What makes the Sports Illustrated swimsuit special? Models are keeping it real by eating cheeseburgers and practicing affirmations before posing in bikinis. That’s thanks to editor MJ Day, who has changed the annual swimsuit magazine’s mission in recent years to focus on empowerment, featuring the likes of Martha Stewart, Hunter McGrady and, this year, Gayle King. But even for professional models, the goal is authenticity. “This particular legend class that we are celebrating for the 60th [anniversary] It really represents what swimsuits look like today,” Day told Yahoo Life.
These women “haven’t been to the gym and starved themselves in six months, which I feel like in the past, we’ve all heard stories about,” says Day, who encouraged King, 69, not to change anything about her fitness routine. exercise or nutrition before your first photo shoot with the brand.
“I thought I was going to cut back on my eating, but I didn’t even do that,” King tells PEOPLE. “The day before, I ate a cheeseburger. It’s one of my favorite things.”
The other models in the edition have their own routines to prepare them for filming. Here, some of this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit favorites share theirs.
Camille Kostek
“I think when I was younger I trained and did two [workouts a day] and you know, maybe I would cut certain things out of my diet,” the 2019 cover star told Yahoo Life about her first photos for the publication. Upon returning to her seventh consecutive year in the magazinehowever, Kostek is more focused on cultivating a positive mindset and letting her confidence radiate that way.
“It’s a mental game,” she says. “[It takes] a lot of journaling, a lot of self-talk and looking in the mirror and saying, ‘I love you.’”
Hunter McGrady
“I still make my statements. I will never stop this. They just changed,” McGrady, who is one of Cover Templates 2024, told Yahoo Life. “At first they said, ‘I want to love my hips. I want to love the way my eyebrows are super thick. Now, they are much deeper.”
McGrady credits having two children for this change in perspective and giving her more gratitude. “It really makes everything feel a little brighter, which in turn, of course, makes you feel a little more grounded and able to really take in every moment. This is something that has changed drastically in me. And that transcends my confidence, who I am as a person. And I think that’s very important.”
Kamie Crawford
“Fitness has become a huge part of my life just for overall well-being,” said the television host and model, who appears on its third consecutive edition of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, told Yahoo Life. “I don’t really have fitness goals in mind and I think, ‘This is exactly how I want to be.’ It’s more than I want to feel. … So working out is definitely something I do to prepare myself mentally.”
Crawford has also recently adopted journaling and tries to abstain from alcohol. “Mentally, you feel more energized when you don’t have a glass of wine every night,” she says.
Nina Agdal
Agdal was on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s 50th anniversary issue in 2014. Now, she returns as a future mother.
“My focus for the shoot was just developing my mental strength and reminding myself how these changes in my body are a sign of life and how amazing that feels,” she tells Yahoo Life. “Positive affirmations for yourself can change a lot. So even in the days leading up to it, and especially the morning after, just talking to yourself internally – as if you were your best friend – really makes a difference.”
Music also helps. “Having a few songs that make you feel good and confident in yourself can really change the trajectory of the day,” says Agdal.
Xandra Pohl
The professional DJ told Yahoo Life that she was inspired by her pre-show ritual when preparing for her Sports Illustrated’s first swimsuit photo shoot.
“I’m the most extroverted person. But five minutes before I go to a DJ gig, I need some quiet time to save some of my energy,” she says. The same happened when she was arriving at the beach for filming.
