Steal Singer Ashanti's Fitness Routine
Singing and acting may be what she’s known for—but in order to excel at both, Ashanti says it’s crucial that she stays fit. “If I want to maintain longevity with traveling and being on stage, I have to take care of my body,” she says. The star also candidly admits that since the camera “puts 10 pounds on,” preparing for a tour or an on-screen engagement is another added motivation to get in her gym sessions.
Ashanti, 38, who is currently working on a new EP, will next appear in Stuck, an original pop musical that follows six commuters who find themselves on a stalled subway together. The project is playing in theaters nationwide and will release on VOD and DVD later this year. It's a role that the actress says “was something really different” for her. “I felt like the message was really cool and very relevant. And with me being a true New Yorker, this is something that is a possibility of happening in New York,” she says, with a laugh.
We caught up with Ashanti on the press tour for her latest film, where she filled us in on her fitness routine.
Her typical routine
When I'm home in NYC, I have a trainer, Raheem. We do weight training, cardio, running. I'm kind of a tomboy and I'm very competitive so I never want him to beat me. Sometimes he has me work on mobility, other times endurance, and then we’ll go for strength. I think it's important to mix it up and hit different parts of your body. We’ll do the Stairmaster, lots of core work.
I try to get four to five days in a week with my trainer. When I know I'm going for something specific, like preparing for a role, I try to definitely make it five. When I knew I was going down to Trinidad for carnival, for example, we had like two months. So I said, “Look, I have to be in this little itty bitty costume!” We maybe missed a couple of days but I was really strict with that one.
The workout of choice
For a while, I was obsessed with cycling. I would try to do two classes in a day because I would sweat so much and I loved it! Now I’m on a new kick. There is this new thing my trainer had me do the other day and it was so amazing. I don’t know the exact name for it but you’re in a plank so you're holding your body weight up with one side, your left side for instance. And then you take your right arm and you're pulling a weight towards you. So you're on the ground and you're pulling the weight. And I could feel everything tightening up on the sides, from my shoulder to my toes and I'm just like, “Oh, this is something that's going to be really, really cool if I continue it.” I haven’t tried to do it without having the machine yet but I’m definitely going to have to figure out how to accomplish that when I'm not home.
Her fitness nemesis
I hate burpees! I cannot stand burpees but they are so good for you. And I remember this goes back all the way to middle school gym class where they would call them squat thrusts.
Staying fit on the road
I usually travel with my jump rope. I definitely try to do stuff when I'm not with my trainer and he’s always paying attention to what I am or am not doing though (laughs). So for instance, I had a cheat day last Saturday morning so I had pancakes and he DMed me and he's like, “What is that? Are you doing crunches after?” When I’m not at home, he’ll text me a workout and I'll try to get it done. I’ll try to do crunches and jump rope and pushups and stuff on my own. I try!
I have another trainer in L.A., Donamatrix, who I work with when I’m there. He's completely different than my trainer in New York. So I feel like I'm in a really good position to have the best of both worlds on either coast.
Not always in the mood
I don’t always feel like working out but finishing a gym session is the best feeling. I did that like two weeks ago. I was l so out of it and I was like, “I don’t feel like it.” We were in New York. It was raining. It was gloomy. It was cold. But I pushed myself and I went and I put it on my Insta stories and I'm laying on the floor in the gym and I was like, “Oh my gosh, I was so dead before I got here. And I'm even more tired now but I’m so proud of myself that I actually did the workout.”
Healthy snacks throughout the day
I’m really into green juices. I'm glad I got one today! I'm actually drinking one now. And I’ll make a plant-based protein smoothie to snack on in between as well. I also like the No Cow bars. The raspberry one is the best.
A primarily plant-based diet and some fabulous cheat days
I'm a pescatarian so I don’t eat a lot of meat. I try to stay away from carbs and I know diet is super essential to being healthy and maintaining and trying to stay fit. But I do have two cheat days and I look forward to them every week. I try to make it the weekend for those but sometimes I get tempted during the week. So I'll be like, “OK, I'm going to use Taco Tuesday as my day!"
I do a lot of plant-based—Beyond Burgers and the Beyond Sausage are my favorite right now. I’ve been eating them every day. I’ll do egg whites. I’ll do some kind of fish, broccoli, asparagus or cauliflower rice. I'm a big cereal girl. I'll do nondairy yogurt. I’ll throw some crab legs in there every now and again. But I've tried to keep it under wraps during the week. Not anything too crazy or too strict but I do try to stay away from the carbs as much as possible.
Cheat day is like pizza, cake, potatoes. It's a little bit of everything. I will definitely has some carbs. If we go out to dinner or something, I might have the garlic bread. Oh my gosh, or the lobster mac and cheese!
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