How Megan Rapinoe Is Approaching Health and Wellness As She Gets Older

Megan Rapinoe may be known for her soccer skills, but the two-time World Cup champion and advocate for equal pay and LGBTQ+ rights enjoys getting her sweat on off the field too. She reveals her favorite ways to work out that don't involve kicking a soccer ball and how she's approaching health and wellness these days in a new interview with Bustle.

"Weight training is really big for me," Rapinoe told the publication. "Obviously, I run a lot playing soccer, but I also make sure that I strength train and pay attention to how everything's working in my body, especially as I get older."

The soccer star definitely has the right idea here. Weightlifting offers many benefits, including strengthening bones, which is vital to women's health with age. Weight training also helps prevent injuries, improves performance during other exercises, and increases flexibility.

In addition to soccer and lifting weights, Rapinoe also enjoys Pilates. "I feel like it strengthens you from the inside out," she said in the recent interview. If you haven't heard, Pilates involves controlling the body efficiently, whether doing movements on a mat or on a reformer machine. It's low impact and focuses on stretching and strengthening the body by pairing movements with breath.

The soccer star isn't the only celebrity to call out Pilates as one of their favorite workouts at the moment. Jennifer Aniston has long been a fan of the low-impact form of exercise, and Kate Hudson recently showed off her Pilates skills in a TikTok video. What's more, Richa Moorjani of Never Have I Ever told Shape Pilates has helped her chronic pain.

When Rapinoe isn't playing soccer, weight training, or doing Pilates, you might find her taking it easy. "Rest is also really important," she told Bustle. "It's how I get the maximum out of my workouts and how I make sure my body's recovering."

So how exactly does she unwind? Rapinoe enjoys walking, stretching, and taking a hot shower before bed. Epsom salt baths are also one of her go-to ways to relax, she said in the recent interview. "Sometimes I'll take an Epsom salt bath before a game, just to loosen everything up. But it's also a nice self-care nighttime routine that calms everything down and allows me to relax a little bit before I go to bed."

To Rapinoe, taking care of herself isn't about forcing it or checking things off of a list. "I'll think, 'Oh, I'm actually feeding my body and this is really all just for me,'" she explained. "It frames [health and wellness] in a different way and allows me space to change and move with the different seasons as I get older."