In our first-ever “body” issue, we wanted to find a unique way to celebrate this precious gift we all have. What better way than to feature those who use their bodies to make a living?

Here we showcase 10 professional athletes from various disciplines, all of whom have very distinct body types. This visually demonstrates how differently we’re all made and the ways in which fitness sculpts our bodies depending on the type of training.

1) Lauran Janes, 31
Professional Yoga Instructor

Regular Training
Six days a week for a total of about 10 to 12 hours. I do Anusara Yoga everyday for at least an hour, run or bike anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes three times a week, do heavy leg weights at least once a week and try to dance whenever and wherever (dance floor, kitchen, shower) I can.

Most Developed Parts of the Body
My back, shoulders, arms and lungs. Yoga awakened the musculature of my "back-body," shoulders and arms like nothing else. The practice also taught me how to breathe with sensitivity, consciousness and breath.

Example Workouts
For opening the lungs and warming the body, I start with 10 to 15 minutes of Sun Salutes, syncopating my breath and the movement. I try to move patiently, concentrating on long, smooth inhalations and exhalations. Sun Salutes expand my breathing capacity while calming my mind.

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2) Jeff Ogden, 35
Former Professional Football Player (Wide Receiver)

Regular Training
I do resistance training four days a week for 45 minutes each day and mix it up with cardio three days per week.

Most Developed Parts of the Body
I believe in developing muscles specifically for a desired goal or sport. In the NFL, shoulders were my primary focus because I took a lot of hits to that area. My lower body training consists mostly of speed work and explosive running.

Example Workouts
I like to do lateral shoulder raises immediately followed by dumbbell shoulder presses. Upright rows (shoulders) with a slow, controlled lowering of weight is also a great workout. For lower body, I mimic a running movement by doing lunges on a Smith Machine and driving my trailing leg through after each repetition.

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3) Kane Waselenchuk, 29
Professional Racquetball Player (No. 1 in the world)

Regular Training
Off the court, I train four days a week for about two hours each time. The other three days, I spend anywhere from two to three hours on the court. I really try to focus on my shoulders and core and work on quickness and balance. These are all very important in racquetball.

Most Developed Parts of the Body
I have to have total body fitness, but there’s great emphasis on shoulder stability and core.

Example Workouts
This is a great workout I do during the season to keep my conditioning at a high level. It consists of three sets of 15 of each of the following:
• axe chop (all planes/core)
• lateral lunge with rotation
• side to side on a bosu for change of direction
• pull-ups
• one-leg balance with a medicine ball toss
• speed ladder

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4) Gilbert Tuhabonye, 35
Former Professional Distance Runner

Regular Training
I go by mileage and when I’m training for a marathon I do somewhere between 50 and 75 miles. I do a variation of running hills, the track, long and tempo runs as well as fartleks on the trail because it’s easier on my body. When I’m not in training mode, I typically do an hour-long 10-mile run three days a week and hills the other three days. I take Sundays off. To compliment all the running, I also do full-body resistance workouts three days a week, lifting free weights and using medicine balls. Finally, I do a lot of plyometric exercises to work on my form and explosive power.

Most Developed Parts of the Body
Because I’ve been running for so long, I think my legs are the strongest part of my body. My core is also very strong which helps me avoid injuries, and my lungs and heart are extremely fit. I try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and drink about six gallons of water every day to beat the Austin heat and keep my body in tip-top condition.

Example Workouts
A great leg workout for me is running backwards up hills, preferably around a 10 percent grade. The steepest part of Wilke is usually where I go. Plus, I do a lot of lunges, hops, skips and jumps, as well as leg extensions when I’m at the gym.

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5) Trey Hardee, 26
Professional Track and Field Athlete (Decathlon)

Regular Training
What don’t I do? I train anywhere from 25 to 35 hours per week. Six days a week, I’m Olympic lifting, working on acceleration development, doing speed endurance workouts, tempo runs, lots of sprint drills and hours of technical practice for events like the hurdles, javelin, shot put, discus, long jump, pole vault and high jump.

Most Developed Parts of the Body
Probably my core, hips and shoulders.

Example Workouts
I think medicine balls are incredible tools to develop your entire body. We have circuits with a six-kilogram medicine ball that involves overhead throws, rotations, twists, static holds and dynamic/power throws. We try to mimic the movements that we use during decathlon throws and jumps. It definitely is the key to overall strength in my hips and core. Plus, holding the medicine ball for 10 minutes straight really burns your shoulders.

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6) Ashley Lynn Gilfix, 28
Professional Ballet Dancer

Regular Training
During the season (August through May) I train and rehearse seven hours a day, five days a week. I usually practice yoga and Pilates a couple times a week for additional conditioning and cross-training. During the off-season, I continue to take ballet class three to five times per week, while increasing my cross training, adding Bikram to my yoga practice, more advanced Pilates, low-impact cardio and boot-camp with my trainer Sarah Stewart.

