Krista Pärmäkoski is a Finnish cross country skier who has competed since 2007. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, she finished 26th in the 30 km and 53rd in the 10 km event. At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, Lähteenmäki finished 37th in the 10 km event.
Her best World Cup finish was second in one of Tour de Skis events in 2011. Lähteenmäki also was in Finlands team in Oslo WC 2011. Her best individual finish was 5th in 10 km event. She also won silver in team sprint, and bronze in 4×5 km relay.
Check out this young skier’s wonderful journey in a candid interview with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You started competing in cross-country skiing in 2007 and have been performing tremendously well ever since. Walk us through this spectacular journey and tell us how it all began?
Ms. Krista Pärmäkoski:
I have been doing skiing since my childhood, but I started competing at the age of 12. I come from a small town named Ikaalinen, and I have always been very active and helped my dad in all duties he had at our farm. I can still remember for example when it was time to carry stones away from the fields. Stones about the size of my head I carried by my own hands, the bigger ones were moved by my dad by tractor. I believe that is where my guts and strength come from. I have always learned to work hard and do the work as good as possible.
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:
Introduce us to a day in your life, preparing for the Olympics.
Ms. Krista Pärmäkoski:
My days are filled with trainings, eating and afternoon naps. I pay a lot of attention that I get enough sleep also. The rhythm remains the same what comes to trainings and meals. This time of year my normal week (at competition season) is Monday long training, Tuesday gym training, Wednesday high-intensity training session which prepares for the upcoming weekend of racing, Thursday I rest and Friday is time to do some ski testing.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine that you may like to share?
Ms. Krista Pärmäkoski:
Take good care of your body. Streching, easy functional training and massages help your body to remain balanced and recover. I pay a lot of attention to those things. They don’t take a lot of time from your days but the reward is big Also, listen to your body. Even though you have planned for example one hour really-hard training but you maybe feel unnormally stiff, extremely tired or unnormal pain after first 10 minutes, change your plan and alter the training. It is not weakness, it is wisdom. Pay attention to the signals of your body, it leads to good and enjoyable training.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Do you take some special diet or have a strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?
Ms. Krista Pärmäkoski:
In cross-country skiing you need a lot of energy to “fuel” your training. It is essential part of the picture as if you are not eating healthy and enough, you have neither energy to train in top-level nor you would recover from the training sessions. My diet is based on pretty simple “homemade” food, and it is important to stick to certain rhythm with meals as well – no matter is it lunch or snacks. When we are racing at competition venues, athletes’ needs have been taken into account mostly well, typical meal being chicken with rice. When preparing my own meals, hiqh quality ingredients are important. As I don’t have much time for cooking, I am lucky to have a sponsor whose wide range of meal option helps me out and gives high-quality tasty home-made meals fast when needed. I believe in balance, so at times it is important to remember also enjoy some sweets – for example I enjoy baking cheese cakes..
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Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding cross country skiers who all are your fans, they shall like to know from you, what they should do for their climb to ladder of success in this field?
Ms. Krista Pärmäkoski:
Cross-country skiing is an endurance sports, there are no fast-wins. It requires dedication to put in many, many hours of work for long-term. Mentally you have to trust into that and yourself, believe that the work pays off at some point. There are seasons which may leave you disppointed, but you just have to put that behind you, move forward and keep working towards your dreams. Even though it is individual sport, you need a team to succeed. That includes experts from various areas as well great training partners / training group. There is always something you can learn from your fellow skiers and there are always things you can improve.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
How did you feel before and after winning your first ever silver Olympic medal at the Sochi Winter Games?
Ms. Krista Pärmäkoski:
My preparations to Sochi suffered from minor illness just before the Games so in the individual events I didn’t achieve the results which I knew would have been possible for me back then. Relay is an unique event because then you can join your forces with your teammates and represent your nation together as a team. It is special. Olympic relay 2014 was an exciting race until the end, and even though I was a bit disappointed at first about losing the final sprint about gold medal, after a short moment I was just so happy to win my first ever Olympic Games medal. Olympics are just in every four years and there are no medals for granted, no easy wins, you really have to fight about them. We did, and we got our silver.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Who has been your greatest influence and motivator in your success in the field of your career in skiing?
Ms. Krista Pärmäkoski:
My parents, who have always supported me and made it possible for me to participate all kinds of sports when I was young. Later on, I have been lucky to get a professional coach already as junior (under 16 years). The coach, Matti Haavisto, is still my personal coach and I am extremely happy to work with him.
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Ms. Namita Nayyar:
While playing professional sports, athletes often face injuries and other difficulties, would you like to tell the audience about how to cope up and make a comeback after an injury?
Ms. Krista Pärmäkoski:
I have been lucky not to have any injuries. But, I have suffered from long-term infection mycoplasma. It took some patience to overcome it and get back to the level where I used to be. That is something I would recommend to everyone: listen to your body (and doctors). When sports is your passion and you just want to go training, it is hard to rest and take it easy, but in the long run it always pays off. Also, when you have been sick with flu for example, it is important to get back to your training routines step by step. Then you minimize the risk of setbacks and tackle infections faster, and your body will thank you for that.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
With a massive following who look upto you and follow you, how does it feel that you are able to influence and inspire the healthy lifestyle of so many individuals?
Ms. Krista Pärmäkoski:
I just would like to see everyone finding the joy in sports, no matter what sport it would be. No matter what your goals are, it just makes you feel so good and also at the same time it offers unlimited possibilities to challenge yourself and learn new things. Of course, if we are talking about cross-country skiing, I wish as many as possible would have a chance to ski and enjoy it. For xc skiing juniors I want to do everything I can at my current situation as professional skier – For example together with my sponsors I am involved in couple of projects where the aim is to encourage juniors to pursue their limits and dreams in xc skiing. Meanwhile I just want to be myself – hopefully a good example or role model for younger skiers.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
What do you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for our visitors?
Ms. Krista Pärmäkoski:
It is inspiring to inspire people to find their own way of fitness and enjoy life and sports in it. Cross-country skiing is the best fitness in many ways, your entire body is working and you get fresh air when skiing outdoors. So I encourage everyone to try it – maybe you fall in love with skiing and we’ll see in the trails somewhere..
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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.