Alison Brie, celebrated for her roles in Community and GLOW, has become an inspiring figure in fitness. Her transformation for GLOW, where she portrayed "Zoya the Destroyer," showcases the power of strength training and a balanced lifestyle. This article delves into the specifics of her diet, workout routine, and the mindset that fuels her dedication.
From Cardio to Strength: Brie's Fitness Journey
Before landing her role on GLOW, Alison Brie maintained a good physique through circuits and light weights. However, to embody the character of a wrestler, she needed to become genuinely strong. This realization led her to trainer Jason Walsh, who helped her transition into more "hardcore" workouts.
Embracing Strength Training
Initially hesitant about strength training, Brie overcame her doubts and achieved remarkable feats. She deadlifted over 165 pounds for reps, an impressive accomplishment for someone of her stature (5'3"). This experience taught her a valuable lesson: "You're stronger than you think."
Setting and Achieving Goals
Inspired by Emily Blunt's ability to do pull-ups, Brie set a goal to master this exercise. Starting from zero, she progressed to eleven consecutive pull-ups in twelve weeks. She can now cycle through 40 pull-ups. This achievement instilled a sense of confidence and demonstrated the body's potential.
The GLOW Workout: Foundation and Progression
Brie's GLOW workout routine, designed by Jason Walsh, focuses on fundamental strength exercises. These exercises are effective for building overall strength and fitness.
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Core Exercises
Walsh emphasized basic strength exercises, including heavy sled pushes and pulls, deadlifts, squats, hip thrusts, pull-ups, medicine ball work (throwing, jumping, and lunging). These exercises are time-tested and provide a solid foundation for strength and athleticism.
Progressive Overload and Bodyweight Mastery
The GLOW workout is a bodyweight strength training program performed three days a week, alternating between two full-body workouts. The program is designed to be challenging yet adaptable for beginners.To progress, Brie followed a structured approach:
- Start with the Basics: If unable to do a full pushup, start on the wall and gradually work your way down.
- Master Form: Use tools like the landmine (a barbell fixed to a swivel joint) to learn proper form and balance.
- Vary Reps and Sets: Change the number of reps and sets each week to maximize strength gains.
- Increase the Weight: Gradually increase the weight as you get stronger to continue challenging your muscles.
- Progressive Overload: Focus on gradually increasing the difficulty of exercises over time.
- Negative Pull-Ups: If you can’t do pullups, start with negative pullups. Jump or use a bench to get to the top portion of the pullup. In a controlled manner, slowly lower yourself.
Sample Exercises and Progression
- Push-ups: Begin with wall push-ups, then progress to incline push-ups using a bench or table, and finally, floor push-ups.
- Pull-ups: Start with negative pull-ups, gradually working towards assisted pull-ups with resistance bands, and eventually unassisted pull-ups.
- Squats: Begin with bodyweight squats, then progress to goblet squats, and eventually barbell squats.
The Role of Nutrition
Brie emphasizes the importance of a healthy diet to support her workouts and overall well-being. It’s important to be in a caloric deficit to lose weight or a calorie surplus to gain weight.
Dietary Preferences
Brie tries to eat fairly healthy and have high-protein content in her diet because she works out a lot, and she’s always trying to hang on to that muscle mass. She enjoys vegan protein bars from Papa Steve’s, which are made with natural ingredients like almond butter, coconut, apples, and dates. Brie is not really a coffee drinker, because it makes her really grouchy. She prefers tea, especially green or white tea.
A Typical Day of Eating
A streamlined diet is another thing that keeps Alison’s mental state balanced. For breakfast, she has oatmeal with protein powder, then she works out and has a post-sweat chocolate and sea salt Après vegan protein shake. A few hours later she’ll make a tuna salad with spinach and whatever she has on hand-olives, avocado, cucumber. For dinner, she whips up ground-turkey stir-fries; one from a Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook calls for eggplant, and another she makes with onion, ginger, garlic, and low-sodium tamari sauce. When she’s not prepping or shooting, she tends to eat vegan or vegetarian.
Read also: Weight loss and romance for Alison Hammond
Importance of Protein
Brie prioritizes protein intake to maintain and build muscle mass.
The Mental Game
Alison Brie's fitness journey is as much about mental strength as it is about physical prowess. She openly discusses her struggles with body dysmorphia and depression, highlighting the importance of mental wellness.
