A champion Aussie netballer gives us her health & fitness tips.

Meet Nat Medhurst. She’s an Australian netballer that plays for both the Diamonds (our Australian netball team) and the West Coast Fever.

Incredibly, she was never really into netball as a kid. Being a country girl from rural South Australia, Nat did a lot of little athletics and basketball, and only really got into netball because her friends were into it.

She started playing at 11 and didn’t really dedicate herself to netball until she was about 15. By the age of 19, she’d been accepted into the Adelaide Thunderbirds. From there, she was heading to world championships and even the Commonwealth Games. That’s how incredible an athlete she is.

But while netball is a huge part of Nat’s life, she’s equally passionate about healthy living. I sat down with her to get her tips on health and fitness.

Her typical day:

Usually, training starts at 6am (weights, followed by 10min ice baths). Then I have appointments, appearances and possible media. I also study marketing part time and I’m working on some business ventures on the side.

Around 3pm I arrive back at training for physio treatment and strapping. We train again from 4.00-6pm. Then it’s home for dinner, reply to emails and do a bit of work. Hopefully get in some reading and something on TV and then in bed usually around 10pm.

On netball:

When I first started playing netball, I was in the country, so it was very laid-back. My parents were very realistic. If I’d get selected for something, they would just encourage me to work harder in things I could do to improve myself and better myself for the next opportunity.  I had a good balance because I played a lot of other sports as well. I wasn’t too focused on netball when I was too young, which I think certainly helped with my development.

On athletes having other passions besides sport:

When you’re a professional athlete, you can get so involved and wrapped up in the environment. When the season starts, you’re under the microscope, and it’s very much a different working environment to what other people have, so it can be quite intense and consuming. Being able to find balance and knowing when to be able to get away and have other interests keeps you sane.

For me, I think I’ve nailed that by getting into a healthy lifestyle and yoga. Over the last few years I’ve been a lot happier and performing a lot better – my whole well-being is very much all sorted. I am very glad I’ve finally been able to get on top of that, because it’s very important.

On clean eating:

It took me a couple of years to really understand the importance of looking after myself. But it’s such an important thing for me now – it’s just part of my lifestyle and what I need to do to fuel my body the way it needs. I love clean eating and looking after my wellbeing in all aspects.

Her health tips:

– Try and eat foods that are as close as possible to their natural state & drink plenty of water. Hydration is so important.

– Incorporate physical activity every day in to your routine – make it part of your routine just like brushing your teeth. Find something that you enjoy, include friends and make sure you keep a balanced lifestyle.

– Being able to switch off and ‘mentally’ relax is extremely important to your wellbeing.

Her motto:

I live by the saying: ‘There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” That’s particularly true when I do my training; you’ve got to put in the hard yards. It is tough going but it’s certainly worth it. I think if you put yourself out there, push yourself as hard as you can, ask questions from people around you, you’ll continuously be able to develop. So if you want something – work hard, ask these questions and put their hand up and give it a hot crack go.

You can follow Nat on Facebook here and on Instagram here.

And in other sports news from the week…

– It’s official. Le Tour de France is officially getting a female companion race, called La Course. It’ll happen on July 27, just hours before the men’s race kicks off. 120 women will race the 90km course, and at the end, they’ll get a kiss from male model “podium boys” – just like the kisses the male competitors get from podium hostesses. Fair’s fair.

While Olympic champion Marianne Vos says this gives a “big boost” to women cyclists, she doesn’t want it all to end here. “The world will be watching. We are catching up, and catching up fast.”

If you would indeed like to watch, the event will be broadcast live in over 100 countries.

– The Hockeyroos have announced their squad for the 2014 World Cup. Here it is!

– Our incredible basketball Under 17 team, the Jayco Under 17’s, have won basketball games against both China and Slovenia during their tour of China this week. They’re currently playing a mini-tournament in the Fujian Province city of Nan’an City, coming up against a whole lot of teams, including an American team of college players. Best of luck, girls!

– Selection trials for the netball team heading to the Australian Commonwealth Games are happening next week. Many girls from various state teams have been invited to play three trial games at a camp that will determine who gets to go to the Games. The Australian Commonwealth Games netball team will be announced in Canberra next Wednesday afternoon.

Have you seen anything in the sporting world that you’d like to talk about?