Alysha Newman in Two-Piece Workout Gear Enjoys "Third Time to the Olympics"

Alysha Newman is a pole-vaulter. She will be competing in the Olympics for the third time this summer, representing Canada. Newman shared an announcement post on Instagram. In the photos, she is seen on the track and going over the bar. Newman captioned the post, “Third time to the Olympics. First time turning 30.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Alysha Newman stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

1. She Varies Her Workouts

Newman shared some of her workout secrets with BodyBuilding. She says that she switches things up. “During the week I stick to a specific schedule," she explains. "I usually have two technical days comprised of pole vaulting, gymnastics, and plyometrics. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I run—anything from tempo runs to quick 60-meter sprints. I finish those running days with weight training. Whenever my competition schedule allows it, I take off Saturdays and Sundays to rest."

2. She Does Core Workouts

Newman shared her favorite core workouts with Muscle & Fitness. “We do very elongated exercises. Not crunches or any of that. It’s rope climbing while upside down. We’re doing pole-rope climbing, wall bar where you’re laying on your back and lifting your legs up but we don’t crunch at the hips; we crunch at the shoulders. When we talk about abdominal strength in the pole vault, it’s literally from the chin to the pelvic region. So, it’s our lats, core, obliques and all that stuff is activated while we’re doing core work.”

3. She Does Cardio

Newman tells Muscle and Fitness that she does cardio exercises. “As track athletes, we try and stay dynamic before and static after. A lot of jogging or biking before training to kind of get the muscles moving. I do know some athletes like to do the contrast bath but I’ve never been one to do that just because I like to feel elastic. I like to be a little bit tighter when I train because I want to feel a little resistance. I don’t want to feel too good. I like to do a little warmup — we call them gentle exercises. Arm swings, karaoke [running drill] and we go into a lot of band work also to open up the joints. Usually, we’ll end with about three to four 60- to 100-meter runs just to get the legs moving. In Toronto, we have this awesome curved track, so we do them like a downhill run to get the feet moving as fast as you can before practice.”

4. She Eats Healthy

Newman talked about the importance of her diet in an interview with BodyBuilding. “If I were going to put it on a scale, my mentality is priority number one, nutrition is number two, and practice is number three," she says. "I put my nutrition before practice because I have to fuel my body with the best nutrients to get the best results. It's extremely important to put the proper nutrients in your body, especially during long, hard, and critical practices. If you don't eat right, it's like putting cheap gas in your car. Yeah, it'll drive, but not as well as it should. Our bodies are the same way."

5. She Focuses On The Positive

Newman shared how she recovered from a concussion to Muscle and Fitness. “I think one thing for me to persevere past was literally not focusing on what I did wrong but focusing on the positives and my strengths,” Newman said. “As you know with athletes, we have this timeline in being our best self. I worked on all my weaknesses, and I’ve gotten weaknesses to turn into strengths, but this late in my career — I probably have two more Olympics in me — there’s no point in trying to fix that because I already have the habits. Now, we’ll focus on what I’m great at.”

Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman is in full-on training mode for the Summer Games in Paris 2024. Newman, 29, shared pictures of herself wearing a two-piece running outfit, flashing the peace sign at the camera. “Happy Monday! Back on the road this week, taking every day of rest as a blessing to reset 😇🫶🏼 I can feel the greatness for the upcoming competitions, going to make you guys & myself proud ♥️🇨🇦,” she captioned the post. Here’s how the Olympic athlete trains, eats, and stays fit and focused.

1. Athlete Diet

Newman is careful about her nutrition, and tries not to eat late at night. "If I were going to put it on a scale, my mentality is priority number one, nutrition is number two, and practice is number three," she told Bodybuilding.com. "I put my nutrition before practice because I have to fuel my body with the best nutrients to get the best results. It's extremely important to put the proper nutrients in your body, especially during long, hard, and critical practices. If you don't eat right, it's like putting cheap gas in your car. Yeah, it'll drive, but not as well as it should. Our bodies are the same way."

2. Intense Training Regimen

Newman’s training routine is so intense she needs two days a week for recovery. "During the week I stick to a specific schedule," she told Bodybuilding.com. "I usually have two technical days comprised of pole vaulting, gymnastics, and plyometrics. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I run—anything from tempo runs to quick 60-meter sprints. I finish those running days with weight training. Whenever my competition schedule allows it, I take off Saturdays and Sundays to rest."

