Aly Raisman in Bathing Suit is "Matching"

Aly Raisman is one of the most well-known Olympic gymnasts of all time. She came away with medals at both the 2012 and 2016 Games. Raisman recently enjoyed a pool day with her mom. She shared some photos of the two of them on a chair on Instagram this week. Raisman captioned the post, “Matching @aerie swim with mom.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Aly Raisman 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 Splits Up Her Daily Workouts

Raisman opened up about her post-gymnastics workout routine to Shape. She says that she likes to split up her exercises each day. "I actually feel like I've been able to work out a little bit more than I was before the pandemic," Raisman. "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."

2. She’s Kinder To Herself

Raisman tells Shape that she has started to change her approach to working out. She says that she is kinder to herself and takes breaks from really working hard when she needs to. “We live in a society where we're always trying to push ourselves more and more,” she explains. “And it's a great thing to work hard and to push yourself, but it's also really important to just be kind to yourself and listen to your body. I definitely live by that now, but I wish I did when I was younger."

3. She Loves Pilates

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Raisman loves Pilates, and opened up about it to Shape. "What I love about Pilates is that you can kind of maneuver your legs a little bit to the right or left, or do one leg at a time, and it creates such a different burn.” The Cleveland Clinic states that Pilates has a lot of benefits. “Pilates is a form of strength training, but it doesn’t look like some of the other strength training exercises you might be familiar with. Pilates focuses more on improving muscle tone than building muscles, but the result is similar: greater stability and endurance. Pilates isn’t going to bulk you up — if anything, it’s designed to cultivate a longer, leaner look. Still, it can lay a strong physical foundation for muscle-building activities — and may even reduce your likelihood of injury.”

4. She’s Plant-Based

In 2019, Raisman revealed to People that she had started a plant-based diet. “When I was training, I thought that you had to eat meat in order to be strong,” Raisman explains. “Now I’ve been reading up on all the amazing things that plants can do for your body and your mind. I started watching all these documentaries and it really freaked me out seeing how some of the animals are treated so poorly. I’ve always loved animals, my sister has done horseback riding her whole life, we have two dogs.”

5. She Works Out Her Lower Body

Raisman doesn’t skip leg day. She shared this video on Instagram of herself stepping on and off a rock wall outside. She captioned the post, “Some of my favorite leg exercises... I did some of these things when I was training (like the box jumps, except the box jumps were done on a much higher block & I would do a front tuck off or a back tuck off & I would try to stick the landings. It really helped with sticking landings on floor & beam dismounts). I sometimes still pretend I’m trying to stick the landing when I land a box jump outside just out of habit :)”