This article originally appeared in the Summer 2024 Champion Issue of Showstopper Magazine.

While we often see champions as untouchable masters of their craft, they’re people too, and building routines that help establish and achieve goals is just as important as natural talent. From physical training and working with a team to finding the things that encourage a positive mindset, a lot goes into being a champion day to day.
Mindset
The ways we structure our beliefs about the world and where we fit in matter. It’s easy to let thoughts roam wild until an idea springs forth, but that can lead to self-destructive ideas as to major epiphanies. This is true whether you’re a “normal person” or even an Olympic athlete!
Building an Olympic Mindset
Simone Biles shocked fans and onlookers around the world when she dropped out of the Tokyo 202 Games in 2021. She was suffering from the “twisties,” a mental block that gymnasts sometimes experience. Unlike many creative blocks that we’re more familiar with, the twisties can be dangerous, causing gymnasts to lose track of their position during complicated tricks. This fear was something Simone worked to overcome.

Champion Fact:
Simone’s coaches were a big part of creating her new mindset. When she shared with her coaches, Cecile and Laurent Landi that she wanted to return to the Olympics, they said no! “Niles shared in a podcast with NBC Olympics, “They were like, ‘No you’ve set expectations for yourself for so long. Let’s just go back in the gym, get in shape, and see what happens.”
Sending herself back to the gym to work with her training mates and coaches, Simone developed a new mindset that was built less on planning every detail and more on showing herself what she was capable of. “…[2023] has kind of been like that, just like professionally and [in] life,” she told Olympics News about her year of going with the flow. “I’ve just tried to go along with the flow, so I enjoy the journey.” She also shared that she now defines success as “showing up, being in a good head place, having fun out there, and whatever happens, happens.”
Physical Strength
Champions are often known for their physical strength and their ability to overcome great challenges. No one just wakes up ready to win a national title, break a record, or execute a jaw-dropping performance, though. Training is a must! Champions build workout, nutrition, jaw-dropping performance, though. Training is a must! Champions build workout, nutrition, and self-care routines that enhance their abilities and remind us that behind the scenes of every incredible feat are work and dedication.
In Her Champion Era
To prepare for the The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift has to train hard. Six months ahead of her first stop in Glendale, Arizona, she started an intense routine. She told Time this was the first time she prepared correctly for a tour and that The Eras Tour was “harder than anything [she’d] ever done before by a long shot.” She ran on the treadmill every day while singing the entire Eras Tour setlist. That’s more than three combined hours of running, jogging, and fast walking, changing speed depending on the song. Time also reported that Taylor “follow[ed] a specialized strength, conditioning, and weights program…and three months of dance lessons.”

Champion Fact:
After a series of Eras performances, Taylor takes a “dead day.” She doesn’t get up except to get food (which she eats in bed) so her body and voice can recover before she’s back on stage. Dancing was not a solo activity either. Before the tour started, Taylor and her team stayed at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale for almost a month. With 15 backup dancers, 44 songs, four backing vocalists, and a live band, putting on The Eras Tour was more than a one-woman show. Together they learned the moves, costume changes, and the layout of the 82-yard stage.
Self-Care
While self-care might just seem like face masks, candles, and naps, a lot of it comes down to knowing the best ways to make yourself feel good. For some, this requires looking honestly at the work you do and the results you get. Self-care is also a daily effort to be kind to yourself in the ways that matter, and that doesn’t always require a spa day!
A Winning Skincare Routine
You don’t win 23 Grand Slam singles titles without an incredible routine. Serena Williams has been training since she was young to become the tennis icon she is today, and as an adult, she balances her champion status with her family and her brand. We can often see Serena documenting the reality of her routine on Instagram where she shows herself preparing for matches, daily workouts, and even recovering from having her second baby. She is honest with herself and her fans, showing that being a champion is work!
Serena shared with Vogue that she takes care of all parts of her physical fitness, including her skin. Soothing her skin with an LED face mask and moisturizing her under eyes, Serena said that she’s not going for “full-on-glam” every day, but she is creating a look that makes her feel good from SPF-enhanced skin tint and brow pencil from Wyn Beauty (which she founded) to Fenty blush. “I feel good now,” she told Vogue. “I’m feeling confident. I feel like winning.”
Champion Fact:
Serena announced her retirement from tennis is 2022, but she’s far from done with her Olympic lifestyle. In an interview with Serena, Vogue shared that she’s staying “fitness and health-focused,” waking up early, and working out. She’s also sharing her mindset with others.” Be yourself and be happy with that…” she said at Nike’s “On Air” event in Paris. “You’ll play better, you’ll feel more confident.”