3. Core Strength

Newman’s pole vaulting training includes plenty of core exercises. “We do very elongated exercises,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “Not crunches or any of that. It’s rope climbing while upside down. We’re doing pole-rope climbing, wall bar where you’re laying on your back and lifting your legs up but we don’t crunch at the hips; we crunch at the shoulders. When we talk about abdominal strength in the pole vault, it’s literally from the chin to the pelvic region. So, it’s our lats, core, obliques and all that stuff is activated while we’re doing core work.”

4. Pole Vaulting Drills

Newman’s training also includes lots of drills. “We do a lot of sled pulls. We do a lot of box horse drills,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “You have this huge box right in front of the pole vault pit and you’re doing drills to avoid the run up. You’re just doing pole work on the actual pole. Then, we’ll head back and start working on — right before you bend the pole — we call it a takeoff. So you work on getting your arms up, getting activated, and quick feet at takeoff. Then they’ll decide to see where you are energy-wise and we decide which pole you’re going to go on that day.”

5. Lots of Good Sleep

Newman tries to keep her stress—and cortisol—in check by getting the right amount of good quality sleep every night. “My number one secret that people ask me about my beauty regime […] it’s not products, it’s sleep,” she told Elixuer. “I really make sure I give myself that eight hours of sleep. [Your body] needs to decompress, and it needs to not feel stressed, and it needs to not be on social media or interpreting everything you see on the internet, allowing your brain to rest and really recover, [stopping] those endorphins from being released, the cortisol stress levels.”

The world of elite athleticism is a realm of dedication, discipline, and determination, and the female Team USA Olympians exemplify these qualities like no other. From sprinting sensation Allyson Felix to swimming prodigy Katie Ledecky, these remarkable athletes not only achieve greatness on the world stage but also offer insights into their rigorous training regimens, dietary choices, and personal philosophies. Dive into the stories behind their enviable physiques as we explore the training secrets, workout routines, and nutrition strategies that power these phenomenal women in their pursuit of Olympic glory.

1. Allyson Felix

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Sprinting legend Allyson Felix revealed her diet in an interview. “I usually keep breakfast light: yogurt and granola. In transit to the gym, I’ll have an acai bowl or some type of smoothie. Lunch is a salad with protein and fruit. And then for dinner (that’s my biggest meal) I eat a lot of fish, brown rice or sweet potatoes and veggies. Asparagus is one of my favorites. And zucchini.”

2. Katie Ledecky

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Swimmer Katie Ledecky revealed her training regime to Prevention. “I swim 10 times a week,” she says. “It’s quite a bit of training. It doesn’t really change in an Olympic year. We have other big meets throughout the four-year, in this case five-year, cycle.”

3. Gabby Douglas

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Gabby Douglas shared her training secrets with HollywoodLife. “Honestly and here’s my secret — I don’t workout my arms as much as I workout my legs or as much as my body. I love a long, toned arm and not too masculine, but that’s just my body. You love what you love and so I just do stretches with my arms to try to elongate everything.”

4. Megan Rapinoe

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Megan Rapinoe broke down her workout routine in an interview. “My workout is a combination between cardio, strength training, and on-field work. It’s a balance of all of those three. When I’m in my club team environment, it’s more soccer. When I’m away from that, I focus more in the gym on strength work. I try to build that base. A lot of Pilates, interval cardio work when I’m in the gym, too.”

5. Alex Morgan

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Alex Morgan shared some of her diet and workout secrets with The Beet. She says that she believes in moderation when it comes to food. “There are times when I may find myself eating something that has eggs in it or dairy. Sometimes that slips into my diet and I am trying to eat healthy and plant-based but when that happens I tell myself to give myself some grace. So if you are trying to live healthily and vegan, you can forgive yourself. That's what I mean by giving yourself grace.”

6. Mikaela Shifrin

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In addition to skiing, Mikaela Shifrin likes to windsurf to stay in shape. She shared this post on Instagram of herself windsurfing. Shifrin captioned the post, “Windsurf & Training Camp on Maui ended a few days ago! Gonna miss getting catapulted off my rig on the daily and accidentally drinking the entire ocean in a session only for it to pour out my nose later in the day, but duty calls! Now it’s time to do more training in other parts of the world! Like… home… hahah.”

