Development Zone®

   

PCA Resource Center

Sam Peszek on How to Create Positive Body Image for Young Girls

Share This Resource

In addition to being a broadcaster and the founder of Beam Queen Bootcamp, Sam Peszek is an Olympic Gymnast. As an elite gymnast, she was part of the gold-medal-winning American teams at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2007 and was later on selected as a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 2008. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the U.S. took home a silver medal. After her Olympic debut, she went on to compete in college for the UCLA Bruins. At UCLA, Peszek became a 17-time All-American, the 2011 and 2015 balance beam champion, and 2015 all-around co-champion. After retiring from competition in 2015, Peszek was hired as an announcer for the Pac-12 network and went on to found Beam Queen Boot Camp in 2017.

In this video, Sam Peszek shares how to help create positive body image for young girls, especially in a sport like gymnastics. She begins by discussing how, as a coach, you can create a positive relationship with food. She states how when she was younger, her coach wouldn't let her, or anyone else, practice if they hadn't had breakfast that morning. She concludes by stating that correlating food with fuel for your body is a great way to build a positive relationship with food, and therefore a positive body image.