One of three moguls skiing sisters who all competed at Sochi 2014, Maxime Dufour-Lapointe made her Olympic debut with a 12th place finish. Joining her sisters Justine and Chloé, they were just the third trio of sisters to ever compete in the same individual event at the Winter Games.
The eldest of the three, Dufour-Lapointe had been able to experience the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games as a forerunner for the ladies’ moguls event in which her younger sister Chloé was competing. Dufour-Lapointe made her World Cup debut in February 2007 and has been a regular competitor on the circuit since 2008. She earned her first World Cup podium in January 2014 when she finished third in moguls at Deer Valley.
Through the 2016-17 season, she has four career World Cup podiums, including one as part of a podium sweep with her sisters in January 2016. In 2009, Dufour-Lapointe became one of the first woman to perform a backflip with a full twist in competition.
Maxime catches up with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness and talks about her passion and love for mogul skiing and how she and her sisters lead a healthy and fit lifestyle.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You made your World Cup debut in February 2007 and have been a regular competitor on the circuit since 2008. You reached the pinnacle of success when you earned your first World Cup podium in January 2014 when you finished third in moguls at Deer Valley. Share with us your journey in the world of skiing.
Ms. MaximeDufour-Lapointe:
I started skiing when I was three years old, with my family. Growing up skiing was always like a family thing, every weekend in winter we go skiing, every weekend in summer we went sailing. My parents had friends with kids of my age and my sister’s age, and one of them was doing mogul skiing. He encouraged me to do it as well and I was 12 then and I thought I’ll just do that.
As a family, my friends loved to go skiing under the tree or where there were some moguls, so we were already very much into doing moguls. But particularly myself, I was hooked on jumping. I loved the feeling of jumping, it made me feel free, and that’s what really got me hooked into this sport.
So I started at 12, and because I was talented and very dedicated and intense person, so I took up everything that I was told to do and put it in my skiing. Therefore I progressed very fast. I made it to the national team by 2006, when I was 17. From there on I started doing World Cups.
It took me a little while to figure out how to perform at the highest level. I think when I was younger, for me it was about the fun and when I got on the national team, I was taught how to be a more technical skier. There is definitely very high competition so it took me a few years to figure out how to perform and get to know myself better. To play my strengths and make sure I camouflage my weakness the best. And everything fell in together that year when I went for the Olympics in Sochi and did my first podium. I knew that day that something big just happened and that this was my ticket to go to the Olympics.
At that point in my career I was really focused on the performance and enjoying it so much. After going to Sochi, we got a lot of new challenges to face, which were not related to skiing, but that’s the beauty of the sport, it raises you as a person and not only as an athlete. Both my sisters were in the finals and they were going crazy because I got my first podium and later that year I did two more. We also did that sister podium in 2016, that was another big moment for me in my career.
All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. 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 © 2018 Women Fitness
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
In 2009, you became one of the first women to perform a back-flip with a full twist in competition, becoming an inspiration for thousands of women who look up to you. Provide us an insight into a day in your life.
Ms. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe:
As a professional amateur athlete, we train as a full-time job. I did complete my studies and it took my 8 years while training, right after Sochi. After Sochi, I decided to just focus on training as there is a lot to be focused on. As an athlete, I would wake up, have a breakfast filled with fruits, and I would head to the gym when I’m in Montreal, in the morning session, which lasts for about an hour. It’s not that long but it is very intense and after that I would come back home, do some recovery, work with my sisters on some project, or study when I was studying, recover in the night and then go to bed early. So that’s basically the routine when I’m home.
When I’m in training camp, it’s getting up early, get a breakfast, do a warmup, sometimes we have a trampoline session and sometimes we go straight skiing. We’ll be out skiing for 4-5 hours and then come back home, have lunch. Then we go back for a recovery gym session. Most of the time we also make our own food, so we go for groceries, get a massage for recovery, or stretch by ourselves, make dinner and then have a little time to chill, maybe write in our journal, which is very important because I like to keep up with my thoughts and my progress. Also, when you write down on the paper, it is a good way to get things out of you and move on.
Then we go to bed and repeat then. These are very packed days which are 3 days and then one day off in training camps. When I’m at home, I train from Monday to Saturday and have Sunday off. And we have one month in a year which is completely off, that’s vacation time in April.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Maxime, you underwent a hip surgery back in April and therefore were not able to qualify for Pyeongchang. While playing professional sports, athletes often face such injuries and difficulties, what tips would you like to provide to beginners to better cope with an injury & return back to competition?
