Soundbites: Carrie Underwood on Health and Fitness

Carrie Underwood is the Self magazine cover girl and she is chatting, of course, about health and fitness. I am always interested in what she's into health wise, especially now that I am also mostly vegan and exploring fitness more than..um none at all. She herself looks awesome, but what are these clothes they put her in? The first outfit is ok I guess, but the blue net dress with a necklace I'm pretty sure a kindergartener gave her, no. BTW, natch my girl PLL has screen shots from the Good Girl video for you. We love.

On her fitness plan:

"I've been pretty consistent with exercise for the past several years. Growing up, I was semisporty but didn't really do much. If I'd kept on that path, it wouldn't have ended well! I'm from the South, where there's a lot of fried food, and that's bound to show."

"I have a game I love for when I'm working out on my own, without a trainer. I take a deck of cards and assign each suit a body area—say, diamonds for arms, hearts for legs, spades for core and clubs for cardio. I split the deck in half and write down exercises for each suit, a different one for each half."

"So, if I flip over the six of hearts, I'll do six squats. If the next card is ace of diamonds, that's 14 push-ups. Sometimes I'll make spades boxing and beat the crap out of the bag for however many punches the number on the card says."

"Having different exercises for each half of the deck keeps me from getting bored. I make sure there's a joker in each half—that's a mile run on the treadmill. Then I go through the whole deck. With a 15-minute warm-up on the elliptical, it takes about an hour and a half total, but it's fun because you've designed the workout yourself."

Her A.M. Kick-Starter
"A vanilla smoothie with pea protein powder, half a banana, a cup of berries, almond milk and ice. Or I'll make a tofu scramble with whatever I've got in the fridge, like spinach, onions and peppers, with salsa on top. If I'm working out in the morning, I'll also have an orange or a grapefruit. And black coffee. I like a little caffeine boost!"

A Delish, Filling Lunch
"I do a stir-fry with precut veggies. I like broccoli, carrots, broccoli slaw, fake chicken and onions. I eat it with brown rice and season it with Bragg Liquid Aminos, then I'm good to go. It's a lot of food but not a lot of fat or calories."

Her Go-To Dinner

"I'll always be a fan of veggie burgers!"

On her pre-event diet and exercise:

"I lay off starches. I'm not a fan of the no carb thing; you're going to get yourself in trouble that way. So I have lots of veggies and fruit but no other starches or bread. I do more cardio and fewer weights than usual. Although strength training is important, I don't want to look too muscular on the red carpet. On the morning of this shoot, for instance, if I'd done weights, my muscles would be puffy and I'd have felt bigger all day. Get plenty of water and sleep. That's it! I've heard horror stories about people who've done peels or fake tans before events. What if my face melted off? I'll stick to hydration and a little extra night cream."

On her food plan:

"I'm a very regimented eater. I've kept food journals for years. Now I do it with the LiveStrong.com phone app, which is great with nutrition info for restaurant meals."

"I love eating and talking about food. I've been a vegetarian for seven years. But after seeing a friend who looked amazing and had recently gone vegan, I thought, What's holding me back? Now I'm 95 percent vegan. Sometimes you're at a birthday party and there's cake and...you know, you can't resist. My veganism is based on a concern about where my food is coming from. In my perfect world, I'd have webcams wherever food is processed so I'd know how clean it is. I'll never eat meat again, because I look and feel better without it, but if I could raise my own cows and chickens and produce my own eggs and cheese, it would be awesome! The food would taste better, because the animals would be happy."

On flirting on the red carpet with husband Mike Fisher via text messages:

"I get texts from Mike when I'm on a red carpet that read 'You're so hot!' I like that. Words of affirmation mean a lot to me. But my husband is also pretty conservative. When I'm wearing some outfits, he'll say, 'That dress is a little short, don't ya think?' He would never tell me I can't do or wear something or make me feel bad, but I'm a married lady now, so I try to be respectful of my husband. I want to look sexy for him, and I appreciate that he wants to look nice for me, too."


On Together Time:
"My husband would rather go out to restaurants than eat at home—it makes me mad! I really enjoycooking and eating together at home. If he's watching TV and I'm cooking, I'm like, 'Hey, you're being lazy—come help!' It's a nice time to be together and talk. Plus, I don't know what to do with meat, so if Mike wants it to taste good and doesn't want to end up in the hospital with food poisoning, it's best if he makes it himself."



"Mike and I worked out together—once. He wanted to do leg throws, where I lie down, he stands up and I grab his ankles and raise my legs in the air. The idea is for him to push my legs down so they touch the floor, then I lift up again. But he pushed them down so hard, my legs just hit the floor. I was like, 'I'm smaller than you! Lighten up!'"

"I love going to live sports events. It's fun to have a beer and watch Mike play."

So let's summarize on how to look this good:

• Carrie works out hard and consistently. I will post her pre-wedding workout below; it does not sound easy.
• Carrie mostly cooks for herself and is meticulous about counting calories.
• Carrie eats a primarily vegan diet with a focus on making fruits and vegetables her main ingredients.
• Pre-event checklist: water, no starches or bread-based carbs, cardio, and night cream.

I think these are pretty helpful tips! I could definitely be better with a lot of them. Now, if you are brave, get your Carrie fitness on!

7 Steps to a Rock-Hard Bod
A sneak peek at Carrie's on-the-road workout via Women's Health

"She's rock solid," says the singer's tour trainer Eve Overland. To avoid hitting a plateau, no two routines are identical. If the equipment at the hotel gym isn't up to par, Overland calls for a hike, a Krav Maga (Israeli self-defense) class, or seaside sprinting. But usually, a 90-minute session goes something like this:

Warmup
Carrie starts things off with 10 to 15 minutes on the treadmill, beginning with a walk (at a 5 or 6 percent incline), and then lowering the incline before moving into an easy jog.

Stretching
Next comes a series of stretches and yoga moves that focus on muscle groups that tend to get tight. Overland often has Carrie use a foam roller to loosen up her leg and back muscles.

Body-weight exercises
Carrie goes through a series of pullups, lunges, and pushups ("She can do pushups all day long," says Overland)—along with plyometrics (explosive moves to strengthen muscles), such as jump squats, box jumps, and snowboarders. Reps vary: She might follow a pyramid structure (10 reps, followed by 20 reps, then 30 reps) or the clock (20 seconds of intense exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest).

Strength training
Next are lateral stepups on a bench with dumbbells (or swinging kettlebells), as well as lat pulldowns and leg extension work, if she has access to a machine. It's usually high reps with light weights, but Overland varies the tempo and sets so Carrie sees results faster.

Cardio
"Lift heavy, then cardio" is Overland's motto. Running, boxing, and jumping rope are all part of the drill.

Abs
"There were moments [earlier this year] when we were doing crunches and I could hear Carrie [muttering] under her breath, 'I have a wedding! I have a wedding!'" Overland says with a chuckle. "Her core is amazing."

Cooldown
Finally, Carrie does a little stretching, usually incorporating the foam roller, "and that's it, we're done!" says Overland. 

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