Professional wrestler Helen Maroulis is training hard for Paris 2024—she is the first female wrestler to qualify for three Olympic teams. Maroulis, 32, shared a reel of herself wearing black shorts and a tank top, doing strength training exercises at the gym just ahead of Olympic trials back in April. “Last lift before flying out to the East Coast for my fourth Olympic Trials! So many beautiful moments to thank God for, can’t believe He’s carried me this far!!! What a ride! Excited for what’s to come 💪🏼 Grateful for the amazing team of people, coaches, and support around me,” she captioned the post. Here’s how Maroulis stays strong, happy, and ready for whatever’s next.
1. Dancing and Fighting
Maroulis loves the physical and mental benefits of dance. "Dancing, like wrestling, is an activity that requires you to be 100 percent present in the moment,” she told Olympics.com. “When you are dealing with depression or anxiety your mind can be racing, but when you're dancing you're twirling and spinning and trying to make sure you catch the next step, so during that time I don't think about my problems or anything else. It's even helped my footwork on the wrestling mat!"
2. Mental Health Awareness
Maroulis plays the harp as part of her mental health and wellness routine. “It’s interesting, because as athletes we’re supposed to just be excellent in our nutrition and our sleep and our training, but also in our mental health. So for me, I consider mental health as part of my training,” she told New Beauty. “I consider it such a priority. It’s been really cool to navigate wrestling these past years because a lot of my decisions are now based on what is best for me and my mental health, not what was best for competition, or the team, or what the coaches wanted.”
3. Self-Care Every Day
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Maroulis takes time for self-care in the morning and at night. “A couple of years ago I got into the Korean 10-step skin-care routine and I like that because it’s long and methodical,” she told New Beauty. “I did for a while and I really enjoyed it, but I still definitely double cleanse, I’ll use a vitamin C serum and then a moisturizer, but it really depends on where I’m training. The products I use when I’m on the east coast are totally different than what I need when I’m home on the west coast.”
4. Balanced Life
Maroulis strives for balance in her life. “You can win a gold medal and those same things that drove you to win can drive you to a really broken place after sport,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “I saw some of that happening in my life and I saw this obsession and lack of balance in my life, and it kept snowballing. Now, pushing sport in a different way, we can enjoy sports and prioritize our health and everything outside of that and have it be a well-balanced approach.”
5. Always Evolving
Maroulis is constantly evolving and working on herself. “My personal belief is that if you work on trying to be the best version of yourself, that will always positively impact others,” she told New Beauty. “If we’re all doing that, we’re all raising each other up together. Everyone is on their own journey and taking the time to be forgiving of yourself, to be kind to yourself, that goes a long way. If you can show yourself kindness, it’s easier to be kind to others.”