Natalie Coughlin’s Gold Rush

“Nobody wanted biceps before Michelle Obama made them cool,” Coughlin says, here with fellow Olympic swimmer Nathan Adrian, one of her training partners.

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2016 issue of SELF.

Natalie Coughlin is early. We are scheduled to meet for lunch at one of her favorite restaurants in Berkeley, California, at 1 P.M., but when I arrive at 12:50 she is already seated at a table by the window. Because her livelihood is measured in seconds, she is perhaps more aware of time than the average human. “I’m in a sport where hundredths of a second are the difference between gold and silver,” she explains.

Coughlin is smaller in person than what you would expect an Olympic swimmer to be—so compact, in fact, that when she stands to greet me, she seems to be little more than huge blue eyes framed by long dark lashes. But when I catch a glimpse of her shoulder muscles poking through her T-shirt, I remember I’m dining with a woman who can swim backward faster than I can run forward. “Michelle Obama has done so much for arms,” Coughlin says, laughing as she looks down at her impressive biceps. “Nobody ever wanted these before she made them cool!”

This summer in Rio de Janeiro, Coughlin hopes to swim in her fourth Olympics; at age 33, she has nearly a decade on most of her twentysomething competitors. “I don’t feel old,” she says. “I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.” Depending on how the U.S. trials go at the end of June, she may compete in the 100-meter freestyle, the 100-meter backstroke and perhaps a few relays as well. And if she medals in any of those events, Coughlin will become the most decorated American female Olympian in history, a situation she calls “totally crazy.”

It’s been eight years since Coughlin won a medal in an individual event, but she’s been recording times that have her among the top 10 in the world and just a few 10ths of a second from the podium. I ask her what it’s like to be able to swim so fast. “You know how when you’re a kid, people ask you ‘If you could have any superpower, what would it be?’ And you say you want to fly?” she says. “That’s how it feels. Weightless.”

Coughlin’s ascent to swimming’s loftiest heights has a comparatively modest beginning: lessons at her local YMCA when she was 10 months old. Her father, Jim, was a police officer in their hometown of Vallejo, California; her mother, Zennie, works as a paralegal. Though neither pushed her or her younger sister, Megan, to become athletes, she took to the water immediately. By age six, she was racing against other kids. “It was fun because I was good at it,” Coughlin says matter-of-factly.

Being good is one thing. Being the best in the world is another. By the time Coughlin entered high school, she was one of the fastest teenage swimmers in the country. At 19, she became the first woman in history to swim the 100-meter backstroke in less than one minute. At 21, she earned two gold medals, two silvers and a bronze in Athens. Four years ago in London, she won her 12th Olympic medal. Her explanation for why she turned her childhood hobby into a meteoric career is simple: “I love the competitiveness and the training. I love to push my body to be faster and stronger. I love the feeling of racing against the best swimmers in the world.”

And being compact can have its advantages. At 5 feet 8 and a skosh over 140 pounds (her “fighting weight,” she says), she is one of the smallest in her sport. (Many of her competitors, like her teammate, 21-year-old wunderkind Missy Franklin, are over six feet tall.) Competitive swimming demands that athletes be able to contort their bodies. In the water, speed equals power minus drag, where drag is defined as any physical or mental wrinkle that slows a swimmer down. “My suit is so tight, it feels like Spanx times 100,” Coughlin jokes, and she’s only sort of kidding. To get where she is now, she’s had to develop a deep awareness of what every muscle in her body is doing at all times; a slight hip over rotation could be the difference between a gold medal and a 10th-place finish. Forget to keep your belly button pulled in tight when you inhale, and you might not even qualify for the event.

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We Tried The 3-3-3 Workout That Celebrities Love—Here’s How To Do It

Robin Lynne Gibson, Getty Images

In Los Angeles Chase Weber trains everyone from actors to athletes to influencers, including Hannah Bronfman and Geri Hirsch of Because I’m Addicted. The one thing his clients all have in common is that want to be fit, strong, and unstoppable…without having to spend hours at the gym. To solve this problem, Weber developed his 3-3-3 Method workouts that combine strength, power, and stability moves. The result is a total-body, time-saving workout—and we had to try it.

Weber stopped by the SELF office to share one of his effective routines. It was not easy—but the core moves were oh-so-good. Follow along in the video below for a kick-ass, bodyweight-only routine that works your entire body.

The Workout:

Start with a short dynamic warm-up. Then you’ll complete three mini circuits, each with three moves. Do each circuit three times before moving on to the next one. (Three circuits, three moves, three sets = 3-3-3.) If you’re pressed for time, follow along with SELF staffers in the video below and do one set of each cluster—that will take you about 12 minutes.

The Moves:

Here are the three circuits featured in the video above.

Circuit 1 — repeat 3 times

• Squats — 20 reps
• Reverse lunge with knee drives — 8 reps on each side
• Jump twist and squats — 8 reps

Circuit 2 — repeat 3 times

• Push-ups — 12 reps
• Three-legged dog twists — 8 reps on each side
• Single-leg crunches — 8 reps on each side (This one is killer for your core!)

