It’s time to go beast mode in the water.
As championship swimmers continue to prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics, the international sports event shared how certain athletes train to hit their dream record—and their endurance is quite impressive.
“This training is wild,” the NBC Olympics wrote on their Sept. 3 TikTok, which features a reposted video of French Olympian Clément Secchi swimming through a pool filled with fast currents. “This would definitely get us to swim faster.”
Indeed, Clément’s approach to navigating the water is all about speed. The athlete—who won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics—started his swim by holding on to a resistance pole, which helped him steady his form. Once secure, he let go and did 14 butterfly strokes in less than 13 seconds.
As he captioned the video on his own TikTok, this form of training will either help you “swim fast” or “get wrecked.”
And while an intimidating technique, there are several more unique ways swimmers will physically prepare for a race. According to SwimGym, athletes might shave before a competition since “body hair improves your sense and feel for the water,” ultimately helping with speed. They’ll also invest in a proper “racing suit” and focus on their “daily caloric intake,” as it’s important to gain a lot of energy through nutrition.
In fact, Olympic icon Michael Phelps had a notable diet during his training season. As the swimmer’s former coach, Bob Bowman, revealed in Sally Jenkin’s 2023 book The Right Call, the 40-year-old “consumed between 8,000-10,000 calories a day.”
While Michael’s coach didn’t share his go-to meals, the gold medalist revealed that he’s changed certain aspects of his diet since he retired from the sport in 2016.
“I probably eat cleaner now than I used to, and that’s just because I’m not eating as much as I used to,” he told E! News last June, adding he used to consume junk food during competition season. “There’s no way you can just eat clean and get all those calories. So, I was trying to cram ice cream and whatever I could into my system.”
Like Michael, there’s a class of celebs who’ve shared their secrets behind maintaining their physique. Keep reading for more on their go-to workout plans…
(E! News and NBC are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Kaley Cuoco
Eight months after welcoming her daughter Matilda with Tom Pelphrey, Kaley noted why she loves doing treadmill workouts amid her postpartum fitness journey.
“Putting that incline up is so good for your muscles, and for your circulation,” she told Today.com in an interview published Nov. 22. “I’ll also walk backward, which is amazing for your butt and legs. It pretty much works everything.”
Becky G
After having a transformative year in 2023, Becky revealed how fitness played a major role. “I know at the end of the day who benefits from a healthier me the most—myself,” she told E! News. “Eventually, if you dedicate yourself to it, you will have lived your life longer with this habit than you ever did without it. At least, that’s the way I like to think about it.”
Her go-to workouts? “If it’s a home work out, if it’s stretch, if it’s going outside for a walk—I try to be as consistent as I can be.”
Kelly Clarkson
The Grammy winner explained how moving to New York City helped kickstart her health and fitness journey. “Walking in the city is quite the workout,” Kelly told People in an interview published Jan. 3. “And I’m really into infrared saunas right now. And I just got a cold plunge because everybody wore me down.”
Julianne Hough
Julianne told E! News the exercise she always blocks out time for when she has a jam-packed schedule.
“I know that I can walk around the hills with my dog,” the Dancing With the Stars said. “That’s key because I have to get her out, too. But movement in general, whether it’s 10 minutes or five minutes of something, I have to move my body.”
And when she has more time to break a sweat, she added, “Whether it’s a Kinrgy class or doing Pilates or yoga, the fact that we get to combine all of those modalities is my favorite because I love versatility.”
Kate Hudson
“I always move, even for a few minutes each day. Sometimes I’ll go into a room, turn up the music and just dance. It’s a great way to let loose and feel great.”
DJ Khaled
The record producer opened up about his love for golfing and how it’s helped him slim down.
“I do it every day and I get a chance to sit on the golf cart or walking about to answer an email or a call and handle my business,” he told Us Weekly in an interview published Sept. 20. “It’s so much [more] pleasurable, meaning [being around] the nature, the sun. It cleanses me.”
Lana Condor
“Honestly, my favorite way to break a sweat right now is playing VR. We got a virtual reality headset right as everything was shutting down and it’s been AMAZING during quarantine. There are so many games that make you work up a sweat and it’s so awesome. I am genuinely so sore after I play.”
Padma Lakshmi
“Under normal circumstances it’s going to the gym, but right now I’m taking online classes with my Pilates instructor Britni Lariviere. I’m also trying to jump rope—2,000 strokes each day.”
JoAnna Garcia Swisher
“Family bike rides are big for us right now and I always try to carve out thirty minutes for pilates with Andrea Rodgers and foam rolling with Lauren Roxburgh.”
Janel Parrish
“Running and listening to music. The best outlet I’ve found these last few months being stuck in the house! I feel so great and pumped up after.”
Dascha Polanco
“My favorite way to break a sweat is mix of sex, PRx Performance, hiking, biking.”
Brooke Burke
“By connecting with my audience and motivating them through my Brooke Burke Body fitness app! I’ve been live streaming on the app as well as on my Instagram since the beginning of quarantine in an effort to make fitness fun and innovative. I especially love walking my viewers through total body cardio parties, which is when I crank up the music, let them find their rhythm and let the booty burn. Cardio kicks up your heart rate, so if you’re not sweating, you’re not working out hard enough!”
Whitney Port
“I have been doing a lot of Sculpt, Cardio Boxing and Yoga Classes on the obé Fitness App and virtual classes with Pilates By Amanda. If I don’t have a lot of time, I will do Lauren Gores‘ express workouts on her Instagram.”
Maggie Q
“During lockdown it’s yoga under my own direction. I can go onto so many different tangents and by the time I am done it is often two hours.”
Merle Dandridge
“My trainer, Amoila Cesar, gets lots of results out of me by appealing to my ‘no quit,’ competitive side. He yells and I love it. During quarantine, I got my fix by doing his 6 Weeks of THE WORK on Beachbody on Demand. I also love a rigorous barre class and need daily yoga.”
Rachel Naomi Hilson
“I’ve been doing a lot of dancing in my apartment. I’ll turn on some music and just go. Sometimes it’s more structured, sometimes it’s interpretive, sometimes I twerk. Also hiking!”
Paige DeSorbo
“My go-to work out is P.Volve, I’ve gone to their classes for years and now I stream them at home. I try and workout at least 3 to 4 times a week even if its for 30 minutes. Its all about strengthening and elongating your muscles. It’s my favorite!”