7. Simone Manuel

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Simone Manuel didn’t let the pandemic stop her from training hard. She told Yahoo in 2020, “I have been training in a backyard pool, so I'm still getting nine practices a week in. I have been doing weightlifting training at home. It's not my favorite because I don't have all the equipment that I'm used to. I'm kind of like putting books in a backpack and just adapting to the circumstance and just doing the best that I can with the situation.”

8. Aly Raisman

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Even though she’s no longer a gymnast, Aly Raisman is still working out regularly. "I actually feel like I've been able to work out a little bit more than I was before the pandemic," Raisman tells Shape. "It doesn't mean I'm working out for hours every day, but sometimes I'll do a little bit of a workout in the morning, and then even do a little bit more in the afternoon. I break it up throughout the day because that's what's working for me right now."

9. Carli Lloyd

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Carli Lloyd opened up about the changes she’s made to her workouts with Insider. "I do use weights now, but if the weights are used in the actual movements that you do on a normal basis and on your field and in your respective sport, then I think it's fine. But you're never in a squat position on the field with 300 pounds of a bar on you and doing that motion, you know, you're always on the move."

10. Gabby Thomas

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Gabby Thomas shared some of her health and wellness secrets with The Healthy. “As an Olympic medalist and a student, sleep is really important for me so I can ensure that I’m going to be my best self every day. I train at such a high level, every time I do something, it is 100%. Making sure that I am mentally and physically ready to take on the day is really crucial for me.”

11. Nastia Liukin

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Nastia Liukin shares a lot of her wellness secrets on her website. In this post, she talked about her typical morning routine. “I love the predictability of a routine. Maybe it’s because I spent the better part of my life in a strict routine training for the Olympics—it’s what I know, it’s what brings me comfort. My morning routine is ever-evolving. As I learn new things, speak to other entrepreneurs, and adapt with the changes my mind and body go through over the years, I incorporate, remove, and refine elements. Right now, I love my morning routine. It suits my current needs of setting the tone of my day, calming anxiety, and allows me to practice all of the self-care I need in order to move on to serving others.”

12. Dana Vollmer

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In an interview with ESPN, Dana Vollmer talked about how she avoids injury when swimming. “The pain in burning from using your muscles is different than the pain of hurting something. The 50 free is short, that's why I'm doing it. And my doctor said there is really no risk at all. I made a joke about doing a belly flop and [the doctor] said even that would be fine. As long as I'm cautious with the warm-up and keep some space between myself and the other swimmers, that's really the only issue at all.”

13. Jenny Thompson

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In an interview with The Daniel Island News, Jenny Thompson revealed why she decided to take up swimming again. “I started swimming again for mental health,” she said. “It was a growing up experience to not only start medical school, but also help my mom who was sick with cancer. It made swimming a lot lighter and put in perspective that there’s a lot more to life than sports. It was interesting to compete with that kind of wisdom.”

14. Maya Moore

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In this post on her website, Maya Moore talked about the impact basketball and playing in the WNBA has had on her. “I think being a part of the WNBA, whether that’s as a fan or a player, it’s a better time than ever just because of how good the players have gotten,” Moore said. “We’ve grown in athleticism and the speed of the game – the versatility of the players on the court. The games have really been fun to compete in, so I’m excited about the direction that we’re moving in. I’ve been a fan of the WNBA since I was eight, and I still am to this day.”

15. Missy Franklin

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Missy Franklin does a lot of weight training to stay in shape. She shared this video on Instagram of herself working out in the gym. Franklin captioned it, “Getting creative in weights yesterday! Shout out to @auphillips14 for coming up with such an awesome exercise! Love working with people who are willing to try new things and push boundaries💪🏻 Thanks @lorenlandow for being the best!”

16. Venus Williams

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Venus Williams makes sure to not only workout, but also recover. She shared her tips with CNBC’s Make It. “I do a lot of recovery, as well. Physiotherapy and massage. I like to take a lot of time to stretch … It feels amazing [and] I actually think it produces really great endorphins.”

