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Twenty-two-year-old Aly Raisman is a gold-medal winning gymnast who is currently dominating (alongside powerhouse teammate Simone Biles) at the Rio Olympics 2016.
Have you ever wondered what the Aly Raisman diet is?
How does she prepare to be a gold medal winner?
The Aly Raisman Diet
Massachusetts-born Aly Raisman shared her diet and training schedule with Cosmopolitan. You may be surprised to know that the remarkable athlete keeps a detailed diary of her schedule while preparing to compete.
She starts off by training six days per week, which gives her just one day of rest. That day is a day where she is more lenient with herself. So what does a full day of training look like?
- Training days start with a wake-up call at 7a.m. and a hot cup of water with lemon, which revs up her metabolism (she sometimes eats the pulp, too, for health benefits).
- Breakfast consists of a bowl of cereal with skim milk or two pieces of whole wheat toast and jelly.
- Raisman begins training at 8:30 a.m. and continues until 12:15 p.m. She performs a variety of exercises, including punches, toe rises, bar strength and conditioning, and rope climbing – with her upper body (arms) only. During training she also chugs large amounts of water to keep her body hydrated.
- At 1 p.m. she will have lunch, which is mostly healthy dinner leftovers, such as grilled chicken breast with ketchup, brown rice and veggies. Raisman admits that she eats a lot of chicken and fish and stays away from white bread and other processed foods. Instead, she will eat lots of fruit which is full of fiber. Her favorite foods are sushi and salmon, so the athlete says she eats a lot of that, too.
- Snack time is around 3 p.m. where Raisman eats Greek yogurt with cereal and a banana to prepare for her second workout of the day, which is from 5-7:30 pm. Because she is a gymnast, Raisman needs to workout every part of her body including her ankles, calves, knees, quads and buttocks. She does most of her workouts using her own body weight. When she does use weights, it’s for arm circles, where she utilizes three to five pound weights. She also performs squats using a medicine ball.
- She then has dinner at 8 p.m. She might have salmon, a cup of whole wheat pasta, broccoli, parsnips and carrots. She tries to control portions of her meat and carbohydrates, eating more veggies.
- She unwinds after a long day by taking a hot shower and placing ice packs on her back. She also uses a special laser machine for recovery. She relaxes by sipping on some hot tea while catching one of her favorite shows, like The Vampire Diaries, before dozing off.
- Finally, on Sundays (her day off) Raisman will indulge just a little, maybe by eating steak with brown rice—or even a calzone for dinner.
Most importantly, she relaxes, telling Cosmo,
“I think resting, relaxation, and clearing your mind is one of the healthiest things you can do”.
Source:
“What a World Class Olympian Really Eats,” cosmopolitan.com, May 31, 2016; http://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a58597/aly-raisman-diet-diary/.