I've never been so unfit - and Strictly's to blame: Olympic gold medallist Victoria Pendleton on why dancing is no substitute for cycling
- The cycling star has lost nearly a stone since she began dancing
- Says weight loss due to muscles weakening and she can't wait till it's all over
By Lara Gould
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Back on the bike: Victoria Pendleton flies in on a BMX to perform the paso doble
For most Strictly Come Dancing contestants, training for up to eight hours a day is a chance to shed some weight and improve fitness.
But for Olympic cycling champion Victoria Pendleton, it seems daily practice sessions with professional dance partner Brendan Cole just aren’t gruelling enough.
The star, who performed a spectacular paso doble on the BBC show last night that opened with her ‘flying’ in on a BMX bike, has lost nearly a stone since she began dancing in September.
But Ms Pendleton, who won a gold and silver medal at the London Olympics before retiring from professional cycling, says her weight loss is down to her muscles weakening and that she can’t wait until the competition is over so she can resume her fitness regime.
In an interview ahead of last night’s live Strictly special, the 32-year-old, who had been cycling competitively since the age of nine, said: ‘My body has changed. I’m a lot lighter, I’ve lost 11lb of muscle mass and I am a little bit fatter – I’m not as lean as I was.
‘I am not happy with it to be honest. I have never been more unfit in my entire life than I am now.
'It’s not a different type of fitness. I was an Olympic athlete at the top of my game, I can’t maintain my fitness.
'I don’t have the skills to dance hard enough or for that duration or remember enough to exert myself.
‘To be honest, I am really looking forward to getting back in the gym and getting back into a regular routine of cycling to keep fit because I love it.
In a dream world I would love to be able to maintain my Olympic body composition without training, but it doesn’t work like that.’
Cycling star Victoria Pendleton, whose dance opened with her flying in on a BMX bike, as lost nearly a stone since she began dancing in September
Not gruelling enough: Victoria Pendleton has said she can't wait to get back to a fitness regime. She said she has 'never been more unfit in my entire life than I am now'
Top of her game: Victoria Pendleton (seen here racing against Anna Meares) labels her dancing a 'different type of fitness' to the one she had at the Olympic Games
Last night the athlete and her partner were among nine remaining couples competing on Strictly’s ‘Dancing Through the Decades’ programme. The results show tonight will feature live performances from Kylie Minogue and Girls Aloud.
But Ms Pendleton was not fazed by performing in front of an audience of 6,000 at Wembley Arena, saying: ‘I don’t see Strictly as particularly high pressure or stressful. I am hard on myself because I want to remember the routine, but the outcome is irrelevant.’
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Good on Victoria for trying something that is 'completely outside of her comfort zone'. That takes guts, and Victoria consistently shows she has grit and determination. Top lady!
- Louisa , Hants, United Kingdom, 18/11/2012 05:23
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