We Love That This Olympic Athlete Wants to Gain Weight Before Her Wedding

(Photo: Instagram / @emmacoburn)While most brides-to-be are hitting the gym as much as possible [...]

By Libby Birk

emma-coburn
(Photo: Instagram / @emmacoburn)

While most brides-to-be are hitting the gym as much as possible trying to slim down, Olympic steeplechase runner Emma Coburn told PEOPLE that she actually wants to gain weight before her big day in October.

Click through the slideshow to see how much weight she wants to gain and how she's going to do it.

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A post shared by Emma Coburn (@emmacoburn) on

Coburn says that she typically loses 10 pounds during racing season, and wants to gain it back before her wedding.

"My racing season will end in the middle of September, and I'll be at my lowest weight, pretty lean, pretty cut. I'm hoping that I can just bounce back to a sustainable off-season weight," the 26-year-old Red Bull athlete told PEOPLE.

"I feel a little more comfortable how I look that way, and I like feeling a little bit more curvy rather than super, super cut," she continues. "In a race scenario, I like feeling really cut and really lean — that gives me confidence that I'm ready to race — but in a wedding dress, I don't necessarily want to see my abs showing through my dress. I'd rather just be a little softer and curvier for that setting."

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Coburn says that she naturally loses weight during training season due to her intense workout and race schedule.

"For my sport, it's really important to stay lean and strong," she says. "It's less about what the scale says and more about eating right and lifting weights and putting in a lot of miles. Just the nature of training as the season progresses and the intensity increases, I naturally just shed weight."

After her season ends, Coburn plans to indulge a bit more with her diet and lower the intensity of her workouts in order to be a bit "curvier" for the wedding.

"It will hopefully be an easy transition," she says. "I'll really start eating whatever and exercising if I feel like it, but no serious training and very light weights if I go to the gym. During my off-season, I naturally gain a little bit of weight, but it definitely will be fun!"

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I swear he loves me ;) happy vday boo. @joebosshard

A post shared by Emma Coburn (@emmacoburn) on

Coburn is excited to relax during the off season and enjoy the weeks leading up to her wedding.

"Most brides leading up to their wedding are stressing out about all the calories they're consuming and doing crazy workouts, and that just adds to the stress of it," she says. "Between the end of my season and the wedding, I have a bachelorette party and lots of celebrations along the way, so it will be fun to just really be able to relax and let my body recover from the long racing season, and just have a lot of fun with my friends and family and gain 10 lbs. through the process!"

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