Overcoming Mental Health Challenges
Mental illness runs in Alison’s family; her maternal grandmother had schizophrenia and went through periods of homelessness. The issue traces a line on both sides of Alison’s genealogy and occasionally “comes out of nowhere and really blindsides me.” While some of her loved ones have benefited from anti-depressants, Alison says being active is her way of combating the condition. When I’ve been in a really serious depression, I’ll drag myself to a yoga class-even if I don’t want to be around people-tears streaming down my face. But, Get in class, get out of your head, get blood flowing. It ends up helping eventually.”
Maintaining Mental Wellness
Working out six days a week (three days with Walsh, three days of activities like hikes and riding her Peloton) is one way Alison maintains her mental wellness. She also credits “open communication” as something that helps. “I’m so lucky I’m married to a really wonderful, open person,” she says of her husband, actor Dave Franco. “We have great lines of communication, and I can talk often about my feelings.” Dave gave her perspective when she was in the depths of self-loathing about her body. “It’s been funny talking to him about it. He said, ‘Before I knew you, I’m not sure I believed body dysmorphia was a real thing. It’s so interesting to me what you see-and what I’m seeing when I’m looking at you-and the frank discussions we have about it.’”
The Power of Consistency
Alison emphasizes that "being in shape and staying in shape is all about consistency." She makes workouts a priority, even when traveling or on hiatus from GLOW.
Read also: Alison Moyet: An in-depth look
Key Takeaways from Alison Brie's Approach
Alison Brie's fitness journey offers several valuable lessons for anyone looking to improve their health and well-being:
- Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: Embrace challenges and try new forms of exercise.
- Set Clear Goals: Having specific, measurable goals provides motivation and direction.
- Make Basic Lifts the Foundation: Focus on fundamental strength exercises for overall fitness.
- Don't Be Afraid to Lift Heavy: Strength training doesn't make women bulky.
- Encourage Others: Support and motivate your gym buddies to achieve their goals.
- Listen to Your Body: Take rest days to allow your muscles to recover.
- Find Activities You Enjoy: Incorporate activities like hiking or Peloton rides to stay active.
- Prioritize Mental Health: Address mental health challenges through exercise, communication, and self-care.
- Be Consistent: Consistency is key to achieving and maintaining fitness goals.
- Muscle Memory: With a strong foundation, you'll see gains faster after taking a break.
The Beauty Rituals of Alison Brie
“So I just turned 40, and I’ve been feeling really good and not freaking out about [it],” says Alison Brie. “For me, I feel just as youthful as…I mean, I feel much better than I felt in my 20s, honestly, because I was eating like shit and really not taking care of my skin. I really used my 30s to hone all of that stuff, and now honestly I’ve never felt better.”Mornings are especially important for Brie, who rose to fame on Mad Men and stars in the new romantic comedy Somebody I Used to Know alongside her husband, Dave Franco. routine begins with a daily morning workout followed by the beauty rituals that ready her for the day. Here, Brie walks us through her everyday skin care regimen and go-to makeup look.It all begins with a double cleanse, courtesy of two formulas by celebrity esthetician Biba De Sousa, and, if she has time, the brand’s oil-absorbing zinc mask. Then with skin fresh and clean, she spritzes her face with Caudalie’s Beauty Elixir mist ahead of toner, sunscreen, and eye cream to prep the skin. The last step before makeup is Jillian Dempsey’s sculpting bar, which is Brie’s favorite beauty tool for travel, for an effortless treatment on the go.Onto her day-to-night glam: Brie applies a featherweight veil of Charlotte Tilbury’s skin-smoothing foundation. Then to brighten the undereyes, she reaches for a Sisley concealer that she later sets into place with loose powder. A tried-and-true strategy of Brie’s is using blush and bronzer on both her cheeks and lids to monochrome effect. “Brows are the number one most important thing to me,” she says as she turns to her arches, utilizing an Anastasia Beverly Hills pencil and Kristie Streicher’s KS & Co. gel to groom them. “I never leave the house without makeup in my brows. Going to the gym in the morning, it’s like nothing on my face but brows.” For eyes, an eyelash curler, tight lining of brown pigment, dark mascara, and shimmering eye shadow define her gaze before she spot conceals melasma via Colorescience’s pressed-powder palette.