Sports Unlimited
ABS-CBN Channel 2, Manila Philippines
Dyan Castillejo-Garcia
Host
HOMEPAGE
CONTENTS
Dyan says her passion for sports started when she was a teenager. She first took up football, then shifted to swimming, and then to tennis, where she won 10 titles. She represented the country in five Southeast Asian Games, four Asian Games, two Wimbledons and two US Opens. She was the first Filipina to earn a World Tennis Association world ranking. When she was in training, she woke up at 5:30 a.m. to jog and stretch every day. Toward the end of her competitive tennis career in 1990, she expanded her interests to living a healthy lifestyle and embarked on a health campaign. Dyan believes she is a better mother if she exercises because she becomes more energetic and mentally sharper. "I guess because the blood circulates and gets a lot of oxygen to the brain," she says. Despite her busy schedule as mother, wife and TV host, she still finds time to do cardio workouts four to five times a week, anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour. She also does strength training three to four times a week. When she travels, she brings handy equipment for resistance exercises. She also likes to crosstrain. Says Dyan: "If you have been exercising for many years, your body gets used to one exercise and doesn't result in that much benefit anymore. I run and do stationary bikes or bike outside, swim, skip rope and attend cardio classes such as boxing, yoga and pilates to stimulate the body." She was able to entice her husband, Anton, to live a healthier lifestyle. She says Anton used to be a football player in high school when she first met him. When they met again 16 years later, he did not look that fit anymore because he stopped his fitness routine. When he courted her, Dyan says he had to jog or go to the gym with her. Now as husband and wife, they exercise together. They swim and engage in water sports such as water skiing and scuba diving. Dyan says having a child motivated her to be even more active. "Now that I have a son, I have become more convinced I have to be healthy," she says. "My son is 14 months old and is getting active."
