Science
Q&A: Make the most of your workouts by training like the athletes of Team USA
The past two weeks of Olympic competition in Paris have brought us amazing stories of athletic skill, speed, triumph and redemption.
Perhaps they’ve left you newly inspired to train for a 10K or win your weekend basketball league.
Even if you’re not destined to compete on a world stage, learning how to fuel your body and mind like some of the country’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes may help you boost your own game.
Frederick Richard helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team win a bronze medal, their first Olympic hardware in 16 years. San Diegan Tate Carew finished fifth in the men’s skateboard park final, and swimmer Ali Truwit — who lost part of her leg in a shark attack last year — will hit the pool in the coming weeks.
All three told The Times about the habits that earned them their spots on Team USA. Their comments have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
How do you psych yourself up to work out on days when you just aren’t feeling it?
Frederick Richard: I have been in the gym since I was about 4 years old. I’m there because I love it but even so, there are days when I’m a little less inspired. On those days, I try to remember that it is the process that I enjoy and trust, which keeps me focused.
Ali Truwit: Knowing the deeper meaning of what I’m doing and why is my source of mental toughness on the days I’m not feeling like practicing. Right now, that larger purpose for me is turning trauma into hope and showing the world what people with disabilities are capable of. It drives me forward, even when I’m feeling sad or exhausted or in pain.
Is it OK to skip warming up or cooling down if you’re short on time?
Tate Carew: I rarely go into skating without stretching or warming up in some way. I’d rather have a shorter session knowing that I am preventing petty injuries.
FR: The warm-up and cool-down is not something to miss. You have to take care of your body.
What do you eat when you need a quick nutrition boost?
TC: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
FR: Celsius is my go-to drink when I need a little boost.
AT: I like to compete with a light stomach, so I like gluten-free pretzels or sometimes an apple. I love some mini Starbursts right before my race — a little sugar kick.
Do you have any tips about how to space out your meals and snacks?
FR: I definitely try not to eat too close to when I am going to bed.
TC: When I’m hungry, there is no such thing as a bad time to eat.
Any tips for staying properly hydrated? If you get sick of drinking water, is there anything you substitute instead?
AT: I carry a water bottle everywhere, all the time and try to just always be drinking. I also love Gatorade Zero!
TC: Watermelon has been a great substitute for me if I don’t feel like drinking water.
How do you get over jet lag when you travel for competitions?
FR: We generally try to get to places a day or two prior to the competition so that we can adjust to the time and the surroundings. For the Olympics we got to France about a week in advance.
AT: The way to handle conditions that aren’t ideal is to have handled them many times before in your practices. Then you know and believe you can do well anyway.
If you have trouble falling asleep the night before a high-stakes competition, what do you do?
AT: I’ve learned to put habits in place — like warm showers, relaxing mantras and funny shows — that take my mind to a more peaceful place.
FR: I try not to get too stressed, which I can do if I keep the big picture in mind. Trusting in the process is the key for me. I did bring my own mattress to Paris though!
Are there any mindfulness or meditation exercises that you find helpful?
TC: Whenever my mind feels extremely cluttered, I ask myself, “What problem do I have at this very moment?” Meaning, even if you are dealing with a lot in your home life, relationships, work, etc., what problems are you dealing with at that very moment?
AT: I love calm.com and Tamara Levitt! She has a very soothing voice, helpful big-picture insights, and breathwork. I also use progressive muscle relaxation as I’m trying to fall asleep, and I think that encourages the mind and body to let go.
How do you filter out distractions when it’s time to compete?
TC: I made my goals this year so clear that nothing would get in the way of me succeeding.
AT: I remind myself that work works and I’ve done the work. That helps a lot. One of the many reasons I train so hard is so that I can say that to myself before races.
I also just love racing so when I’m in a race, it’s often the only time of day for me that my mind is totally clear and focused.
If you make a mistake in the middle of a competition, how do you move forward instead of dwelling on it?
FR: I know that gymnastics is a judged sport so perfection is difficult. I also know that everyone is going to have some mistakes.
