Olympic Runner Bree Masters In Workout Gear Shares Gym Selfie From Italy

Australian sprinter Bree Masters is soaking up the sun in Italy ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Masters, 29, shared a picture of herself wearing purple shorts and a matching sports bra, posing on the track with Torrie Lewis and Ella Connolly. Another picture shows Masters posing for a mirror selfie in the gym, wearing black shorts and a sports bra. “Made it to Italy 🇮🇹 Home for the next week 🫶🏻”, she captioned the post. Here’s how the athlete eats, trains, and recovers.

1. Race Day Breakfast

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Masters enjoys a nutritious breakfast on race days, with plenty of good carbs, healthy fats, and protein. “For breakfast I will eat either two poached eggs and avocado on wholemeal toast, or oats topped with mixed berries, honey and peanut butter,” she told The Iconic. “When I am racing I usually snack on bananas, mixed nuts, True Protein bars or fruit puree sachets.”

2. Warm Ups

Masters has a pre-race routine she never skips. “I would never start a session without a thorough warm up that included all of my drills and stretches,” she told The Iconic. “I find it very important to prepare my body for the session, to ensure my body is ready to give 110% to every rep.”

3. Sauna Sessions

Masters has a wind-down routine focused on recovery—she cooks dinner, and uses an at-home sauna in the evenings. "I have a sauna at home, and that's a huge part of it," she told Mamamia. "I try to do it every day or every second day, for about 20 minutes before I go to bed. It's a key recovery tool for my training because it sets me up for a really nice sleep."

4. Ice Baths

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Masters swears by regular ice baths for recovery, as well as good sleep. “Along with my weekly recovery of compression garments and ice baths, I always ensure I am completing the basic things that enhance my recovery process, such as water intake, nutrition and sleep!” she told Mamamia. “My body is my engine and food and water is my fuel. By focusing on my nutrition, water intake and sleep, it helps my body refuel, recover and repair for each training session.”

5. Positivity and Motivation

Masters tries to stay positive throughout her training. “There are always moments where I am not feeling my best and I feel unmotivated, however I always take the time to remind myself of the goals and dreams I want to achieve and remember that no dream comes easy and the work must be done to get closer to achieving that goal,” she told The Iconic. “I also have a great coach and teammates who continually keep me motivated week in and week out.”

Bulgarian sprinter Ivet Lalova-Collio took some time off from her intense training regimen to don a swimsuit and spend quality time with friends at the Gloria Verde Resort in Turkey. Lalova-Collio, 39, shared a beautiful picture of herself posing in a white and tan bikini on a dock, against a background of blue sea and skies. “GIRLS 🫶🏼”, her friend Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk—a champion long jumper—captioned the post. The Olympian athlete has an incredibly impressive strong physique, and she works hard to maintain her tone and muscle. But how exactly does she do it? Here are 5 ways Lalova-Collio stays one of the fastest women in the world.

1. Weights and Running

Lalova-Collio’s training routine is what you would expect from an Olympian—she runs and lifts heavy weights. “In the winter I do a lot of weights, at least 3 times and tempo runs after,” she says. “In the summer I do fewer weights, but lots of high intensity running. I have weeks that I don’t have a day without putting on my spikes. I think about big championships from the moment I step on the track. Knowing that you have to be at your best there is taking me slowly to the moment and the day of the race. At the day I love some music during the warm-up, I do some strides, some active stretching, getting faster and faster in about 1 hour before the competition.”

2. No Outrunning a Bad Diet

Lalova-Collio recognizes how important diet is—especially for an athlete—when it comes to staying fit and healthy. “If I organize myself around training and what I have to eat and around sport, it's easier so the days goes almost like normal,” she says. “It's all about training, resting and recovery. I spend more time cooking - I really want to eat good and I keep telling people 'don't worry so much about exercise,' be careful because if you stay home all day, you end up eating so be careful about that so I pay more attention to diet.”

3. Strict About Exercise

Lalova-Collio didn’t let pandemic lockdowns get in the way of her training regimen—instead, she became creative about working out outside of the traditional gym environment. “We have a state of emergency - we are not under a lockdown - but we have a lot of restrictions,” she says. “We can't go to parks, tracks are closed, gyms are closed but it's your choice if you want to go out but we all prefer to stay home as much as possible. It's tough times for people who train like us! We run in the streets but I keep saying that athletics is a 'poor' sport - we don't need that much to do what we do. We run, we jump, we do the basic things the human body can do although we try and improve them into something superhuman. Even if we have to run on the street or have to run on the stairs in our building, we are going to make it!”

4. Triumph After Tragedy

Lalova-Collio says a serious accident that almost derailed her career in 2005 was actually the making of her. “I love to say that what saved me when the accident happened was that I was really young,” she says. “I was 21 years old. By that time and in my head, there was no possibility that I’m not coming back and I’m not running again. So I had no idea what I’m facing and how long it’s going to take and how hard it’s going to be and I never thought about it. Of course, I had my dark moment and as I said, I cried a lot. It was really tough for me watching the World Championships in Helsinki later, that the same season that I wanted so bad to be there and compete. But I worked, even on that and it saved me, but mostly my motivation to come back saved me.”

5. Power of Positivity

Lalova-Collio says if she could go back in time and give advice to her younger self, it would be to surround herself with positive people who encourage her, and get rid of negative people who would hold her back. “You will later work with a mental coach and discover many empowering things inside of you,” she says. “You will read books on the subject and by training your brain you’ll reach that state of feeling just how you want to feel - which is so important in both training and competition. I’d also say make sure you surround yourself with supportive and positive people.”

