By Lindsey Boyd (@lindsboyd3):
She steps on a scale every week to face a number, but the number“doesn’t matter.” After all, the muscular figure reflected back in the mirror determines her ideal weight.
She performs her skills without fatigue, but her eyes fixate on the competitor falling like a soldier in a midst of showering bullets — the girl who faints off the beam. “No girls are victims of eating disorders,” she is reminded. Some are just experimenting with the right formula for food and exercise.
Eating to maintain a certain body image weighs on some gymnasts more than others, but most agree that healthy eating is a motivation to perform better.
“We are dancing around in little tight leotards so it’s definitely in your head to constantly be like ‘ok, I need to be in shape,’” said graduated senior gymnast Rachel Heinl. “But when you eat better, you perform better.”
Despite female athletes dealing with inner body image demons, a number of collegiate athletic departments have no in-house programs set up for assisting athletes with mental health. Student-athletes privately speak with a sports trainer or coach who refer them to a therapist.
“Auburn, UCLA, USC. We never had someone in the same building that was addressing those issues at all,” said SJSU head performance coach Gary Uribe when describing the lack of mental health programs.
For years athletes have dealt with eating disorders, yet the same protocol of sending athletes to outside therapists is used. An athlete first must realize they have an eating disorder and then must seek out a coach to admit they needing guidance from a therapist.
Body image may exhaust a gymnast’s mind, but the physicality of the sport takes a tole on the body. SJSU gymnasts practice skills and routines for over four hours a day, five days a week. Pre-season is the most challenging time for conditioning.
“It’s hard right now because we are in pre-season, so we do a lot of cardio and we do weights two to three times a week,” said all-around gymnast Stephanie Relova.
During regular season, the team will focus more on polishing its routines and will do light strength training. The goal is to build strong muscle, but not bulky muscle.
To get through tough practices and competition, athletes must rely on the support of their team members.
“You live through the other girls so much,” Heinl said.
The outer strength displayed in the mirror can be perfect, but her capabilities are nothing alone. She gathers inner strength for her teammates. Her team’s happiness will enlighten her own self-happiness.