"It's such a rude awakening": LSU's Olivia Dunne reveals adjusting to difficult gymnastic training after a "crazy summer"

American gymnast Olivia Dunne opened up about her workout regime in a conversation with fellow LSU athlete Flau’jae Johnson. Dunne appeared as a special guest on Flau’jae Johnson's ‘Best of Both Worlds with Flau’jae’ on September 20. During the episode, she explained about her training and conditioning as a gymnast.

Dunne explained how gymnastics is one of the most physically demanding sports, as the athletes have to train all their muscles. She also explained that it is often difficult to train for the sport after taking a long break or, in her case, after spending a "crazy summer."

"I think all sports have like different levels of like how hard you need to train for your sport but gymnastics is obviously your own body weight and your job is to make it look easy," she said. "Like if you're not making it look easy then you're not doing it right." (13:03)

"For the fifth year back, we have this conditioning test and it's eight exercises and it's like kind of what we did in Elite Gymnastics, which is very hard...if you fail any exercise you can't train until you can pass. So that you're in your best physical shape and so you don't get hurt. But it's just hard like coming back from such a crazy summer and then having to do these things. It's such a rude awakening."

Olivia Dunne attended the 2024 ESPY Awards and made an appearance at the 2024 MLB All-Star game along with her boyfriend, Paul Skenes, another LSU icon.

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Olivia Dunne is not done yet

Even after winning gold with LSU this year, it seems like Livvy Dunne is not done just yet. She is coming back to compete in her fifth and final year as a college gymnast.

Olivia Dunne took to Instagram to break the news. The athlete posted a video and in it, she said:

“Dear LSU, these past four years have changed my life. There is something about putting on a purple and gold leotard. There's something about competing in front of 13,000 screaming tiger fans.”

“There's something about being pushed by your coaches to be your very best," Olivia Dunne added. "And there's something about being part of a team that made school history. And no matter how many opportunities come my way off the mat, there's just something about LSU. And that's why I'm here to say, I'm not done yet.”

Olivia Dunne is the second-highest-earning NIL athlete in America and the highest-earning female athlete in women's college sports, as per On3 Sports. The LSU Tigers fans would certainly be excited to see Olivia deliver a performance of a lifetime in her last appearance next year.