TC: Everything happens for a reason. In a way, it’s motivating for me.
Are there any other tips you’d like to share?
AT: Focus on what you love about competing — the people, the places, the habits you’ve ingrained in yourself, the joys of the process — and the rewards will be there no matter what.
These comments have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
WASHINGTON — Amid growing national security concerns, the FBI said Tuesday that it has launched a broad investigation in the deaths or disappearances of at least 10 scientists and staff connected to highly sensitive research, including four from the Los Angeles area.
“The FBI is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists. We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and state and local law enforcement partners to find answers,” the agency said in a statement.
The FBI’s announcement comes after the House Oversight Committee announced that it would investigate reports of the disappearance and deaths of the scientists, sending letters seeking information from the agencies involved in the federal inquiry as well as NASA, which owns the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, where three of the missing or dead scientists worked.
“If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets,” Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the committee, and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) wrote in the letters.
President Trump told reporters last week that he had been briefed on the missing and dead scientists, which he described as “pretty serious stuff.” He said at the time that he expected answers on whether the deaths were connected “in the next week and a half.”
Michael David Hicks, who studied comets and asteroids at JPL, was the first of the scientists who disappeared or died. He died on July 30, 2023, at the age of 59. No cause of death was disclosed.
A year later, JPL physicist Frank Maiwald died at 61, with no cause of death disclosed.
Two other Los Angeles scientists are part of the string of deaths and disappearances.
On June 22, 2025, Monica Jacinto Reza, a materials scientist at JPL, disappeared while on a hike near Mt. Waterman in the San Gabriel Mountains.
On Feb. 16, Caltech astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was fatally shot on the porch of his Llano home. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department arrested Freddy Snyder, 29, in connection with the shooting. Snyder had been arrested in December on suspicion of trespassing on Grillmair’s property.
Snyder has been charged with murder.
There is no evidence at this point that the deaths and disappearances, which occurred over a span of four years, are connected.
A spokesperson for NASA, which owns JPL, said in a statement on X that the agency is “coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists.
“At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat,” agency spokesperson Bethany Stevens wrote. “The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as able.”
Representatives from Caltech, which manages JPL, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The sun had barely risen over the Pacific Ocean when a small motorboat carrying a team of Indigenous artisans and Mexican biologists dropped anchor in a rocky cove near Bahías de Huatulco.
Mauro Habacuc Avendaño Luis, one of the craftsmen, was the first to wade to shore. With an agility belying his age, he struck out over the boulders exposed by low tide. Crouching on a slippery ledge pounded by surf, he reached inside a crevice between two rocks. There, lodged among the urchins, was a snail with a knobby gray shell the size of a walnut. The sight might not dazzle tourists who travel here to see humpback whales, but for Mr. Avendaño, 85, these drab little mollusks represent a way of life.
Marine snails in the genus Plicopurpura are sacred to the Mixtec people of Pinotepa de Don Luis, a small town in southwestern Oaxaca. Men like Mr. Avendaño have been sustainably “milking” them for radiant purple dye for at least 1,500 years. The color suffuses Mixtec textiles and spiritual beliefs. Called tixinda, it symbolizes fertility and death, as well as mythic ties between lunar cycles, women and the sea.
The future of these traditions — and the fate of the snails — are uncertain. The mollusks are subject to intense poaching pressure despite federal protections intended to protect them. Fishermen break them (and the other mollusks they eat) open and sell the meat to local restaurants. Tourists who comb the beaches pluck snails off the rocks and toss them aside.
A severe earthquake in 2020 thrust formerly submerged parts of their habitat above sea level, fatally tossing other mollusks in the snail’s food web to the air, and making once inaccessible places more available to poachers.
Decades ago, dense clusters of snails the size of doorknobs were easy to find, according to Mr. Avendaño. “Full of snails,” he said, sweeping a calloused, violet-stained hand across the coves. Now, most of the snails he finds are small, just over an inch, and yield only a few milliliters of dye.
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