Most Developed Parts of the Body
Probably my core and legs.

Example Workouts
For my core, I do smooth, controlled abdominal crunches concentrating on scooping my navel into my spine. Pliés (the ballet word for squats), lunges and my favorite Pilates series called "hip on the side" (side-lying hip exercises that work rotation and abduction) really work my legs. When I’m doing conditioning exercises I usually use my own body weight or a thera-band for resistance and focus on lots of reps for tone rather than bulk.

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7) Garrett Weber-Gale, 24
Professional Swimmer (2-time Gold Medalist; freestyle)

Regular Training
I generally train three mornings per week for an hour and a half. Each afternoon I either do dry land or weights for 90 minutes, then hit the pool for two hours of swimming. We swim for two hours on Saturday. Sunday is our day off.

Most Developed Parts of the Body
The most developed parts of my body are my legs, lats and core.

Example Workouts
It’s rare that I do a written, pre-defined workout. My coach believes that if you get into a routine of knowing the workout ahead of time, then the workout is in charge. Plus, the body is different everyday and your training needs to be able to adapt. In the weight room I love doing leg work like squats and dead lifts; a pretty intense one is four sets of 12 reps each in 90 seconds. If I’m in the pool I like to kick eight or ten 100's all out on a big interval of about three minutes. This prepares me for concentrated and sustained leg work I experience during races.

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8) Aaron Peirsol, 26
Professional Swimmer (7-time Olympic Medalist; backstroke)

Regular Training
I work out between two and five hours a day, six days a week. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I spend my mornings and afternoons in the water, lifting weights in between (before the afternoon session). My morning session lasts about 90 minutes, the weight routine takes about an hour and the afternoon swim workout is about two hours long. Tuesday and Thursday start with a 40-minute core workout, followed by two hours in the pool. On Saturday, I swim for two hours, then the rest of the weekend is mine.

Most Developed Parts of the Body
My core and lungs.

Example Workouts
For a core workout, body weight exercises are extremely effective. We do a lot of plank poses and sit-ups, using bosu and swiss balls. We also incorporate hanging abs where we raise our legs to our hands.

The best way to work the lungs is through cardio. In the water, you can really work on lung fitness because you often have to hold your breath while swimming. This really adds to the intensity of the workout. For me, a tough variation is throwing some back-to-back “no breath” 25s in during a swim.

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9) Pat Evoe, 32
Professional Triathlete

Regular Training
In my big Ironman build weeks, I can put in 400 miles on the bike, 70 miles of running and 23,000 yards of swimming. Then when you throw in some stretching, a few core exercises and a couple stretch cord sessions for swimming strength, my total workout time is in the 35 to 38 hour per week range. That's for my biggest build weeks.

Most Developed Parts of the Body
By far the most important and developed part of my body is my cardiovascular system (heart and lungs). Because I train for nine-hour races, my cardiovascular efficiency and muscular endurance are critical. For swimming, strong back and shoulder muscles are important and strong legs are needed for cycling and running. But just as important as strong leg muscles for running and cycling is my power-to-weight ratio; I need to be strong, but I also need to be light.

Example Workouts
To strengthen your cardiovascular system, you need a mixture of different workouts. For running, base miles are done at a more conversational pace, whereas lactate threshold workouts are more like mile repeats. VO2 max efforts are along the lines of three minutes or less efforts: 400s or 800s on the track or short hill repeats. The last important piece of the puzzle are tempo workouts, where you spend time at or near your race pace. Tempo workouts are important to prepare your body to sustain your goal pace on race day.

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10) Roger Huerta, 27
Professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Fighter

Regular Training
When I'm getting ready for a fight, I train anywhere from six to eight hours a day, six days a week. Every day is different, but all days consist of some sort of cardio – whether it’s running, biking or swimming intervals. I also get in cardio by doing pad work, where one of my trainers holds focus mitts or Thai pads to get my hands and legs going. When I don't have a fight scheduled, I still workout six days a week. I try to focus on one good workout a day in the gym and my MMA-specific training three times per week to stay sharp.

Most Developed Parts of the Body
I would have to say that I'm a pretty well-rounded athlete. I do my best to keep my body balanced – from working hard with strength and conditioning exercises to synergizing with yoga. And eating balanced meals is key; basically, just staying away from junk food. If I had to pick one standout body part, I would probably say my legs. I continue to work them hard because they carry me through my fights.

Example Workouts
For explosive power I like to do a lot of plyometric exercises; both ground-based and with boxes. A basic workout consists of jumping lunges, medicine ball chest passes, two to one foot box jumps, medicine ball slams and burpees. I usually do 20 reps of each exercise, rest one minute and repeat 10 times.

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