Yuliia Levchenko, a Ukrainian high jump star, has been a force in track and field since her teenage years, with notable wins like her gold at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. Recently, she gave fans a glimpse into her fitness routine by sharing a video of a hurdle drill on Instagram. From hitting the padel court to eating a balanced diet, Levchenko maintains her athletic edge. In an interview with Oh Lala Magazine, she emphasized the importance of healthy eating, hard training, and personal growth. Her active lifestyle also includes hiking and weight training, with squats being one of her go-to exercises for building strength and endurance.
In this Instagram video, Levchenko is seen hitting the padel course. The sport has a lot of health benefits. LTA states, “It’s a full-body workout that keeps you moving from beginning to end – helping to improve your endurance, cardiovascular health and prevent health risk factors in the future. It involves plenty of running, movement from side-to-side and quick changes of direction and will help you build your speed and strength. Like tennis, while improving your overall aerobic fitness so you can run for longer, padel also helps you build muscle with short and explosive movements to benefit your anaerobic fitness.”
Levchenko makes sure to eat healthy. She talked about this in an interview with Oh Lala Magazine. “Sportsmen need to have a good diet and it is important to keep the balance. It is all about the different types of food that you have to eat – sometimes you even have to eat chocolates because we burn a lot of calories in our profession and we need to keep that balance too. Fitness isn’t a professional sport; fitness is a special diet and training. I believe it is a hobby but, for professional sportsmen, it’s your life. It isn’t as difficult for me because I just need to know what calorie intake is normal for me so I can keep my portions balanced. I know my normal weight and I try to stay within the same range.”
Levchenko talked about her desires to improve in her Oh Lala Magazine interview. “I want to continue my work and keep getting better. I want to train hard and achieve even more goals. My friends and family only support me, they help me stay humble and I feel like I haven’t had any success. For our parents, I feel like we’re always the best, irrespective of how high I jump, they’re always telling me they’re proud of me. Support is a big part of sports!”
Levchenko loves to go for hikes to stay in shape. She shared this set of photos of herself on a hike in the desert on Instagram. The Cleveland Clinic states that hiking has a lot of benefits, including helping people with their sleep. “If you struggle to get a good night’s sleep, then a hike might be beneficial. Exposure to vitamin D can help control your wake-sleep cycle. And being outside and exercising will also raise your body’s temperature, so when your internal temperature goes back down, it can lull you into sleep.”
Levchenko shared this video on Instagram of herself doing squats with a barbell. Piedmont states that this exercise has a lot of benefits. “Whether you’re hoping to tone your muscles, strengthen your core or just improve overall health, squats are one of the best exercises you can do…Squats are a compound, multi-joint movement, which means they exercise several muscle groups. When you perform a squat, you work your calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, core and part of your back.”