The announcement you have been waiting for! A few months ago, we met the incredible Sara Villani (@likeavillain), Team Canada bobsleigh athlete whose dream is to make it to the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Her journey has been quite the adventure, from winning RBC Training Ground and smashing records, to making the Development Team and finding success on the North American circuit, to then showing what she was made of in the World Cup. We immediately wanted to provide support for her during her journey and have been working with her to provide her with quality fitness equipment so that her training would not fall short during the pandemic.
We are excited to officially announce our partnership with her, and hope that you all can help us in giving her a warm welcome, and support wherever you can! Whether that’s liking this post, giving her a follow, leaving a comment, or leaving a donation on her Make A Champ (www.makeachamp.com/saravillani), we appreciate our amazing Fit It Out community and know that we will all have Sara’s back until she makes it to Podium!
We can’t wait to see the success you bring, Sara -- Welcome to the Fit It Out family!
Hey Sara, you’re a brakeman on the two-man Canadian women’s bobsleigh team. Tell us more about that.
In 2018, I won a competition called the RBC Training Ground where I was recruited to a few different sports, one of which was bobsleigh. In December of 2018, I got to try bobsleigh in Calgary for the first time. I actually experienced a crash on my very first run down, which is definitely quite a shock to the system. After the week, I returned back home and I decided I was going to make the transition from track and field into bobsleigh (which is a common transition). In 2019, I made the Development Team and found success on the North American Circuit. Then in 2020, I made the Senior Bobsleigh Team, but Team Canada did not join the competitions until January 2021, where I then got to experience competing in World Cup competitions. I am now training to qualify for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face as an elite athlete?
COVID has created some unique challenges for many athletes. Many Canadian athletes rely on sponsorships, but with the current pandemic, more and more businesses are, understandably, not able to help. Athletes are also having to readjust to different routines and many have had to change their training environment, whether it is moving somewhere new or creating their own training space at their home.
How did you hear about Fit It Out?
I was searching through Kijiji for gym equipment and Fit It Out Canada came up in the ads. I thought I would give them a follow on Instagram and that opened the door for communication. I was super grateful to find a company who believes in assisting Canadian athletes where they can! It is a special relationship that has been formed.
What products from Fit It Out do you own?
I own a 15kg Women's Olympic Barbell, a 20kg Men's Olympic barbell, and the Urethane Competition Bumper Plates Set.
You’re striving for the Beijing 2020 Olympics. How important was it that you had these products during lockdown?
In the sport of bobsleigh, an athlete needs to be explosive, strong, and powerful in order to be able to move a sled that weighs about 170kg/374lbs as fast as possible. One of the ways we work on this is by Olympic lifting. With gyms sometimes being open and sometimes being closed, it was essential that I was able to have access to my own gym equipment to be able to continue lifting and training in order to be properly set up for success.
What type of home workouts do you do? What’s your favourite regimen at home?
With the help of Fit It Out Canada, my “home workouts” consist of lifting lots of heavy weight as fast as possible! I really do enjoy doing cleans and front squats! However, I also add in bodyweight exercises to make sure my body is healthy and can continue to lift the heavy weights. This includes shoulder exercises to keep the rotator cuffs healthy and core exercises to keep overall stability.
What’s your one piece of advice for those who want to stay fit, even without gym access?
Find something that you enjoy and you can keep consistent with. It is also important to get outside, so especially now that the weather is starting to warm up, get outside and enjoy the sunshine! No matter what kind of equipment you have, you can always make progress every single day.
If someone wanted to support you during your journey, where could they do that?
Support is always welcome and I'm always so thankful when people take the time to get to know my journey. My Make A Champ is www.makeachamp.com/saravillani. If anyone would like to chat about potential sponsorship opportunities, they can shoot me a DM on my instagram, @likeavillain
