Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson East successfully pulled off a viral challenge with Andrew East. East, 32, shared a video of herself wearing black shorts and a blue shirt, holding on to her husband for dear life as he lifts her high up against the wall, and then safely lowering her down again. “A little smoother than our last one 😅#marriage #coupleschallenge #couples,” she captioned the post. East may not be competing but her hands are full with three children. Here’s how she stays fit, healthy, and happy.
East keeps busy looking after her children. “We’ll jump on the trampoline or go for bike rides,” she told Parade. “For any other busy moms out there: Allow yourself to be a kid and know that’s also a workout. Going for a bike ride, playing in the driveway, jumping rope. As adults, we live with this mindset that if we don’t go on the treadmill we’re not working out. That’s not the case.”
East has good advice for first-time moms. “Nothing goes to plan, and motherhood is a journey full of surprises,” she told New Beauty. “Take each day as it comes and be patient and kind to yourself. Every journey is different, so do what makes YOU feel best. Oh… and ask for help when you need it. It takes a village, mama!”
East never skips her SPF. “I really love the feeling of really clean skin,” she told New Beauty. “After a day racing around when your skin feels dirty, giving it a thorough scrub is so therapeutic. Massaging it into the skin gives me a moment to stop and reset and remove any grime from the day. There is nothing better than when your skin feels clean and has that post-scrub glow! Having said that, SPF is such an important step that it really should also get a mention.”
East believes in moderation when it comes to health and fitness. “I think we live in a world of extremes, especially when it comes to the health and food industry,” she told Parade. “It’s not sustainable. Even working with nutritionists when I was competing—they were like, ‘Let’s be real, you’re 13. You’re going to eat ice cream and chocolate. You can indulge and have fun. Everything in moderation.’ Whether it’s athletics, working out or nutrition, ‘everything in moderation’ is still a great thing to remember.”
East loves to mix up her workouts and keep it fun. “I went through rollercoasters of trends. I did HIIT workouts during gymnastics. After I retired, I felt like there was this trend where everyone said you had to run to lose weight, and I very quickly learned that was false,” she told Parade. “Intervals and changing up your routine and your workouts is really fun. I went full circle and went back to the gymnastics mentality. I do everything now and it keeps everything stimulating and exciting.”