
Namita Nayyar:
Introduce us to a day in your life, as an athlete and a woman full of aspirations. Three stress busters tips.
Jenn Suhr:
I have a specific routine every morning. I first have to let my dog outside, I pop in a Kcup and the turn on the news. I have to spend some “me” time in the morning. I’ll bounce around in between coffee, laundry and household cleaning. Whatever is in store for practice I always have to get ready, shower, hair make-up. It is my prep time for my mind to get into the right zone. Currently, I am at home training and lifting in quarantine but I still take a shower and get ready for the simplest lifting session in my backyard, I told you I like routine! At some point during the day I take my dog for a walk and the fresh air and activity lets I am able to decompress and burn off any extra energy. Plus, it makes me happy to know my dog is enjoying his day too. My third stress buster is at night. I enjoy having some wine either by a fire or to music videos. It’s a good way to end the day without listening to the news or any shows that get you too hyped up for bed.
Full Interview is Continued on Next Page
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2020 Women Fitness
Namita Nayyar:
What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine that you may like to share with our viewers? From your experience share five strategies to combat injury while training.
Jenn Suhr:
I love lunges forward and backward. I feel like they open up my hips and build strength. What I like the most is they can be done anywhere! To help combat injuries, I make sure I am fortified with the right nutrition. I also make sure I layer when I warm up for practice. I find heating my body up really well before I start impact helps loosen my muscles and joints. I also am big on small intrinsic muscle exercises so at least twice a week I do a simple routine that makes sure I work the small muscles that often get ignored in major lifts. A lot of elites get massages and therapy but it has probably been at least 6 years since I got a massage. I have a hard time laying still for that long so I would rather do a strengthening and stretching routine myself to help my muscles relax and rebuild.
Namita Nayyar:
Share the diet that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit? Five foods you absolutely love. Supplements that help enhance performance.
Jenn Suhr:
I have to be very in tune with my diet. At age 38 my metabolism doesn’t seem to fire as fast as it did at 28. I have found that I have to substitute food a lot more. My dressings are more vinegar based in my salads, I don’t use standard peanut butter, I get low sugar jelly, I pay attention to the Net Carb count, I use Lavish Bread for any type of breads I might need and can even make crackers our of it. I actually do not do the cooking. My husband is the cook of the house and he has found his knitch on how to prepare low fat low carb dinners that are actually appetizing! I will forever be grateful for him cooking because I absolutely hate cooking.
Namita Nayyar:
Having to train constantly in extreme climate conditions, how do you take care of your skin and hair?
Jenn Suhr:
I always have a good face moisturizer that I use at night and one during the day. When I know I am going to be in the sun I will put on some sport sunscreen that is sport proven (not oily and doesn’t sweat off). For short days I use a moisturizer and makeup that has SPF in it. As for my hair, I have never worried about it. I bleached it, dried it, straightened it and never protected it and the damage was immense. For the last year, I have gone without bleach and I don’t straighten it that much. My hair is healing and the natural curls that I hated when I was younger are coming back and I love them!
Namita Nayyar:
Who has been your biggest motivator in your career?
Jenn Suhr:
I have two types of motivators: the positive motivator is my husband who is also my coach. He is the one that is telling me that I can do more than I ever thought I could do. He has pushed me beyond what I thought was possible to achieve things I was afraid to dream of. The second types of motivators are the negative ones: initially I was trying to prove to the haters that I could succeed in pole vault having started so late in life and now I want to prove to the haters you can pole vault competitively so late in life.
Namita Nayyar:
Share with us your HIIT home workout that works great for an athlete’s body? 5 stretches that must be done before your final performance.
Jenn Suhr:
Before I am going to put in a hard jump day I start from the ankles up in stretching. The biggest muscle groups I like to have warmed up are my quads, hamstrings, and shoulders. I incorporate stretching with my warm up and that helps me feel like I am being active and making sure each muscle group is going through the full range of motion before I load them.
Namita Nayyar:
In the 2016 Summer Olympics, you suffered severe illness prior to the competition, and finished in seventh place, below initial expectations. From your own experience, what advice would you give to others to deal with such situations?
Jenn Suhr:
In 2016, I learned a lot. Initially in the passing months I was not able to deal with it. I couldn’t talk about it without crying so I didn’t talk about it. I had so many emotions going on I didn’t even know where or how to deal with them. I was embarrassed, I was devastated, I was angry, I was confused. It really took me awhile to come out of this because once you start down that depression road navigating back is tricky. I had a lot to process and I had to learn how to fall in love with the event again. I knew it had to take on a different look than what it was. I had to continue to pole vault for me. When I won Gold at the Olympics in 2012, my phone never stopped ringing. I had text messages, voicemails, and emails for weeks from people that I was affiliated with through Track and Field contacting me, telling me how proud they are, and encouraging me. After Rio in 2016, I had one person, ONE PERSON that I was affiliated with in Track and Field reach out to me. I learned really quick that people are there for the successful moments but when hard times hit and they have nothing to gain, they have already jumped on someone else’s bandwagon. For me, this hurt my heart because I learned a lesson of fair weather friends. I would never wish to be that sick again and during the Olympic Games nonetheless, but I learned so much about myself, a lot about other people, but most importantly, I learned how to rebuild myself mentally and emotional stronger than I was before.
Namita Nayyar:
With the postponement of the Olympic games until 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Your message to other players to handle the disappointment?
Jenn Suhr:
The disappointment of the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games has to be kept in perspective. While we all have trained and have gotten ready we must understand that the Games aren’t cancelled but postponed for another year. We get to compete again next year (it might not be ideal for some) but we still have an opportunity. COVID-19 has cost some people their lives, their jobs, their income…when you step outside of your box and you look at the bigger picture that is the best way to deal with the disappointment of postponement.
Namita Nayyar:
You are the current Indoor World Record Holder, your word of advice for beginners and young girls aspiring to participate in this sport.
Jenn Suhr:
One of the things I like to share when other athletes encourage is to try something you have always wanted to try. I don’t care the age either. I started at 22! People think to be an Olympian you need to be having begun in elementary and middle school and instantly they are turned off. I see athletes get discouraged because they think it’s too late. I was not a gymnast, I didn’t have a diving background, I played basketball, softball and dabbled in a lot of other sports like volleyball, golf and soccer. I am a huge believer in playing multiple sports as it helps build your mental and it teaches you other motor patterns one dimensional athlete miss. Plus, how would you ever know what you like or what you are good at if you never try!
Namita Nayyar:
Share a few words about the website Womenfitness.net and message for our visitors?
Jenn Suhr:
What I like about WomenFitness.Net is the easy navigational access. The layout makes it easy to distinguish the articles you are interested in by giving a quick breakdown in the description. No matter what someone is going through and what they are trying to change or even start, you have to realize it doesn’t happen overnight. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to see results and it takes a few more weeks to make it habit. Don’t give up too early!
Jenn Suhr social media presence
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2020 Women Fitness