Circuit 3 — repeat 3 times

• Side lunges with hands raised — 8 reps on each side
• Butterfly dips — 8 reps
• Reverse crunch rolls — 8 reps 

You may also like: Try this 10-minute plyometric workout you can do at home:

The post We Tried The 3-3-3 Workout That Celebrities Love—Here’s How To Do It appeared first on SELF.

3 Exercises You Should Do As Soon As You Wake Up

Lumina / Stocksy

Working out can boost your mood and make you smarter, so mornings are the perfect time to add some activity to your day. 

Consider this quick routine below the anti-morning person’s guide to waking up and working out. Do these three simple and energizing moves below, and you won’t even need to take a shower after (if you don’t want to). There’s a restorative stretch to help wake up your muscles, a lower-body exercise that focuses on building hip strength and mobility, and a core move that challenges your balance without requiring you to get out of bed. Print or save the pin at the bottom to have this mini routine available as soon as you wake up.

The Workout:

Do each of the moves below for the designated number of reps and seconds.

The Moves:

1. Reclining Twist — hold for 30 seconds on each side

• Lie on your back and draw your left leg into your chest and keep your right leg straight.
• Exhale and twist the bent knee across the center of the body. Then press the opposite hand onto the bent knee and extend the other arm.
• Hold for 30 seconds, then repeat on the opposite side.

2. Clamshell — do 10-15 reps on each side

• Lie on your left side with your hips, knees, and ankles stacked on top of one another. Bend your knees at a 90-degree angle.
• Keeping your feet together, rotate your right knee open, then slowly lower it back to the ground.
• That’s 1 rep, do 10-15, then repeat on the opposite side.

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5 Energizing Moves That Also Strengthen Your Core

Westend61, Getty Images

Lauren Imparato, founder of I.Am.You. studio and author of RETOX: Healthy Solutions for Real Life, has real women with perfectly-imperfect lives and beautifully flawed chakras flocking to her classes.

“Here’s the thing, yoga wasn’t meant to slow the mind. It was meant to train you to work the muscle of the mind in a better way. The whole, ‘Just let go…’ thing? Let go, my ass. There’s too much to do to let go. That is NOT realistic. Life is stressful,” Imparato tells SELF. 

A former Morgan Stanley trader who traded it all in to teach friends and colleagues how to bend and flow on her living room floor, Imparato has since developed a cult following at her secret-hideaway studio (don’t worry, there is an address) in Chinatown, New York. She’s also a globally-in-demand private instructor and her fast and fierce yoga flows are as muscle-quivering as they are empowering—own it on the mat and the world is yours. 

The Energizing Flow:

Imparato developed this energizing flow for SELF (that’s her demonstrating each move below!). Bonus: The moves are also great for activating all of your core muscles. Start with 3 to 8 sun salutes. Then hold each pose for 5 to 8 breaths on each side.

The Moves:

1. Sun Salute — do 3 to 8

Lauren Imparato

Start standing. Inhale with your arms up and hands touching. Exhale. Fold forward bringing forehead to your shins. Inhale. Lengthen your spine. Exhale. Chaturanga or plank. Inhale. Up dog. Exhale. Down dog. Hold 5 breaths. Jump or step forward to the front of your mat. Inhale. Lengthen your spine. Exhale. Fold forward. Inhale. Stand and lift arms up. Exhale. Hands to heart. Repeat that sequence 3 to 8 times.

2. Balancing Side Plank — hold for 5 to 8 breaths on each side

Lauren Imparato

From a high plank, roll onto your right hand and outer edge of right foot. Inhale. Lift your left arm up in the air. If you want a challenge, try lifting your left leg up as high as possible. Hold for 5 to 8 breaths, then switch sides.

3. Chair Twist — hold for 5 to 8 breaths on each side

Lauren Imparato

Start standing. Inhale. Sit your butt back and bend your knees and take your arms up. Exhale. Twist to the right with your left elbow outside of right knee. Make sure knees are touching and in line. Bring your thumbs to your sternum and breathe. (You can also open up your arms, as shown, for a deeper twist.) Hold for 5 to 8 breaths, then switch sides.

4. Forward Bend — hold for 5 to 8 breaths

Lauren Imparato

Sit up tall. Extend your legs in front of you feet flexed. Inhale. Extend your spine. Exhale. Fold forward. Relax your neck and breathe. Hold for 5 to 8 breaths.

5. Shoulder Stand — hold for 5 to 8 breaths

Lauren Imparato

Start laying down on your stomach. Take your feet behind your head and place your hands on your back near your bra line. Inhale. Lift your legs up. Close your eyes or look at your toes and breathe. Hold for 5 to 8 breaths.

You may also like: Try this 10-minute plyometric workout you can do at home:

The post 5 Energizing Moves That Also Strengthen Your Core appeared first on SELF.

