Sports Illustrated Rookie Xandra Pohl In Workout Gear Is “Finally Healing”

Influencer Xandra Pohl is enjoying the beautiful scenery and skies of the Hamptons. Pohl, 23, shared a video of herself wearing white pants and a black hoodie, soaking up a spectacular sunset with her friends. “I feel like I’m finally healing 🤍 I love sunsets,” she captioned the post. “Beach sunsets are the best. Hands down. Nothing better,” a fan commented. Pohl has been named one of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s 2024 rookies of the year—here’s how the DJ and model is living her best life.

1. Sports Illustrated Legacy

Pohl is thrilled to named one of SI’s 2024 rookies. “The legacy that Sports Illustrated [Swimsuit] has made, obviously in the first 60 years, has been monumental in not just the industry and the world, but also to all the young girls looking up to all the models of all shapes, sizes, races, whatever it is,” she told the magazine. “We are all beautiful [and deserve to be] confident in our own bodies. I feel like that is the best legacy you could ever leave.”

2. She’s a DJ

Pohl is proud of her achievements in the male-dominated DJ world. “Some common misconceptions I think people have about me is that because of the way I look or the way that I act means that I have an inability to do something,” she told Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. “Especially with DJing, being a female in this industry, it has been a lot to kind of break into it. And coming out of this, I just want people to know [that] I love who I am. I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing, and I’m confident about it, and I’m passionate about it.”

3. Social Media Support

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Pohl loves the supportive community on social media. "Honestly, it's such a community where I feel like I can go up to any of them and ask them questions or they can come up to me," she told E! News. "It's a very open space and I feel like we're all just leaning on each other. I've learned so much over these past couple months and everyone has been so nice and so welcoming, I could not be more grateful for that."

4. Rush Advice

Pohl loved her time in a sorority at the University of Miami. “Be really open, and force yourself to get out there,” she told Elite Daily. “You’re making a decision about a place where you can feel safe, comfortable, and like you’re going to thrive. I chose a little out of my comfort zone, but I ended up making the most amazing friends who will be there for me for the rest of my life.”

5. Professional Success

Pohl loves being an influencer and the lifestyle that comes along with it. "I'm so grateful that brands are looking at me and think that I'm a good addition to those trips in the first place," she told E! News. "When people contact me and they're like, 'Wanna come?' I'm like, 'You like me?!' It's crazy for me. I just think it's an amazing experience where most of the time it's influencers or creators, we all have the same passion for makeup, skincare, clothes, whatever it might be and we all get to come together and support an amazing brand. And not even just that but get to know the team."

Track and field star Parker Valby got through the Olympic trials and is thrilled to be heading to Paris to compete in the women’s 10,000 meters race. Valby, 21, shared pictures of the experience, including one of her wearing shorts and a blue Nike cropped jacket, blowing a kiss. “Can’t spell Paris without Parker🤌🏼🕺🏼💅🏼 (ok maybe you can without the k e r). Anyhoots it’s officially official I’m an Olympian😮 this past week has been quiteee a journey full of some of my highest highs and lowest lows.” Here’s how Valby trains and lives her best life.

1. Running 25-40 Miles a Week

Valby runs between 25-40 miles a week, depending on her training schedule. “It’s not like I’m jogging on those days [that I’m running] or that I’m cross training easily,” she told Citius. “I think people underestimate what I’m doing. When I cross-train, there are puddles of sweat on the floor...Workout days are quality miles. That’s where all the miles come in–workout days.”

2. Cross-Training All Week

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Valby does cross-training twice on Wednesdays and takes one day a week off for active recovery. “I’ll do a cross-train double on Monday,” she told Citius. “Tuesday is typically a track workout or a grass workout depending on whatever we have coming up. So that’ll be running on the ground that day. Thursday, some weeks we have workouts, some weeks we don’t depending on if we’re working out on Saturday. And then Friday will be a cross-train double. Sunday is cross-training.”

3. She’s a Graduate

Valby just graduated from the University of Florida, which is perfect timing for the Olympics. “Some graduate with honors, I’m honored to graduate 💅🏼 (all jokes guys I actually did graduate with honors). Thank you @uflorida and @gatorstf for the best 4 years 🥲 *swipe to see my mood abt leaving #gogators5ever 🤍,” she captioned an Instagram post.

4. Recovering From Injury

Valby knows what it’s like to recover from injury after fracturing her foot. The athlete was forced to try different methods of working out while her foot healed. “I learned how to cross-train for the first time and actually cross-trained really hard for three months while I was on crutches and in a boot, mostly in a pool. You’re still getting the aerobic fitness,” she told Track & Field News. “It’s just a little bit of a shock to the legs when you come back.”

