Lilly King is a very successful swimmer. She has two gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze, which she won at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. Last May, King advertised some new sneakers on Instagram. In them, she was in the gym in her workout gear. She captioned the post, “Rolling out in style.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Lilly King stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.
Obviously, King swims to keep herself in shape. The Mayo Clinic states that swimming has a lot of benefits. “Exercise in an aquatic environment offers numerous options and techniques for almost all levels of physical ability. Exercise can be as basic as walking in the water to more high-level aerobic activities, such as deep-water running or swimming. Standing exercises often are performed in water that is waist to chest deep. These exercises can focus on improving range of motion/flexibility, balance and strength. Resistance training can be amped up by simply increasing the speed of movement or adding equipment, such as mitts, paddles, noodles or bands, to increase drag.”
King shared how she prepares for competition to Swimming World Magazine. “(My philosophy on mental preparation) hasn’t really evolved much, which in some sense is very cool. For example, after preparing for my best event and swimming—quite possibly—my worst in the 100 breaststroke in Tokyo, my philosophy didn’t change,” said King. “I continued to mentally prepare for my best in the 200 breaststroke, and it paid off in one of the best swims of my career.”
King is all about positivity. She tells Swimming World Magazine that this is one of the things she does to prepare for competitions. “It’s a little weird because I am always preparing for the race. I am constantly thinking about the outcome I want to achieve. I also only think about the best-case scenario, which I find not a lot of others do. I really try to only think about the positives.”
When it comes to preparing for a race, King tells Swimming World Magazine that she likes to change it up from time to time. “I have found that swimmers are creatures of habit, which greatly inhibits their racing skills,” says King. “Switching up the race plan is fun to do because it keeps me entertained, and my competitors never know how I’m going to swim my race.”
King shared some of her tips to improve swimming to US Masters Swimming. She says that she does a lot of lower body exercises. “Breaststroke is a very leg-heavy race, so doing squats and cleans [are good], anything to focus on having quick and strong legs. I make sure my knees aren’t wobbling in and out because breaststrokers usually have hyper-mobile knees, so make sure you are taking care of the little things too.”