Written by Tyler DiGiovanni | BSBM
Fact checked by Sam Coleman, Co-founder
FACT CHECKED
Regarding the GOATs of their respective sports, few are as awe-inspiring as Simone Biles. An 11-time Olympic medalist, 7 of which are gold, Biles uses a training regimen that focuses on power, agility, and precision.
Gymnastics is one of the most demanding sports on the body and requires an insane amount of core and body strength, both of which Biles has in spades. Let's look at the work Biles puts into achieving her Olympic physique.
Gymnastics
The majority of Biles's training involves doing what she's training for…gymnastics. Biles spends upward of three hours almost daily working on her vault, beam, bar, and floor skills. We aren't gymnastic pros by any means so that we won't be covering much on this front, but we at least wanted to make sure it was known that this is the largest chunk of her training.
Related: Gymnastics Routine For Beginner Adults
Simone Biles Key Exercises
Before we get into the actual exercises, Simone spends about 30 minutes before training to work on mobility. This involves a lot of resistance band mobility work, including:
- Internal Rotations
- External Rotations
- Banded Shoulder Pass Throughs
- Band Pull Aparts
- Laying Overhead and Waist Touches
- (Not a band exercise) Overhead Single Arm Tricep Extension with lightweight
Ok, now for the actual exercises:
1. Rope Climbs
Biles regularly performs rope climbs in a pike position, using only her arms to pull herself up and bring herself back down. These are great for developing her lat, biceps, and grip strength.
2. Pike Push-Ups
These are great for targeting the shoulders. You should have your feet on a raised surface to put even more tension on your shoulders. A strong shoulder complex is absolutely crucial to launching into the air on vaults and floor routines.
3. V-Sit Up Yoga Block Passes
These are deceptively difficult to perform. Hold a yoga block between your shins, raise it up into a V, grab the block with your hands, return to flat with arms stretched overhead, and then raise it up again, placing the block back between your shins. That's one rep. If your core isn't screaming after these, you didn't do them right, or your name is Simone Biles.
4. Weighted Elevated Hip Hold
This exercise involves the entire posterior chain. Stand with your upper back on a platform and your feet on another platform. With a dumbbell on your waist, raise your body to flat and hold for as long as you can. You should feel it in your lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and abs.
5. Hanging Leg Raise
These aren't your typical leg raises with your feet only going to parallel with the ground. Biles brings her toes all the way up to the bar, using the entire possible range of motion. To make this even more difficult, she performs these against a flat surface, eliminating momentum created by swinging.
6. L-Sits
The L-sit is a brutal way to finish a workout; we're taking it easy with this one. Biles actually does an L-sit into a handstand, but that might be pushing it for anyone who isn't a trained gymnast.Simone Biles Inspired Workout Routine
Make sure to perform a 20-30 minute mobility warm up before jumping into the workout. Take 1-2 minutes rest between sets.
| EXERCISE | SETS | REPS |
| Rope Climbs | 3 | Failure |
| Pike Push-ups | 3 | 20 |
| V-Sit up Yoga Block Passes | 3 | 30 |
| Weighted Elevated Hip Hold | 2 | As long as possible |
| Hanging Leg Raise | 3 | 20 |
| L-sits | 3 | 60 seconds |
Cross Training
To maximize her athletic ability, Biles also incorporates crosstraining into her workout regimen. Whether she's swimming for a mile, biking for 10 miles, or going for a hike, she ensures her cardiovascular fitness is up to snuff for performing at the highest level.
Wrap-Up
As you can see, Biles' workout consists of a lot of core work, bodyweight exercises, and work outside the gym. This mix of training styles has provided the foundation Simone needed to dominate the Olympic stage. While doing this training routine probably won't get you a gold medal, you can at least know you're following in the footsteps of the greatest to do it.
Tyler DiGiovanni
Author