Marta Menegatti is an accomplished professional beach volleyball player, celebrated for her athletic achievements that include sixteen World Tour medals (two gold, seven silver, and seven bronze) and accolades from the European Championships. With appearances at the Olympics and a dedication to her sport, Marta exemplifies commitment and excellence. In September, she shared a nostalgic photo from the 2024 Games on Instagram, captioning it, “Olympic memories.” Here’s a closer look at how Marta stays active, healthy, and at the top of her game.

1. She Plays Volleyball

Playing volleyball means that Menegatti is benefiting from the sport’s many health benefits. USA Volleyball states, “Participating in any sport has benefits, but volleyball offers the opportunity for lessons that few other sports can. The volleyball community is a place where everyone is welcome and you can find a lifetime of play and competition. Volleyball brings families together to play and learn and offers the opportunity to create lifelong friendships and bonds. From character-building skills such as leadership, teamwork, respect and communication to the physical benefits of staying healthy and active, here are some of the things you can expect to gain by playing volleyball.”

2. She Runs

Menegatti likes to run to keep herself in shape. She is seen doing so in this Instagram post of herself training. Valley Oaks Health states that running has a lot of benefits. “After going for a run, your body experiences a drop in the stress hormone cortisol. This reduction diminishes feelings of stress, allowing you to go about the rest of your day with less tension and anxiety. In addition to mitigating stress, running also invokes feelings of calmness. Following a run, your body releases chemicals called endocannabinoids. These chemicals flow through your bloodstream and into your brain, relaxing your mind and body.”

3. She Lifts Weights

Menegatti likes to lift weights to keep herself in shape. She shared this video on Instagram of herself using a barbell at the gym. ACE Fitness states that using weights has a lot of benefits. “Strength training with heavy weights improves muscle definition. Muscle definition occurs as the result of muscles remaining in a state of semi-contraction and heavy strength training recruits the larger type II muscle fibers responsible for a muscle’s appearance.”

4. She Hikes

Menegatti likes to hike to keep herself in shape. She shares a lot of hiking photos on Instagram. Menegatti shared this photo of herself hiking by the ocean, and this photo of herself on a trail. Piedmont states that hiking has a lot of benefits. “Hiking is a weight-bearing exercise that builds muscle mass and helps prevent osteoporosis. Hiking can help you manage your weight. It is a joint-friendly form of exercise that can keep arthritis sufferers more limber and mobile.”

5. She Does Yoga

Menegatti shared this video on Instagram of herself doing yoga. Harvard Health states that yoga has a lot of benefits. “Yoga develops inner awareness. It focuses your attention on your body's abilities at the present moment. It helps develop breath and strength of mind and body. It's not about physical appearance. Yoga studios typically don't have mirrors. This is so people can focus their awareness inward rather than how a pose — or the people around them — looks. Surveys have found that those who practiced yoga were more aware of their bodies than people who didn't practice yoga. They were also more satisfied with and less critical of their bodies. For these reasons, yoga has become an integral part in the treatment of eating disorders and programs that promote positive body image and self-esteem.”

Maureen Blanquisco is modeling workout clothes. In a new social media post the IFBB contestant shows off her incredible body in a blue exercise set, driving her followers wild. “To all my baddies out there! This color makes your tan complexion POP,” she captioned the series of Instagram snaps. “So gorgeous 🩷🥰” commented one. “OKKKAAAY SLAAY SLAAY,” added another. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.

1. Swimming

When Maureen was younger she was a swimmer. “I always loved competing and performing. I usually call it “performing” instead of competing. Swimming was an individual sport. If I wanted to win, it all depended on me. I never liked depending on a team. If we lost because of them, I would get very frustrated,” she told Muscular Development.

2. Gymnastics and Cheerleading

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She then moved on to gymnastics and cheerleading. “Cheerleading was fine until one time we fell during a stunt, and it wasn’t my fault. I said, I think I work better alone,” this is when she discovered weights. “I started lifting weights at age 18. That’s around the time you want to look and feel good, putting on makeup. I was doing fitness training anyway, so I started to look for something I could do competitively that fit that. I had always wanted to compete in beauty pageants, but at 5 feet tall I was too short. Then I saw the Bikini Olympia on YouTube, and the woman who stuck out to me the most was India Paulino. She was my first idol! I thought it looked so cool. The women looked amazing, and this was the closest thing to a beauty pageant I could do. I thought I could just go compete in the Olympia. I had no idea you have to turn pro first, then qualify, the whole long process. But in my head, I only had one goal, to go to the Olympia.”

3. Here Is How She Preps for Shows

“I started prepping for the Olympia right after the Boston Pro in March, so that was seven months. It was a very chill prep because I was eating clean, but I was eating more than ever in a prep. I was still dieting, but it was more calories, and I did have one cheat meal a week. Now I see this is the best approach for me: a longer prep but with more food,” Maureen said.

4. Her “Breaks” Involve Cardio

When she does go on vacation, she still exercises. “I did go on vacation to Hawaii with my partner the week after the Olympia. That was on my bucket list. I did cardio every day, but I took five days off from weights. I had a couple of treats, but nothing crazy,” she says.

5. She Doesn’t “Gain Too Much” During the Offseason

Marueen avoids overindulging in the off season. “I have a very clear mindset that if I gain too much, it will be a lot harder for me,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “In Bikini, it’s all about condition, and while you could be ‘too’ hard, you certainly can’t be soft, either.”