5. Big Dreams

Valby still can’t believe how much her world is changing, and says she never planned on becoming an Olympian. “If you would have asked me two years ago, I wanted to be in business or an orthodontist,” she told Runner’s World. “For a while, I wanted to be a vet. I’ve been all over the place. I never once said I wanted to be an Olympic athlete.”

Tatiana Suarez is ready to rumble again after injuring her knee in December—to add insult to injury, it happened on her birthday! Suarez, 33, shared a picture of herself wearing shorts and a black t-shirt, jumping during an intense group training session. “Good to be back 🙏🏽🙌🏽 Let’s go! #champ #hardwork #mma #ufc #wmma,” she captioned the post. “Can’t wait for the title run!!” Suarez is becoming legendary for getting injured and getting back up again, time after time. Here’s what Suarez’s diet and training looks like.

1. Cardio and Strength Training

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Suarez trains seven days a week, doing a combination of cardio and strength training. “I'm a great wrestler, I know I'm great at jiu-jitsu, I'm great at kicking," she told Women’s Health. "So right now, I've been focusing a lot on boxing because I know that it's probably my weakest thing. It's also given me a newfound respect for boxers. I can't wrestle yet. I drill it, but I can't bend my knee all the way. When I'm in [training] camp, there's not so much emphasis on cardio just because I do cardio throughout my workouts."

2. High-Protein Diet

Suarez avoids processed foods and sugar. "I ate a lot of high-protein foods and healthy fats like olive oil on salad, chicken, steak, eggs, and avocado," she told Women’s Health. "I also incorporated fish oil, creatine for when I spar, and Thorne's Curcumin Phytosome, which helps a lot with my inflammation."

3. Proud To Fight

Suarez is proud of how many women are entering the fighting world. “I think women in combative sports has drawn a new way of how women are viewed,” she told Forbes. “It was once taboo for women to be in combative sports. Now, people believe every woman should be able to defend themselves. What was once viewed as ‘manly’ is now viewed as strong and beautiful.”

4. Subhead Goes Right Here

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Suarez injured her neck in 2011, after which doctors found a cancerous growth on her thyroid. Then in 2021 she had to take a step back after the ACL, LCL and MCL injuries. Recovery was not easy. "I had to keep my diet a certain way, and I had to do certain exercises for my neck every day, and they were so tedious and boring," she told Women’s Health. "Not only that, but I couldn't do what I love, which is to go live and do my sport. At that point, I was like, 'I thought that patience was the lesson that I was supposed to be learning when I was going through my neck injury. And then I hurt my knee, and thought, 'Well, I don't get it. What more could I have done?'"

5. Knee Injury Recovery

Suarez was careful not to push herself too hard after her knee injury. “The good thing is that there’s nothing actually anatomically wrong with my knee,” she said on The MMA Hour. “So that’s a good thing. But I just didn’t want to go ahead and try to push through something that wasn’t doing what it [was supposed to], because my knee was really inflamed and I didn’t want to try to grapple through something and then actually hurt my knee badly. Because it is the knee that I had surgery on, so I just didn’t want to go ahead and mess with that, especially because my actual injury was so severe. I mean, I tore every ligament in my knee.”

Paige VanZant is a very well-known and successful MMA fighter. She also finished in second place on season 22 of Dancing With The Stars, with her partner Mark Ballas. A few weeks ago, VanZant shared a video on Instagram of herself dancing. She captioned the post, “That @powerslap fight week feeling.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Paige VanZant stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

1. She Does A Variety Of Workouts

VanZant likes to do a lot of different workouts to keep herself in shape. She shared some of her favorite workouts in an interview with Vogue. “Every day is different it depends on what day of the week it is. We have lots of classes, wrestling, jujitsu. I do a lot of Pilates, yoga, CrossFit as well. I also try to include one relaxing workout through the week like hiking.”

2. She Boxes

VanZant shared some of her fitness secrets with Muscle & Fitness. “I’m working with Pedro Diaz here in Miami, and he’s a straight boxing coach at Mundo Boxing,” she said. “I feel like that’s going to be the biggest difference in my fight game and my striking. People are really going to see a big change from my first fight to this one. After the first fight, I thought it was important to work with a straight boxing coach, and Pedro is a legend in boxing and I’m excited to have him in my corner.”

