‘I Was Cheating’: Simone Biles Recalls True Feelings About Pilates Class She’ll Never Try Again

It takes a lot to be America’s most decorated gymnast— no wonder Simone Biles found herself in the gym 6 days a week ahead of the Paris Olympics. Indeed, to carry out the most dreaded stunts, like the Yurchenko Double Pike, or simply to perform optimally, she needs to keep her fitness levels in check. But what exactly does she do for it? Go hard on strength training or opt for a low-impact workout that helps her body recover too?

Well, for one, she just returned to the gym recently, after a much-needed three-month break. Only this time, she opted for Pilates, a form of exercise that uses controlled movements to enhance one’s balance, core strength, mobility, and flexibility. But turns out, Simone Biles wasn’t much of a fan. After publically confessing that she’d never return to the bands and benches again, here’s the ‘why’ part of it.

Pilates— too big a challenge for the 7x gold medalist, Simone Biles?

Appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Simone Biles made a big revelation regarding her training preferences. When Kelly shared a personal anecdote and claimed that Pilates in New York was different (in a weird way), the gymnast jumped in to agree that it wasn’t just a big city problem. “I think it’s everywhere because I cannot do it to save my life,” Biles said with a laugh.

Coming from a gymnast with 30 world medals, this admission may be a little surprising. However, when Kelly explained how hard Pilates was— leaving her legs trembling and the teacher hovering near her to tell her, ‘You can do it,’— Simone Biles chimed in. Biles revealed what she would usually do in such a fix, “I was shaking and when the teacher wasn’t looking, I was cheating.”

While most wouldn’t expect this honesty from a gymnast who finds nothing too tall a challenge on the mat, Biles had nothing to hide. She even gave a frozen expression to show how she would be caught in a tough spot when the teacher returned next to her. All of this together suggested that this anaerobic exercise that may look like a ‘feel-good’ thing, is just not her cup of tea. “It’s not for me,”  Biles agreed.

In case you didn’t know, Simone Biles faced this difficulty back in 2020 too. While she spoke to Katie Ledecky and Joi Wade in an interview, Biles revealed her bitter experience from an elite-level Pilates class. She said, “I will not be doing that again,” for the exercise had left her body sore. But here we are in 2024, with the gymnast giving it a shot again.

Thus, we don’t truly know if this is the end of the Pilates road for her. But, guess we have an answer to the question — what is it that Simone Biles can’t do? And it’s just not Pilates. Turns out, there’s another thing that the gymnast is admittedly horrible at.

Biles finds this too difficult a task

The holiday season is here and everyone is getting those wrappings out to add that ‘exclusive’ factor to their presents. But when it’s this time of the year, Simone Biles finds herself struggling again. Why? Well, let’s say she’s terrible at adding a touch of beautification to the tokens that she hands out.

On the Kelly Clarkson Show, Biles was asked to pick and choose: “Wrapping or unwrapping gifts?” And that for her was a no-brainer. Simone Biles instantly replied, “Unwrapping, I am a horrible wrapper.” The gymnast further confessed that she let her husband, Jonathan Owens, handle this part of the duties.

Well, there’s another option too. If it was for her, Simone Biles would simplify the way things are done. “I don’t care what it is. Everything goes in bags, I’ll make Jonathan wrap his own Christmas presents,” Biles confessed. However, some, including Kelly would probably see this with a hint of disdain, “When someone hands me a bag…I am like, ‘So you threw this together?’,” the host said jokingly. Nonetheless, Biles’ poor wrapping skills are a revelation. What do you think of them? Let us know below!