How Long Can Picnic Food Stay Unrefrigerated?

When enjoying meals outdoors, here’s what you need to know to about food safety:

Why Soccer Star Carli Lloyd Is More Concerned About Equal Pay Than Zika

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Carli Lloyd, 33, isn’t ready for Rio just yet. With an MCL sprain, the 2015 FIFA Player of the Year is focusing on getting better before she can dive into Olympics training mode. But that doesn’t mean she’s sitting around doing nothing while she’s off the field.

The New Jersey native is one of the five team members who are speaking publicly about the equal pay complaint the team filed earlier this year against the U.S. Soccer Federation, which accuses the league of unfairly paying the U.S. Women’s National Team players thousands of dollars less than the players on the men’s team. After their World Cup win last year, the women want their pay to reflect their value and success as athletes.

Lloyd may be speaking directly for the U.S. Women’s National Team, but she knows they’re giving a voice to other women in similar situations, too. She tells SELF: “I think it’s giving more and more women, and specifically other women’s soccer teams, the confidence to speak up. I know it helped Colombia speak up about their [pay situation]; I know other teams like Australia ended up going on strike until they got paid more.” Knowing they’re helping others find their voice, and feeling overwhelming support from other teams and the media, gives the women motivation to keep fighting. “We’re coming off the World Cup and just being successful in general, so we have leverage to continue to push the envelope.”

As for Zika, Lloyd’s not stressing about getting sick in Brazil. “We’ve been informed by U.S. Soccer, we’ve had some presentations on Zika, and I’m honestly not worried,” Lloyd says. “I’m going to put on the bug spray and just not go hang out in the jungle.” Lloyd’s engaged to her high school sweetheart Brian Hollins, but she doesn’t plan on getting pregnant anytime soon. Right now, she’s more concerned about winning in Rio. “We’ll take precautionary measures, and that’s that.”

Lloyd hasn’t stopped since the World Cup—she’s still riding the MVP wave, with sponsorships and speaking opportunities rolling in. Most recently, she signed on with Heineken, making her the first female ambassador for any beer company. “That speaks volumes to how far we’ve come as women, and it’s great.”

You might also like: Olympic Gold Medalist Alex Morgan on Why She’s Her Biggest Competitor

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How To Run A 5K Without Training At All

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No need to pass on that 5K run because you don’t have a ton of training time. Whether it’s a fundraising event for a cause you’re passionate about or a Color Run with your friends, it’s totally possible to participate on super-short notice (or, if the calendar date just snuck up on you—it happens).

A 5K event equals 3.1 miles, and depending on your current fitness level, there are plenty of ways to get you across that finish line, even without a ton of prep. First, it’s always a good idea to check in with your doctor first. And if you do have the time to train do it, says Gary Berard, an NYC-based running coach and the founder of GB Running. “Spending weeks preparing for a race helps build resistance to injury, strengthens the heart muscle (your cardiovascular system), and improves the delivery of blood to muscles used during running.”

If you find yourself participating in a last-minute race, though, there are a few ways to work around this. “You’ll want to ensure your pacing on race day is well within your ability,” says Berard. In other words, take it easy and focusing on having fun with your friends instead of trying to push too hard (which increases your risk for injury). Here are six steps to race-day success if you haven’t trained:

Before the race:

1. Don’t cram in last-minute training. 

It’s best not to lace up your shoes for your first three-mile run if your race is just a few days away. “Cramming in last-minute training will only negatively impact race performance,” says Berard. “It creates residual fatigue.” And soreness will interfere with your ability to run on the day of your event. In the same way that marathon runners taper their training runs in the weeks leading up to their 26.2-mile run, this concept of scaling back applies to shorter runs, too. For example, if the 5K is on a Saturday or Sunday, try running for about 30 minutes the Monday beforehand, and maybe 20 minutes that Wednesday, Berard suggests. Once you’re about three or four days out from the race, you’re better off taking it easy.

2. Prepare your gear and everything else you need. 

Use that extra time when you’re not running to prepare everything you’ll need for race day. Make sure your clothes fit well to avoid chafing, double check that you have running shoes that fit properly, charge any watches or devices you plan on using, and attach your race bib (your number) to your top, suggests Berard. Feeling prepared might help eliminate some pre-race nerves, he says. “Manage the elements surrounding the race which are within your control.”

3. Get a good night’s sleep before the race, then fuel up with a balanced breakfast. 

“Try to rest well in the days leading up to the race,” suggests Berard. That way you’ll feel rested and ready to go when you get to the starting line. Pre-race nutrition is also important. If you’re a breakfast person, “take in some carbohydrates, which will help fuel your running.” Go for complex carbs, like oatmeal, whole-grain toast, or fruit, because they take longer to digest so you’ll stay powered up throughout your run. A little protein is also a good idea: Berard suggests an egg or a tablespoon or two of peanut butter. And don’t forget to hydrate properly.

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