Olympic gold gymnast Aly Raisman said she was so exhausted from training that she struggled to wash her hair. Now she's advocating for more rest days.

• Aly Raisman, a former USA Gymnastics captain, said she'd spent the past year prioritizing self-care.
• Raisman said the trauma and stress of her competition years had lasting effects.
• She now advocates more rest, self-compassion, and gentle exercise like Pilates.

As captain of the women's gymnastics team, Aly Raisman led the US to gold-medal victories in 2012 and 2016, with countless hours of hard training and grueling practices.

Now she thinks there's something she could have done to improve her performance: work less and rest more.

-Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) June 25, 2021

Raisman recently said on Twitter that overtraining didn't improve her gymnastics and left her with lasting side effects.

After retiring in January 2020, she went from being at the height of her athletic career to struggling to complete daily activities, Raisman told Insider in an interview about her partnership with Club Pilates.

She said that a simple task like washing her hair was physically taxing and that she couldn't get through the day without a nap.

Years of accumulated mental and physical stress took a toll going into the pandemic year. A year later, Raisman said, she'd learned that patience and self-care are the keys to facing adversity.

Raisman focuses on self-compassion and small steps toward progress to cope with trauma

Raisman is one of more than 100 athletes affected by the abuse scandal involving a former USA Gymnastics team doctor, Larry Nassar. She said she'd been in therapy for the past five years to work through the lingering effects of the trauma and her anxiety.

"Even if I don't want to do therapy, I can feel the anxiety and, honestly, the trauma. I don't want to feel this way anymore," she said. "If I'm able to take a small step forward and just show up, that's really impactful and really helpful."

She's learned to be patient with herself on tough days, and she recognizes that progress doesn't happen overnight.

"I've had to meet myself where I'm at and take things one day at a time," she said. "I'm less upset about little things now."

Using exercise to manage anxiety and feel comfortable in your body

Raisman took time to recover from the intense training of competitive gymnastics and now uses exercise as a form of recovery.

She said Pilates had been helpful because of the focused, deliberate approach to movement.

"What I like about Pilates is that tiny movements make a big difference. The slightest movement of your leg can fire different muscles," Raisman said. "It really helps me stay present and in my body."

'If you want to change the world, work on yourself first'

Raisman said she was working on two new projects to help share what she'd learned with others who may be struggling with mental health and/or trauma.

The first is a children's book focused on teaching kids the importance of listening to their bodies and their boundaries and trusting their instinct if something feels wrong.

Raisman is also collaborating with Lifetime for a series about helping survivors of sexual assault heal from trauma.

All these efforts are possible, she said, because she was able to take a step back and prioritize her health and well-being.

"If I'm not taking care of myself, nourishing my mind and my body, I'm not going to be the best I can be," Raisman said. "If you want to change the world, work on yourself first."