Ms. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe:
So I was lucky that I didn’t get an injury that late in my career actually. My injury was also caused by overuse, impact, it wasn’t like a crash or a very big accident. I think a key to our success, for me and my sisters, for a healthy body, is getting into training really young. So basically when I was 14, my dad said that if you’re really serious about mogul skiing then I would like for you to train. It was about getting a foundation for my body, having a strong core, shoulders and hips, stability and flexibility. So my dad found us a trainer and that training was all about preventing injury. And we are still training with the same trainer, he’s awesome and he also trains a lot of NHL hockey players, in the summers, we also train with them and we get a lot of good competition because they don’t want to be get beaten by girls and it pushes us to go at our maximum, so it’s a fun environment.
Tips that I would give is: start training early, stretch and get to know your body. Like my body is quite flexible, it’s a good thing but can also be a weakness, so I have to really work hard one shoulder stability, hips alignment, as these things will help in injury prevention. Also, surround yourself with qualified people. Like from the starting we found a physiotherapist, so if anything would happen I would go to him. We had someone design us fee bands that were specially designed for our ski boots, a massage therapist, physical trainer. Even if you’re not at a very high level yet, it is important to think about all these components so if you need you have people to reach out to.
And make plans with your coaches, if they have experience in dealing with injuries, they will definitely help you and guide you in that. Also, I would like to tell you that nobody knows your body more than yourself, so it’s very important to listen to it and also do research. Go out and try something out-of-the box. For my injury I did a lot of research and ended up having two physiotherapists, one for my general body and other for my pelvic floor muscles, cause it’s all related to your hip. Then I did hyper-berry chamber hours which really helped in my recovery. I changed a few of my habits, so it wasn’t that inflammatory and it would help to heal faster. These things nobody told me to but I researched and it really helped me and things that I could be proactive about. So when you have an injury, learn about it and be sort of the boss and take charge of that and you will succeed for sure. I miss that because of time and in my case it was performing in the mind but my body had various issues so I just needed some time to gain back confidence and perform well this year.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Winning involves a lot of determination and hard work, more so in the life of a sportswoman. What exercises comprise your fitness regime both on a daily basis & when you are preparing for competition?
Ms. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe:
Training is a very big part of a professional athlete’s career. In my case, in mogul skiing, the biggest part of fitness is done from May to November; it’s the so-called off-training season. So in the beginning months, we get into it and focus on the small group muscles and do the basic and foundation, then we add on the weights and resistance more on the legs. As we progress towards the season, we get our cardio up, but we mostly do circuits. We do two sessions of legs per week, two sessions of upper body and in that we also add abs, warmup and hip warmup. And then we have two circuits, which have cardio that combines all your body together. Then when winter comes it’s all about maintenance, you rely on the work you have done in summers so that you can focus on recovery when competition comes.
We often say that our body is a cross of a gymnast and hockey player, we do 30 seconds intense run and then rest for 5 minutes before we do another. But in a day we have to do 7-8 runs, so we have to have the stamina to last the whole day and be as good in the last run as we were in the first one.
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Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Optimum nutrition is an integral part of a sports person to stay fit and recover from wear & tear. There is no doubt you too need to take special care of your diet? Do you follow a strict menu to stay healthy and physically fit? Do you have any taboo foods, if yes share them?
Ms. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe:
Relation with food and diet in my journey as an athlete was that I didn’t work with a nutritionist per say. I was listening a lot to my physical coach’s tips and it was more about discovering what fit for me and what didn’t. Today what I really eat is more of fruits in the morning, and vegetable base meals that have protein, but probably not as much as you would expect. I think the challenge is when you travel because you cannot find the exact same food as you eat at home, when you’re in Japan or Korea. So we drink a lot of supplements, we have Biosteel that gave us Isolate powder and protein bars, so these are great to fill in. So again I think you need to understand your body and your energy system to know what works and what doesn’t work for you.
I would also have a glass of wine, have a chocolate, have a dessert; it’s just a matter of balance. It’s ok to get of the diet, but I think I like it so much, eating fruits and vegetables and eat the way that I eat, that I don’t crave eating in any other way. Me and my sisters, we love cooking. For me cooking gives me a peaceful moment, it gives me a break during the day so it is a very enjoyable task for me. We make soups often for lunch, and salads, big bowl of fruits for morning; we like to try new recipes as well.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Being a professional athlete, you are a role model for many striving to make their dream come true, provide us with some motivational words to help others climb up the ladder of success in this field?
Ms. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe:
The biggest moment for me, where I was really able to step up was when I had this competition with my coach and he asked me what is your biggest fear. And for me it was failing, it was such a deep thing inside me, that whether I did think about it or not, it made me ski in a safe way, because I did not want to fail. The problem with that was I was not able to ski as good as I could, because if I would have done that I would have also put myself in the risk of committing a mistake. So when I realized that my fear of failing was holding me back, it was a big conscious moment. My coaches then said but there’s no failing, if something doesn’t work you learn from it and if it does, you win. From that moment, I realized that there’s never a losing moment, you only move forward. I realized that I have to give myself that chance of being in the winning situation and not let my fear holding me back.
