Marta Menegatti is an Italian beach volleyball player who plays as a left-side defender with her partner Viktoria Orsi Toth. With former teammate Greta Cicolari, she achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 4 in August 2012. Her career highlights include two gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals on the FIVB World Tour. She is also the 2011 European champion and the 2013 Mediterranean Games champion, both achieved with Cicolari. Menegatti represented Italy at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.
Born into a sporting family, Menegatti started playing indoor volleyball at the age of nine. Her transition to beach volleyball began six or seven years later and she made her international debut in 2006. A decorated junior player, she medalled at four age-group World and European Championships with different partners. Menegatti debuted on the World Tour with Cicolari in 2009. The pair entered the top ten of the world rankings by their third year and medalled at seven World Tour events. Menegatti later teamed up with Orsi Toth and reached the podium five more times over the next three years, including her first World Tour title in 2015. She is the 2011 FIVB Most Improved Player.
Women’s beach volleyball: Representing Italy
| Event | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| FIVB World Tour | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| European Championships | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mediterranean Games | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| U21 World Championships | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| U19 World Championships | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| U23 European Championships | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| U20 European Championships | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 5 | 10 | 7 |
Women Fitness President Ms. Namita Nayyar catches up with Marta Menegatti, an Italian beach volleyball player, twice Gold medalist FIVB World Tour here she talks about her workout, diet, hair care, skincare routine and her success story.
Namita Nayyar:
You were born in Rovigo, Italy into a sporting family; you started playing indoor volleyball at the age of nine. Your transition to beach volleyball began six or seven years later and you made your international debut in 2006 at the Challenger and Satellite circuit. This later propelled your career to the height where you have been at the top of the world as a beach volleyball player. Tell us more about your professional journey of exceptionally hard work, tenacity, and endurance?
Marta Menegatti:
Looking back now, after 13 years that I’ve been playing professionally, I realize of how much effort and obsession I’ve been putting into reaching my goals individually and as a team. I believe that beach volleyball could be summarized in a single concept: resiliency. To live off of this sport from a young age, made me understand how losing or winning is just transitional and how it is up to us to decide if we want to give up or persevere. It all comes down to courage, questioning them day by day, and building trust in us.
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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 © 2021 Women Fitness
Namita Nayyar:
You have won two gold, seven silver, and seven bronze medals on the FIVB World Tour. Tell us how you were drawn to this sport of beach volleyball and your meteoric rise to the top as its world-leading player?
Marta Menegatti:
I grew up with the belief that everything should be perfect, organized, and under my control. But beach volleyball does not have anything to do with all this, instead it’s unpredictable. It made me understand how necessary it is giving space to the unexpected, “welcome it” positively, and taking advantage of it. It wasn’t easy to wrap myhead around it, I’ve worked on it so much and never stopped, but it was fundamental for my growth.
Namita Nayyar:
You with your former teammate Greta Cicolari, have achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 4 in August 2012 as a beach volleyball player. Tell us more about this exceptional achievement of yours?
Marta Menegatti:
I’m really proud of the results that Greta and I were able to achieve with our staff in a short period of time. We started playing together in the summer of 2009; it was an ambitious task since both of us were coming from indoor volleyball with the desire to fulfill our Olympic dream. Nobody expected from us that we would progress this quickly; carving ourselves a spot on the international stage with keeping a consistency and performance that led us to get a pass for London 2012 ahead of time.
Namita Nayyar:
You have won two gold, seven silver, and seven bronze medals on the FIVB World Tour, Gold at European Championships and Mediterranean Games, Silver at U21 World Championships, U19 World Championships, U20 European Championships, and Bronze at U23 European Championships. What is your opinion should be the traits in an athlete to be consistently successful as a beach volleyball player?
Marta Menegatti:
Beach volleyball is without a doubt a very tough sport, ruthless sometimes, of strong physical and mental pressure. It has shaped me, taught me how to “stay present”, and to let go the mistake as fast as I can because “you don’t judge the mistake, you describe it”. I believe these are two essential ingredients to try to excel in our sport.
Namita Nayyar:
What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine you may wish to share?
Marta Menegatti:
Without doubt mobility and stretching represent a fundamental part of my daily routine. In the last years I’ve been inspired by Stephanie Annalise Rose’s method and professionalism. I’ve experienced important benefits in terms of flexibility particularly for hips and pelvis. These are some of my favorite exercises.
Namita Nayyar:
Tell us your training schedule to boost one’s immunity and practice for beach volleyball sessions in such pandemic times?
Marta Menegatti:
Doing sport regularly and consistently increases the immune system of our body. In fact, it helps decreasing the chances of getting a common cold, flu, a sore throat and a cough. In addition, I think that a healthy diet should be assisted by specific nutritional support (preferably naturally) as well as adequate hydration.
Namita Nayyar:
How do you train your abs? One secret to your toned body.
Marta Menegatti:
I do a lot of core stability focusing more on transverse and oblique abdominal muscles. Some of my favorites are bird dog, hip thrust, side plank, and dead bug.
Namita Nayyar:
Do you take a special diet or have a strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?
Marta Menegatti:
It’s well known that the consumption system of the west influences dramatically our habits and lifestyles. We should learn how to eat less and decrease the consumption of all the products of the food industry. Personally, I try to avoid processed foods and prefer real natural foods. Obviously I follow a dietary supplementation protocol that is in line with my physical activity.
Namita Nayyar:
Five foods you absolutely love and five you keep to a minimum.
Marta Menegatti:
I’m addicted to dark chocolate (90% minimum), I adore tiramisu and ice cream. I could eat sushi and sashimi every day and I love steak tartare. Generally, I follow a balanced diet that meets my needs, but letting myself enjoy my sweet tooth once in a while!
Namita Nayyar:
Share with us your hair care and skincare routine.
Marta Menegatti:
Being often exposed to the sun, sand, and wind I’m all about taking good care of my hair. I always apply a few drops of coconut oil to the ends before training and I often use specific natural products for frequent washing. I also take good care of my skin, particularly of my face. I try to keep my skin always nourished and moisturized using products without nichel and additives.
Namita Nayyar:
Five travel destinations on your wish list.
Marta Menegatti:
I consider myself a curious person, and very passionate about traveling, so the list of the places I’d like to go visit is definitely too long but my top 5 would be: Hanoi, Cape Town, Ilha de Noronha, Ushuaia, and Bali.
Namita Nayyar:
Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding beach volleyball players, who all are your fans and shall like to know from you for their climb to the ladder of success in the sport of beach volleyball?
Marta Menegatti:
“You do not just wake up and become a butterfly”. Growth is a process. In sports, the research of excellence it’s a process that requires a lot of tenacity and consciousness. Someone called Bernardinho used to say that there’s no growth if there’s no hardship/suffering. For this reason, I think it’s important to accept our own mistakes and failures…the fun thing is trying, try in everything at the best of our capabilities. Succeeding is a delightful added value.
Namita Nayyar:
A message for your Instagram followers.
Marta Menegatti:
I believe that the majority of my Instagram followers are beach volleyball fans or people that cheer for me so I want to simply thank them and tell them that I’m incredibly grateful for the support I get.
Namita Nayyar:
What do you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and the message for its visitors?
Marta Menegatti:
Recently I’ve read this phrase that in my opinion, expresses a simple concept but a very significant one: “Give high priority to the care of your body and mind because nobody is going to do it for you. You’re the only person you’re spending the rest of your life with.”
Marta Menegatti Social Media Presence
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marta_menegatti/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartaMenegattiOfficial
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrtmenegattifc
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 © 2021 Women Fitness