Zensah Athlete - Garrett Huyler

Name: Garrett Huyler

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

Sport: Track and Field (High Jump)

Years in current sport: 15 years

What got you started: As funny as it sounds, Baseball is the reason I got started in Track and Field.  During baseball tryouts, I had injured my shoulder pitching and could hardly throw a baseball.  Rather than tell anyone, I was stubborn and tried to play through it.  Needless to say since I couldn’t throw, I got cut and then joined the track team.  The rest is history.

Biggest accomplishment of your career: I have 2 that are hard pick between, the 1^st and most obvious is being sponsored by Zensah. They have been extremely supportive of my career over the past 4 years and I am proud to call myself a Zensah Athlete. The 2^nd would be competing internationally and having “USA” next to my name, being able to represent my country, see new places, and meet people from all walks of life (something that wouldn’t have been possible without the sport).

What parts of your training are key to your success?  One thing I learned a bit too late in my career is that ‘Overtraining’ is far worse than ‘Undertraining;’ your body will fall apart if you constantly run it into the ground, once you recover from likely injuries, you’ll be miles behind where you left off.

What is the biggest challenge you face in your sport, and what do you do to overcome it? The biggest challenge by far is the lack of support for the sport of Track and Field in the US. Rarely are there competitions that have any prize money outside of the Drake Relays, USA Championships, and Prefontaine Classic.  There isn’t much opportunity, and the sport would likely be in trouble for anyone looking to compete after college in the US without the NCAA allowing post collegiate participants.

What is your favorite Zensah product and why? I love the Recovery Tights; I can wear them all season either to keep my legs warm in the cold months, or for recovery.  Being tall, it’s hard to find the right fit for running pants and these are perfect!

 How long have you been using Zensah? I’ve been using Zensah’s products since a doctor recommended their Compression Socks after my Achilles surgery in 2011.

If you could be great at any other sport besides your current one, what would it be? I loved playing Wide Receiver in High School Football, but clearly having the body of a high jumper, it just wasn’t meant to be

What’s your favorite thing to eat after a tough workout? A fruit smoothie with some whey protein and yogurt.

Who/what inspires you? So many people seem to get complacent and satisfied with where they are in life.  I have found that I enjoy pushing myself to be better than I was the day before, and it helps that the benefits of that are living a healthy lifestyle, travelling to new places, and meeting new people.

How does Zensah help you perform without limits? Zensah helps me prevent injuries and recover from workouts faster, allowing me to work harder than I could before. I can confidently say that I was able to set a new personal best of 7’4.5” (2.25m) and finish in the Top 5 at the USA Championships with their support!