17. Kerri Walsh-Jennings

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Prior to the 2016 Olympics, Kerri Walsh-Jennings talked about her training process with GQ. In it, she talked about the attitude she has when it comes to the sport. “I do have to keep reminding myself that it’s okay to be a work in progress. If I have a bad game it crushes me, but you can learn and grow a lot as long as you don’t stay in that place of devastation.”

18. Shawn Johnson

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In an interview with Morning Brew, Shawn Johnson talked about how she manages life in the public eye. “It's a challenge every single day. And my husband and I are very, very vocal about it with each other. And we've now hired an incredible team of people that work with us. But we do silly things every single day to protect ourselves from it. For many, many years, I wasn't allowed to read comments until I was able to get to a place where I was strong enough to digest them. Now we always say, ‘If you read something that doesn't sit well, you have to read it aloud,’ and you have to have the group validate or invalidate whatever it is.”

19. Lisa Leslie

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Lisa Leslie tells People that she is all about positivity. "Take three deep breaths. Let's find a positive affirmation that can you help you every single day, something that you can really settle into that makes you smile. Because for me, positive energy is so contagious and I think starting our days off with some sort of mantra or quote that really is inspiring, can really help you get through the moment."

20. Cat Osterman

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Cat Osterman broke down her typical meals to Us Weekly. “Breakfast can range anywhere from a smoothie to a yogurt parfait, which is yogurt, berries and granola,” she said. “This morning, I had a sweet potato hash that includes sweet potatoes, turkey sausage, peppers onions, and then I put an egg over top of it. Lunch can be anything from a salad to sandwich, occasionally maybe some chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A. I try to do grilled chicken as much as possible. For dinner, we eat pretty well. We cook for the most part. I will substitute zucchini noodles instead of spaghetti noodles or have potatoes or sweet potatoes instead of bread and rice. I’ll put quinoa in there sometimes, I’m pretty conscious about what I eat.”

It’s officially March. Which means spring is around the corner. But it’s still technically winter, and there’s still snow on the ground. Not that model and Olympic athlete Alysha Newman minds. She posed outside in snowy Toronto, in a swimsuit, and posted the photo on Instagram. She captioned it, “Caught between seasons.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Alysha Newman stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

1. She Eats Healthy

In an interview with Bodybuilding.com, Newman says that she prioritizes eating healthy. "It's extremely important to put the proper nutrients in your body, especially during long, hard, and critical practices," she says. “If you don't eat right, it's like putting cheap gas in your car. Yeah, it'll drive, but not as well as it should. Our bodies are the same way."

2. She Tries Different Things Out

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Newman says to Bodybuilding.com that she has tried a lot of different things in her diet, to see what works for her. She says that she takes this approach instead of following a specific diet or a plan that someone else made for her. “I've experimented over the years to understand which foods work best for me personally. Everyone's body reacts differently to food so you can't just pull a pre-made diet off the shelf. You need to learn what's right for you."

3. She Switches Up Her Workouts

When Newman is training for an event or competition, she says that she does a lot of different types of exercises. "During the week I stick to a specific schedule," she explains to Bodybuilder.com. "I usually have two technical days comprised of pole vaulting, gymnastics, and plyometrics. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I run—anything from tempo runs to quick 60-meter sprints. I finish those running days with weight training.”

4. She Takes Time Off

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While Newman’s training routine is intense, she does allow herself time off, a lot of it. She tells Bodybuilder.com that she takes a whole month off from training to rest her body and her mind. "The time I give myself in September is critical to my success in the following year," she says. "For those four weeks, I don't set foot on the track—I try not to even think about track and field. I treat myself to a complete physical and mental break, so I'll be eager to get back out there come October."

5. She Learns From Her Failures

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Being an athlete, especially an Olympian, is difficult. You have to get used to not placing as well as you wanted. However, Newman tells The Brunching Mama that she doesn’t take her failures too hard, but as a way to learn. “This sounds so crazy but I fail everyday! It comes with what I do day in and out, but I am so thankful for it. I am constantly learning and growing because of my failures. Every time I experience it, I go back to the drawing board and keep moving towards. When plan A fails that means I’ve excessed my max potential that way so I turn to plan B and restart from there until I get it right.”