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But it’s her atypical physique that really makes her stand out on the track.
Four-time Olympic gold-medal winner
Sprinters usually have bulky legs packed with fast-twitch muscles that deliver bursts of intense energy.
And what her legs may lack in size, they more than make up for in power.
She also mixes in classic weight training.
At 24, she became the American Ballet Theatre’s only African-American female soloist.
“I plank a lotwith a 40-pound sandbag on my back,” she says.
Since suffering a torn hamstring, Felix has had to work on a different skill: recovery.
Expect to see the payoff when she races at the 2016 Olympics.
In 2010, she traded in her private-banking career for a full-time yoga practice and is now a 500-hour registered instructor.
FEET"Having strong feet alleviates many shin problems from running.
I love my custom Nike Free 4.0s.
They’re made with less support, which lets me really strengthen all my muscles."
Currently ranked 14th on the women’s World Championship Tour
ARMS"How fast your arms move sets the pace for your legs.
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At 24, she became the American Ballet Theatre’s only African-American female soloist.
When Copeland began her ballet career at 17, her body seemed tailor-made for the role.
But that strength has been a liability at times.
She traded elliptical sessions, which had been her go-to, for pilates and gyrotonics.
In 2012, she suffered stress fractures to her tibia, so again, she adapted.
Copeland did Floor Barre classes, a program that focuses on classic ballet moves done lying down.
ARMS"I have women ask me all the time: ‘What do you do for your arms?
What weight do you lift?’
LEGS"The leg muscles are what really define dancers.
There are the inner-thigh muscles that you sculpt by constantly having your leg turned out.
And when we point and flex, you could see all the little muscles along the shin bone."
FEET"Dancing naturally strengthens your feet.
When I was recovering from my injury, I had to maintain that strength.
I used the pilates springboard.
It allowed me to mimic jumping while lying down."
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But you’d be wrong.
“I had to build so much strengththere’s always some element of strength to every pose.”
Yavorsky’s strategy: Create a core of steel.
“To engage the center, you have to pull up and in,” she explains.
“It allows you to use power from the center of your body.”
Between teaching and her personal practice, Yavorsky can spend eight hours a day on a yoga mat.
“I practice daily,” she says.
“It’s the ritual of expressing myself through movement that’s important to me.”
UPPER BACK"I needed to find openness in my chest area.
Above: Top, T by Alexander Wang, $295;AlexanderWang.com.
Her solution: training in the surf for up to four hours a day.
To build stamina, she does pilates, CrossFit and HIIT exercises.
Because when the perfect wave comes in, it’s all about who can paddle there first.
UPPER BODY"All of my power comes from my shoulders and upper back.
It’s what gets me into a wave; you have to paddle to get anywhere in the water.
I do push-ups, and over the years my arms have developed a certain muscle memory."
CORE"My core is crucial to stabilize me and balance all my turns.
When I surf, I’m tightening my abs the entire timesucking everything in and flexing."
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Bikini top, Lisa Marie Fernandez, $315;Shop.LisaMarieFernandez.com.
Bikini bottom, $36;Billabong.com.
Necklace, Dezso by Sara Beltran, $6,160;DezsoSara.com
Styled by Melissa Ventosa Martin.
Photo Credit: Christian Ferretti
