Blake Lively, the Hollywood star and mother of four, consistently turns heads with her stunning physique. While some may assume she adheres to an extreme or restrictive regimen, her approach to fitness and diet is surprisingly balanced and sustainable. Let’s delve into the details of how she stays in such incredible shape.
The Blake Lively Workout Philosophy
Lively’s fitness routine, guided by her long-time trainer Don Saladino, emphasizes both strength and overall well-being, not just aesthetics. Saladino’s approach focuses on building a resilient body that can handle the demands of her busy life. With a focus on long-term health, the aim is to ensure her body doesn’t break down, whether she’s on the road, changing time zones, running businesses, or being a mom.
Strength Training is Key
Strength training forms the core of Blake’s fitness plan. Saladino emphasizes the importance of core, glute, and arm strength. Her workouts often incorporate exercises like:
- Squats: A fundamental movement for lower body strength.
- Lunges: Varied lunges, including weighted and walking lunges, with glute squeezes.
- Deadlifts: Including kettlebell deadlifts, essential for overall power.
- Push-ups: A classic exercise for upper body and core strength.
- Farmer Carries: Weight-carrying exercises that build full-body strength and endurance.
- Split Squats: A unilateral movement that improves balance and leg strength.
These exercises help tone muscles and enhance overall strength. Lively’s dedication is evident in her willingness to push beyond prescribed limits, increasing reps when feeling energized.
Varied Training for Optimal Results
To keep her routine engaging, Lively incorporates various training styles:
- Linear Days: Focusing on bilateral movements, such as squats and lunges, working one limb.
- Lateral Days: Emphasizing unilateral movements like lateral lunges, working two limbs, enhancing agility and stability.
- Upper and Lower Body Days: Separating workout focus to specific muscle groups.
- Whole Body Circuits: Combining various exercises for full-body engagement.
This approach ensures all muscle groups are targeted, promoting balanced strength and endurance.
Sample Weekly Workout Routine
Here’s a glimpse into Lively’s typical weekly workout routine:
- Monday: Whole body circuit, including squats, bicep curls, shoulder presses, front kicks, Swiss ball dumbbell presses, tricep extensions, weighted walking lunges, band rows, and stiff-arm press downs.
- Tuesday: Focus on legs and core, with exercises like diagonal walks with mini bands, butterfly steps, lifted heel squats, standing leg rotations, cross-back lunges with a medicine ball pulse, reverse lunges with a dumbbell press, side-to-side speed skaters, and T-push-ups.
- Wednesday: Either cardio or a rest day. This depends on how her body feels.
- Thursday: Whole body circuit similar to Monday, with an added focus on ab exercises.
- Friday to Sunday: Rest days for recovery.
She typically performs 3-4 sets of 20 reps for each exercise, emphasizing both strength and endurance.
Cardio and Mobility
In addition to strength training, Lively also includes:
- Cardio: She enjoys sprinting, elliptical workouts, and other forms of cardio. Even when traveling or working, she fits in at least 10 minutes on the elliptical.
- Mobility Work: Workouts usually begin with foam-rolling and mobility exercises to loosen muscles and prepare for intense sessions. This includes exercises like child’s pose, hip stretches, and cat/cow poses.
Key Workout Principles
- Consistency: Lively makes it a point to work out most days of the week, even if it’s just for a short period.
- Variety: She mixes different training styles to keep her routine engaging.
- Active Recovery: Prioritizing active recovery throughout the week is key.
- Listening to Her Body: Adjusting workouts based on how she feels that day. If she’s had a bad night’s sleep, she may opt for lighter steps or restorative work.
The Blake Lively Diet: Nourishing from Within
Lively’s diet is about nourishing her body with wholesome foods, not about restrictive eating. Her approach is centered on balance and sustainability, without calorie counting or strict rules.
Core Principles
- Whole Foods: She emphasizes organic, healthy foods, avoiding processed meals, sugar, and wheat.
- Healthy Fats: Her diet includes plenty of healthy fats like grass-fed butter, avocado, and olive oil.
- Lean Proteins: She incorporates lean proteins to help keep her full and build muscle.
- Complex Carbs: She opts for slow-burning carbohydrates like sweet potatoes and fruits for sustained energy.
- Vegetables: Fresh vegetables are a staple in her diet.
- Home-Cooked Meals: She often prepares her own meals using fresh ingredients.
Typical Meal Breakdown
- Breakfast: Often starts with a glass of water, followed by eggs cooked in coconut oil, with vegetables and fruit. She might also include gluten-free oats.
- Lunch: Includes proteins, vegetables, and carbohydrates, such as wild-caught fish or pasture-raised chicken with a salad and sweet potatoes or rice.
- Dinner: Focuses on nutrient-dense foods to keep her body fueled. While the specifics of her dinner meals are not detailed, the emphasis remains on whole foods and balanced nutrition.
Supplements
She also includes supplements such as magnesium, omega-3, multivitamin, and probiotics to fuel her body.
Flexibility and Indulgence
Lively’s plan allows for flexibility. She doesn’t deprive herself of everything she loves, leaving room for occasional treats. The rule is that about 80% of the time her diet is clean, while the other 20% is for “error and having fun.”
Key Diet Principles
- Hydration: Staying hydrated is a high priority.
- Balanced Meals: Focusing on a mix of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats.
- No Calorie Counting: Avoids restrictive diets, focusing instead on healthy eating habits.
- Alcohol-Free: She has chosen to abstain from alcohol.
- Consistency: Prioritizing consistent healthy eating habits.
Putting It All Together
Blake Lively’s fitness and diet plan is not about quick fixes or extreme measures. It’s a balanced and sustainable lifestyle that focuses on building a strong, resilient body through consistent exercise and a nourishing diet. By prioritizing overall well-being and making smart choices, she manages to stay in incredible shape while juggling a demanding career and family life.
Her approach is a testament to the fact that you don’t have to deprive yourself or follow an overly complicated regimen to achieve your fitness goals. Instead, by incorporating strength training, varied workouts, and a diet full of whole foods, you can achieve a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