3. She Eats Healthy

VanZant makes sure to eat healthy. She broke down her diet to Muscle & Fitness. “I’ll have a banana before practice. I’ll always have coffee and the one thing I can’t cut out of my diet is my coffee creamer. That’s usually before practice. After practice, I’ll have a protein shake for the drive home and then I’ll have whatever meal is prepare for me when I get home. It’s typically extremely lean protein, vegetables, rice and some other carb. My favorite foods are meals for lunch and dinners. I love Indian food and I had to cut that out as well as Thai food. I’m excited for after the fight to have some really good Indian food.”

4. She Recovers

VanZant shared her recovery process with Muscle & Fitness. “I do a lot of ice baths. We’ll do an ice bath in between sessions to try and get my muscles to recover as soon as possible for the next training session. I get a lot of massages to make sure I’m not as sore going into sparring days or not as sore coming out of sparring days. I love the sauna and I know it’s extremely healthy for you, and I know it helps me prepare for the weight cut when it gets closer to the fight, being able to sweat and lose as much water as possible without losing my real muscle mass. I love it because it’s very healing and it helps with the soreness also.”

5. She Loves Masks

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VanZant tells Women Fitness that she likes to do hair and face masks to keep them healthy. “Although I am a professional fighter I do love to feel beautiful and take care of myself. Hair masks and face masks are a very frequent part of my week. I love to rest in between practices or after a long day of training with a hair mask, a face mask and a glass of wine. I can even get my husband to do a facemask here and there. Kick butt in the gym, relax, pamper and love everywhere else’s.”

Former Wisconsin Badgers volleyball star Danielle Hart enjoyed a magical trip to Joshua Tree over the summer, taking a jeep for the best road trip with a friend. Hart shared pictures of the mini getaway, including ones of her posing in the car wearing a black bikini top and shorts. “A top tier day trip 🤌🏼,” she captioned the post. “This is sick,” commented friend and fellow volleyball player Kendall Kipp. Here’s how Hart got through a serious injury and came out better than ever.

1. ACL Injury

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Hart went through physical rehabilitation after tearing her ACL during practice. “I didn’t scream. I didn’t shed a tear,” she says. “Having heard of the dreaded pops from other ACL injuries, I was in complete denial. I was convinced my kneecap just moved over and slipped back in place. I was convinced that they were wrong, that it was different. As I was lifted off the court, I completely believed this was not the end for me. Just as quickly as I had denied an injury that would sideline me for the rest of the season– an injury that would burn my last chance at chasing a national championship with the remainder of my recruited class– I knew without a doubt I had torn my ACL and would be coming back without them the following year.”

2. Valued Player and Role Model

Hart’s return to volleyball after her injury was celebrated by her teammates. “She’s out of the shadows,” UW coach Kelly Sheffield said. “Everybody here in this program knows how important of a player she’s been, but I think some others are going to be able to see how important she is. A lot of her friends have left, but one of the things I’ve been really impressed with is how she has taken these guys, especially the younger ones, and has them over for meals, drives them places. She is such a mentor. She’s impacting not just this year but the future with how she’s going about things, serving others. Her spirit will be here long after she leaves.”

3. Intense Rehab

As difficult as rehab was for Hart, she grew from the experience. “As intense as the rehab itself may have been, the training room quickly became a sort of oasis for me,” she says. “I met my physical therapist, Bailey Lanser, the day after surgery. As it turns out, the morning after I went down at practice was Bailey’s first official day working at UW. If you ask me, I don’t think that was a coincidence. She quickly became the person I leaned on the most day-to-day. This extended far beyond her incredible knowledge, creativity, and encouragement. The energy, genuine care, and attention she brings for every one of her patients continues to amaze me every day I’m around her.”

4. New Roles

Hart happily took on new responsibilities in the wake of her injury and rehabilitation. “At the time, I was thinking that I had gotten what I was looking for out of the program,” she says. “I never had thought about the fact that without a lot of the people I came in with in that class, such incredible people and incredible leaders, that there was a lot more stretching that could be done. So that’s what’s cool about this injury. I am really getting stretched and I’m finding myself grow even more. I’m surprising myself at how comfortable I feel and how natural these roles feel now that I simply didn’t have in years past.”

5. Confidence In Herself

Hart’s athletic journey has given her a strong sense of confidence in her own abilities. “They say challenging times are when you find out who you are,” she says. “In many ways, Wisconsin Volleyball accelerated that process for me. My injury solidified that. Somewhere along the way I’ve developed, to an extent, an unshakable confidence. This doesn’t mean I am never uncomfortable or nervous. It does mean that as I have learned what it is I value most, what ignites my fire, I’ve learned to trust myself, what it is I love, and my work ethic. I have discovered a real empowering sense of freedom to be myself and a fearlessness to chase whatever it is that sparks my interest.”