Sydney Sweeney’s Favorite Workout Is Not for the Faint of Heart

The best workout is one that doesn’t feel like a workout, according to actress Sydney Sweeney.

The Euphoria star, 26, shared an out-of-the-box favorite sport during an interview with Women’s Health: slalom water skiing, which requires participants to be strapped to a single ski, rather than one on each foot.

“It’s a lot of upper body strength, it’s balance, it’s core, it’s legs—you get tired really fast,” Sweeney told the outlet. “I see such a change in my body after an entire summer of [skiing]. My arms are stronger, more sculpted. My abs are rock solid. But I never look at it as a workout because it is so much fun.”

And aside from being physically good for her, Sweeney says water skiing is good for her mentally, too.  

“It’s a rare moment when I can actually just hear myself breathing, where everything else goes quiet,” Sweeney said. “No one else is back there with me — just me, the ski, the lake behind the boat. All I’m thinking about is skiing, and there are not many things that allow my brain to shut off that way.”

Research has found that exercise can help put you in a calming, meditative state similar to meditation, and that physical activity may actually be more beneficial for stress reduction than mindfulness meditation practices. A 2023 meta-analysis also found that adults who regularly exercise have a lower risk of depression, compared to adults who don’t exercise at all. And doing a workout you enjoy means you’re more likely to stay consistent.

Pushing herself to meet a challenge, whether it’s at work or on the water, makes Sweeney feel fulfilled. 

“I know that my body can keep going — it’s more just that mental challenge to push myself through,” she said. “I take that skill into skiing, into acting, into anything I do, because it’s always more mental than physical. Of course you have to train, but it’s mind over matter at the end of the day.”