Carli Lloyd has been tested numerous times, mentally and physically, in her long career as a professional soccer star; however, she admitted that the obstacles she faced on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test are another level of intensity she’s never faced before. In a teaser for the upcoming January 11th episode of the Fox reality series, Carli is seen having a moment of panic when in the midst of a car plunge test. “You don’t realize when these moment are going to come. They just happen,” the soccer star explained on the HollywoodLife Podcast. “I was on the swim team until I was 18, I don’t have a fear of water. I’m comfortable swimming. I was comfortable back-diving out of the helicopter into water…”
Carli revealed that she believes she “panicked” in this situation in particular because of a frightening car accident she was in. “I was in a snowstorm driving my car down to the Jersey Shore and I hit a patch of black ice. I went all the way across the road, over into the side of the road, which was some tidal water, and my car started to fill up with water,” she recalled in the exclusive interview. “I think that that was a trigger for me. It is a real life experience that could happen, which I think is the DS agents’ message to all of us — we’re, of course, on a training course, but this is a real life circumstance where people have gone off into the water and it’s like, what are you going to do? You can’t panic in that situation and you have to calm yourself down.”
The two-time Olympic gold medalist admitted that one of the most difficult things she learned along the way on Special Forces, was how important it was to have teammates. “I played on numerous teams and you need your teammates. You need people around you to support you, and if you’re not really having the best of your game, someone else can fill that void. But with with this, this is just you. This is you and your thoughts, and just you in that moment,” Carli said. “But that’s what they’re testing. They’re testing to see the ones who can mentally withstand some of these wild moments.”
As a professional athlete, Carli is no stranger to the importance of recovery, but she revealed even ice packs were hard to come by in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan. “You were lucky if you got ice once a day,” she told HL. Unfortunately, now-retired USWNST player didn’t have her newly designed Symbodi Vertigun with her for the experience! “I would have liked to have had a Vertigun around. I think we all would have to help our bodies feel a lot better!” Carli laughed.
“It’s been great to team up with Symbodi. The two existing products, the Vertiball and Vertiroller I’ve been using a ton. And now with the Vertigun handheld massager, it doesn’t get much better than that,” she said. “I think we all prefer somebody else to do the massaging versus having to hold it and do it ourselves, so I’ve been thrilled to take part in helping design this over the last 18 months. You just put it on the wall and let it go and massage you. It’s so easy to use and it’s cost effective.”
Listen to our full interview with Carli on the HollywoodLife Podcast!