Gabby Douglas is giggly. It's the Tuesday afternoon before the P&G Gymnastics Championships and the reigning Olympic all-around champ is taking a break between workouts at Banker's Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. In two days, she will make her return to U.S. nationals after a three-year hiatus and begin the march toward the 2016 Rio Olympics. She should be tense. Nervous. And serious. Right?
"You know what? I'm having fun," Douglas says. "I love to have fun and you have to enjoy what you do. I'm so happy being back on the competition floor and competing. Just being back at nationals again has me excited."
It's an incredible departure from four years ago, when the stress of competing for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team almost drove her from the sport. This time around, as she approaches her most important meet since winning gold in London, Douglas says she's feeling strong, mentally and physically, and is competing with a confidence she didn't have as a 15-year-old. She's also taking this year one meet at a time.
"I want to make it onto the 2015 world championship team and make the national team this week," she says. During her downtime, Douglas shared how she plans to pursue that goal.
1. Embracing her new strength
For the most part, Douglas says her six-days-per-week workouts haven't changed. Her body, however? That's a different story. "When I came back, at first I was a little upset that I grew," Douglas says, adding that she was recently measured at 5-foot-2½, 3 inches taller than when she competed in London at age 16.
"My mom's shaking her head right now," Douglas says. "She doesn't believe I'm that tall. But I think growing helped my gymnastics. Once I took a few turns and adjusted to the bars, my skills came back so easily. I feel more powerful on all the events. Physically, I'm stronger than before." That strength, she says, does more than boost her vaults; it lifts her confidence.
2. Drawing on her experience
It has been three years since Douglas competed at nationals and only five months since she returned to the competition floor. But, she says, "I am much stronger in my mindset than I was last time around. Before, I would think to myself, 'I think I have this.' Now I am more competitive and aggressive. I think, 'Yes. I have this. Let's go.'"
It might sound like semantics, but Douglas says that shift in her thinking has given her the confidence to believe she can be the first gymnast in four decades to repeat as Olympic all-around champ. "Experience plays a big role," Douglas says. "I know what to expect and I know the procedure. I'm grateful I was able to have the experience of 2012 to bring into this next year."
3. Meditating on success
Douglas' routine before and after training and competition includes quieting her mind. "Meditating has helped me so much," she says. "I have a lot of scriptures I meditate on and it gives me peace and makes me feel mentally stronger and more confident."
She struggled to find peace three years ago, so she's grateful for her current calm. "I wanted to quit gymnastics right before the Olympics in 2012. Obviously I wasn't in a good spot with my mindset," she says. "I'm in a better place now. I'm more dedicated than ever about doing what I love." Meditating also helps Douglas block out external chatter and focus inward. What have those moments taught her?
"That fighting for your dreams, no matter what the risk, no matter what people say," she says, "it's always worth it."
4. Fueling up like a champ
Douglas is the first to admit her strong, slender physique has come to her more easily than most: "I have been blessed with an amazing body type," she says. But keeping her body healthy at 19 poses different challenges than maintaining it at 16, when her diet was a sugar-fueled afterthought.
"I thought about my diet when I was younger, but not like I do now," Douglas says. "I eat more protein and I cut out the sugar. I really wanted to eat healthy." Pre- and post-workout conditioning, rest and sleep, she says, are also more of a focus as she nears her 20th birthday in December.
5. Playing her cards right
At the Jesolo Trophy in Italy in March, Douglas finished fourth, 3.2 points behind two-time reigning world all-around champ Simone Biles. In July, she finished second behind Biles at the Secret U.S. Classic in Chicago, closing that gap to 1.9 points. In Indy, Douglas will compete with the same routines, but she says with improved consistency on all four rotations, she will continue to challenge Biles.
"Simone is a great competitor and I love that she is in the mix," Douglas says. "That's what competition is all about. We both push each other and it's healthy competition. It'd be boring if there was no one else out there doing great gymnastics. I just want to show everyone and also myself that I can come back out here and do it again. My strategy is to do what I've been doing in training and be consistent and confident. Even when you have good routines, there is always something you can improve."
Over the next year, Douglas says she will begin to upgrade her routines, debuting new skills and increasing her start values. "Stay tuned, there's more to come," she says. "I can't play all my best cards yet. I'm saving those. Those stay in the back pocket."