{"id":33475,"date":"2014-10-27T11:15:30","date_gmt":"2014-10-27T15:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=33475"},"modified":"2021-05-18T07:28:43","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T11:28:43","slug":"dancing-with-the-stars-amy-purdy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/dancing-with-the-stars-amy-purdy\/","title":{"rendered":"Amy Purdy’s Story: From Paralympian to Dancing with the Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Amy
Photo: Joe Kusumoto \/ U.S. Paralympics<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you think it\u2019s too late in life for you to start playing sports, Amy Purdy\u2019s story might make you rethink everything<\/i>.<\/p>\n

In 1999, at age 19, Purdy contracted a deadly strain of bacterial meningitis, which ravaged her body and necessitated below-the-knee amputations of both of her legs. After slowly recovering from the often-fatal illness, and undergoing a kidney transplant two years after her initial diagnosis, Purdy decided to challenge herself to get back into her favorite sport: snowboarding<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Though she\u2019d been hitting the slopes since age 15, Purdy says she never considered herself an \u201cathlete.\u201d But after her illness, she recommitted herself to the sport \u2014 and decided to start entering snowboarding competitions. In 2005, Purdy founded Adaptive Action Sports<\/a> (ADACS), a non-profit to help adaptive athletes get involved in skateboarding, snowboarding and other sports. Through ADACS, Purdy worked to get snowboarding into the Paralympics \u2014 and earlier this year, she won a bronze medal in the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Purdy wasn\u2019t done after the Paralympics, either. Not long after tearing it up in Sochi, she was offered a spot on ABC\u2019s Dancing with the Stars<\/a>. Competing on two prosthetic legs, Purdy made history as the first double amputee to ever compete on the show. Even better: She and partner Derek Hough finished as runners-up to champion Meryl Davis.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>5 Minutes with Meryl Davis, Olympian and Dancing with the Stars Champ<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, Purdy is on a speaking tour with Oprah<\/a> (yes, Oprah), travelling around the country dispensing advice to thousands. DailyBurn caught up with the 32-year-old athlete at last week\u2019s Women\u2019s Sports Foundation\u2019s 35th Annual Salute to Women in Sports. Read on to learn how she fits in fitness while travelling with the talk show legend, and why she considers Dancing with the Stars \u201cthe hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amy Purdy Talks Paralympics and Dancing with the Stars<\/h3>\n
\"Amy
Photo: Joe Kusumoto \/ U.S. Paralympics<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What kind of workouts do you like to do in your off-season?<\/i><\/b> <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

You know, it\u2019s so intense in the on-season that I think I\u2019m just enjoying outdoor stuff. I live up in the mountains, and I love to road cycle, mountain bike<\/a>, and do quite a bit of CrossFit<\/a>, actually\u2026I\u2019m always mixing it up. But I travel a lot so that it makes it pretty hard!<\/p>\n

How do you fit in workouts when you\u2019re on the road?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Honestly, it\u2019s been so hard. In a way, I\u2019ve had to kind of just commit and be OK with the fact that I\u2019m not going to be working out at the same level that I used to. I\u2019m mostly doing bodyweight workouts<\/a>, so sit-ups, push-ups, squats and lunges. And you can do that in a hotel room, so I try my best to do that until I can get back<\/a> on track.<\/p>\n

“We trained for six hours a day, seven days a week for three months straight.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What do you eat when you\u2019re trying to be super healthy? And what do go for when you\u2019re in splurge mode?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

You know, it just depends on what I\u2019m doing. When I\u2019m training for snowboarding, or training for the Paralympics, I\u2019m usually trying to build a lot of muscle, so I eat a lot of protein<\/a>, and also a lot of fat and carbs.<\/p>\n

But then when I was doing Dancing with the Stars, I just needed energy. So I ate a lot of carbs<\/a>, more carbs than I ever would have eaten. Since all of that has ended, I\u2019m now [eating] veggies and proteins and that\u2019s it \u2014 I cut down the carbs, cut out the sugar.<\/p>\n

When I do <\/i>splurge\u2026I\u2019m not a fast food person, but if it\u2019s pastries or good donuts, I\u2019ll indulge in quality, fattening foods!<\/p>\n

What was Dancing With the Stars like? How did it compare to your regular training in terms of difficulty? <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

It was so much harder than I thought! It was honestly the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done. We trained for six hours a day, seven days a week for three months straight, making it all the way to the end. And it was endurance the whole time, so that\u2019s why I said we\u2019d be eating bagels and all these carbs<\/a>, which I\u2019m not used to. But that\u2019s really what I needed to fuel myself with to get through those long days. I got stronger than I ever could have imagined by the end of that \u2014 it was incredible. It was brutal, but the payoff was amazing.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/b> Dancing with the Stars\u2019 Mark Ballas: Fit For TV<\/a><\/p>\n

Are you still doing much dancing now that the competition is over?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m trying to do as much as I can. Here and there I\u2019m able to, but I\u2019ve been so busy! I\u2019m currently on a speaking tour with Oprah. We\u2019re going to eight different cities, so I\u2019ve been traveling ever since [Dancing with the Stars] ended. As soon as it slows down, I think I\u2019ll be able to get in and try to dance<\/a> a little bit more.<\/p>\n

Before a competition, or even a speaking event, how do you get yourself in the zone?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Sometimes, I\u2019m just not energized, or tired, or not feeling it, and so I try to get myself pumped up or a little nervous even. I\u2019ll walk around yelling at myself, kind of smacking my [arms], just trying to wake myself up and get excited.<\/p>\n

With Dancing With the Stars, that\u2019s what Derek [Hough] and I would do! I\u2019m surprised the audience didn\u2019t hear us, because we\u2019d be walking down the halls yelling to pump ourselves up. There were also times I\u2019d find myself getting really nervous<\/a> and I\u2019d need to channel that somewhere. I just try to turn [nervousness] into excitement. I try to say, \u201cI\u2019m nervous, but that means I\u2019m excited and that\u2019s the direction I\u2019m going to go with these nerves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who are some athletes you look up to?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

There weren\u2019t a lot of snowboarders [when I was growing up]. There wasn\u2019t snowboarding<\/a> in the Olympics! And honestly, I didn\u2019t look up to any female athletes growing up. I was never an athlete. To tell you the truth, I didn\u2019t feel like an athlete until two years ago. I\u2019ve snowboarded my whole life, but when I decided to focus on being the best competitor I could be [not long ago], that\u2019s when I became an athlete. I didn\u2019t connect with sports until I was in my 20s.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/b> Jamie Andersen: Fast on the Slopes, Zen on the Mat<\/a><\/p>\n

What advice do you have for other people who are trying to get into sports later in life?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the thing that\u2019s interesting; there aren\u2019t many of us. I think a lot of athletes are involved in their sport as a young kid, whereas I started quite late. It\u2019s just such a confidence booster, figuring out what you\u2019re capable of \u2014 making goals, reaching those goals<\/a>, pushing yourself and feeling the exhilaration and adrenaline of competing. Accomplishing goals that you\u2019re in control of \u2014 that\u2019s what sports have given me. I\u2019d like to share that feeling with others by encouraging them to get involved, too.<\/p>\n

To keep up with Amy Purdy, follow her on Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>, or catch her on Oprah\u2019s \u201cThe Life You Want\u201d<\/a> tour this fall.  <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dancing with the Stars runner-up and Paralympian Amy Purdy on how she works out on the road, her favorite splurge foods and more. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":33478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,6],"tags":[289,51,62,103,341,343],"class_list":["post-33475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-exercise","tag-food-choices","tag-interview","tag-motivation","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2exercise"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}