One of my motto in my career is “Magic happens outside of your comfort zone.” It related to that story where you have to put yourself out there, it’s going to be all fine and you’ll be amazed to see what you can do and you’re going to do it.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
At the Sochi Olympics in 2014, you, Justine, and Chloe, all competed in the moguls event. This marked just the fifth time three siblings competing together in the same event in the Olympics. Tell us how does it feel to have competition with your own sisters standing by you at all times and being in the same sport?
Ms. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe:
We are always asked is there competition between you guys, and no there’s not, it’s actually our biggest strength. We are travelling the world, we are putting ourselves in critical situations of highs and lows, and who else would you want by your side other than your sisters. We all always had this vision of three of us, dominating the sport, all our reactions were to lift each other up, and that has happened in Sochi and that has happened after. It is really based on our family values and women empowerment. We could have seen it in a competitive way, but we decided to see it as opportunity to use this strength together and it has been great.
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Ms. Namita Nayyar:
The past year has been a difficult one with you struggling to find your world-class form and your mother battling cancer. Through all the tough and difficult times, what was the driving force that has brought you where you are today? “Maxime wasn’t here as an athlete, but each, Games have their history,” said 26-year-old Chloe, why so?
Ms. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe:
For me, I was struggling last year from chronic pain, not knowing where it was from, and with the team, we were patching everything and trying to make sure I could ski. Looking back at my previous season, I got the injury in October. So ski injured and my mom battling cancer, I still made it to the world champs, to top 8, honestly it was my best season, being strong mentally.
When I look back now, I am really proud of myself. After the season, after performing an MRI, getting the news that it’s not my fault, I’m not just old, something is broken and we can fix it, I was relieved. I was relieved that I can take a break to focus on my rest and tackle the new challenge. It was really fun in that recovery period, I have learnt so much about myself, sports, and it definitely gave me a new angle.
Like I said, I ran out of time and even though I gave in my everything, this forced me to think how far I can go, what is the best version of myself that I can get to as an athlete. And even though I expected it to be from the results, it actually came from building a whole house for my family, battling cancer, going over injuries, changing coaches, dealing with media, getting more involved with my sponsors. So it was all different things that life brings your way, I am really proud of how I handled it and the way my sisters handled it. That’s a part of our story coming to PyeongChang, we were lot more mature women, and champion in all aspects.
When I knew that I wasn’t going to be in PyeongChang, it was very emotional, I’m still processing it because I gave in my everything to qualify. And now it’s another period for recovery and to take care of myself. When I knew I was not going I knew I had to be there and help my sisters, make sure that they have the best environment to succeed and perform. So I came with them at the pre-olympic camp and I was watching them train, seeing if they need anything, any requests or needs during the day, my mum and I would go and get that need fixed for them. Anything I would see in their attitude or the way that they would train, then I would have a little chat with my coach and try to give my insight on how well I know my sisters.
Usually when we do pre-olympic training camps we like to have a small bubble, but that time my sisters asked me and my mum to be there and so it was very important for us to be there and after the so much emotional year, last year, it was a bonding moment for us.
After that back in PyeongChang, I was cheering for them, I was helping my family, I was helping them a bit with the media. My Olympics weren’t as I expected them to be, but they still had a meaning. Doing all that for my sisters, was giving my Olympics a meaning, but it was also about doing it for myself. Going to PyeongChang was a celebration for me, for the past four years of work, dedication and passion that I have for the sport. Just because you do not qualify in the end that doesn’t mean that the whole process wasn’t worth it. Therefore, it was a big moment for me to go and I consider myself as a Champion in a very broad aspect of the world.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Having performed so well throughout your career, who all have been your role model, inspiration, and motivator in your career as an athlete?
Ms. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe:
I have been influenced by many different athletes and personalities and I would like to look at the world around me and see how others have lived and see who you can relate to, is good enough, it’s incredible. Jennifer Heil was a pioneer in mogul skiing in Canada, I was also inspired by Steve Omischl who is in aerials, but I love his training ethics. My coach who taught me to be fearless, has been the biggest mentor in my career, in many ways he changed my life. Any athlete in Team Canada, there is inspiration all around us and I like to take out the best piece from everyone and make my own blend.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Women Fitness works relentlessly with a goal to reach out to women all over the world providing them with best in health, fitness, beauty & fashion. What do you wish to say about the website (Womenfitness.net) and message for our readers?
Ms. Maxime Dufour-Lapointe:
I think this is awesome, sharing is strength, and sharing knowledge is incredible. We all do not get to evolve in an environment where people support you being an athlete. As an athlete resources are all around us but in everyday life sometimes it is harder to find proper information and good people to surround yourself with. Using Women Fitness as a place to go and get good information is priceless and very important, especially for women empowerment. Just like my sisters we decided to help each other and this is exactly what Women Fitness is doing, providing help from one women to another.
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All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. 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 © 2018 Women Fitness