Four-time Olympic gold medalist, Simone Biles is no stranger to handling the pressures of staying motivated. She spends hours at the gym, perfecting her technique until it’s medal perfect and she takes her mental health just as seriously.
The 23-year-old gymnast hosted a live-stream Masterclass last week and she gave tips to young gymnasts as well as mental health advice. During the video, Biles said she takes care of her mental health just as much as her physical fitness and that she still gets nervous prior to competitions.
“Before a competition—usually a week or two [before]—I’ll go to therapy to decompress, be in a different atmosphere in a safe place, so I can say whatever I want, say how I’m feeling, [and get out] any negativity,” said Biles. “And it kind of just calms me.”
Biles has been a long time advocate of therapy and she also journals, “I do recommend journaling because it’s a safe spot [to express yourself],” she said during her live-stream. “You can put your thoughts onto paper, however you’re feeling, or your goals, or whatever you want to do.”
The gymnast has been journaling since she was a child after a coach encouraged her to start. The coach had all of the students keep a journal and write down how the workout went at the end of the day.
In regards to how she prepares on the day of a competition, Biles said she runs through one last practice and eats healthy food like salad, chicken, and bananas, gets a nap, and listens to a playlist with her favorite music to get out of her head.
She also avoids social media right before a competition because she doesn’t want to put too much pressure on herself to win. She doesn’t want to disappoint her fans, but she knows she’s an amazing gymnast and in the Masterclass she said, “I just want to make people happy with my gymnastics and bring them joy by them watching me.”
