Carrie Underwood, the multi-platinum singer, businesswoman, and busy mom, has become a fitness icon, inspiring fans with her dedication to health and wellness. At 41, she embodies a balanced approach to diet and exercise, proving that fitness is a lifelong journey, not a destination. Underwood wasn't born with the toned physique she's known for; she works hard every day to maintain her health and fitness. This article explores Carrie Underwood's diet and workout routines, drawing from her book "FIND YOUR PATH" and various interviews, to provide insights into her sustainable approach to health and fitness.
A Philosophy of Balance and Consistency
Underwood's philosophy revolves around a year-round, common-sense approach to health and fitness. "I want to be healthy and fit 52 weeks of the year, but that doesn't mean I have to be perfect every day," she says. This involves doing your best most of the time, without the pressure of perfection. This philosophy emphasizes consistency over extreme measures, promoting a sustainable lifestyle rather than a restrictive diet or grueling workout routine.
Finding Time for Fitness
With a packed schedule that includes touring, recording, and raising two young children, Underwood understands the challenges of fitting diet and exercise into a busy routine. She emphasizes the importance of finding ways to incorporate movement into daily life, even if it's just a quick walk or playing with her kids. "I mean, just like everybody else, you fit it in. You fit in fitness wherever you can, right?," Underwood tells TODAY.com. "Some mornings I get to have a good long workout, some mornings it's a quick walk and some mornings, it's nothing."
Adaptable Workout Routines
Underwood's fitness routine is characterized by its adaptability and variety. She enjoys circuit training, which involves rotating through various exercises targeting different parts of the body, often with short intervals in between. “I feel like at the end of the day or at the end of my workout, my whole body has got gotten something,” says Underwood, who launched the fit52 app in 2020. She loves that circuit training routines are customizable and easy to modify if you are short on equipment or time.
Simple and Effective Exercises
When she hits the gym, Underwood focuses on tried-and-true exercises. "I love the simple moves-squats, lunges, deadlifts, things like that," she says. "Nothing complicated." In 2022, Carrie's trainer Eve Overland, CPT, told WH that she and Carrie typically train for 90 minutes, including five supersets. The exercises include pullups, dumbell rows, Bulgarian split squats, and more.
Read also: Carrie Underwood's Fitness During Pregnancy
Cardio and Seasonal Adjustments
Underwood also enjoys cardio and adjusts her sessions by season. "In the summer, when it's nice and warm, I just want to be outside," she says. "So I tend to run more in the summer and lift weights more in the winter." She also enjoys virtual classes on her treadmill for inspiration.
The Fit52 App
Serendipitously, the Grammy Award-winner debuted the at-home workout and nutrition app fit52 in early March 2020, meaning she-and legions of other users-could get a sweat sesh on in the comfort of their homes. "I was very, very blessed to have that in my own life-I had this app that was giving me my workouts!" she said, adding that she and her husband, former NHL player Mike Fisher, began taking advantage of the outdoors for their workouts. The app is inspired by her personal workout style, makes it even easier to stay active while traveling. The app’s structure-based on a deck of cards-keeps workouts unpredictable and engaging, perfect for busy schedules.
The Deck of Cards Workout
Underwood uses a unique workout game when training on her own. She takes a deck of cards and assigns each suit a body area: diamonds for arms, hearts for legs, spades for core, and clubs for cardio. She splits the deck in half and writes down exercises for each suit, a different one for each half. For example, if she flips over the six of hearts, she'll do six squats. If the next card is the ace of diamonds, that's 14 push-ups. Sometimes she'll make spades boxing and beat the crap out of the bag for however many punches the number on the card says. There's a joker in each half-that's a mile run on the treadmill. Then she goes 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.
Nutrition: A Plant-Based Approach
Underwood follows a primarily plant-based diet, emphasizing whole, nutritious foods. Her ideal daily breakdown is 45% carbs, 30% fat, and 25% protein. She is a longtime vegetarian and focuses on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and eggs. "Overall, keeping things as simple as possible is always the best. We live in a world right now where everything is ultra-processed and it seems like the easiest thing is to grab fast food," she says.
Sample Meals
Underwood often enjoys a tofu scramble for breakfast, smoothies, and vegetarian burritos. She also makes simple swaps for healthier takes on classic comfort food dishes, like this "ugly" slow-cooker lasagna packed with fiber-rich vegetables and chocolate "nicecream" made out of frozen bananas.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Indulgences in Moderation
While she's not big on desserts, the country singer treats herself to a few indulgences. “I really like dark chocolate, but I’ll just stick to a little bit of it,” she told First For Women. Underwood also enjoys unwinding with a glass or two of red wine.
Hydration
Finally, Carrie knows that hydration is as important as the workout itself. The singer always makes sure to keep water or a BODYARMOR drink nearby. The most convenient option to keep in her purse, she said, is the brand's FLASH I.V. Electrolyte Sticks, which she'll mix with water for an on-the-go drink. "One thing that I feel is so neglected in our lives is staying hydrated," she says. "It seems so simple….If you find yourself cranky… you need to drink more water! My husband will complain about a headache sometimes and I'm like, you need to drink more water."
Overcoming Past Struggles
Underwood has been open about her past struggles with body image and dieting. While touring with her Idol co-contestants, Underwood said she became obsessed with weight loss. Underwood said her extreme regimen quickly started to backfire. “I would ‘fall off the wagon,’ then feel terrible and repeat the cycle,” she said. With help from trainer Eve Overland and nutritionist Cara Clark, the singer found a healthier, more sustainable routine that works for her. Today, Underwood said she carefully tracks her calories and macronutrients, or the amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat she consumes daily.
The Importance of Recovery
Fitness for Carrie doesn’t stop at workouts and nutrition. She incorporates yoga and stretching into her routine to improve flexibility and recover from strenuous sessions. Recovery tools like foam rollers and massage guns also help her reduce muscle soreness and stay injury-free.
Her approach to fitness extends beyond the physical-it’s about mental wellness, too. Stretching and yoga not only keep her body limber but also give her a moment of calm in her otherwise hectic schedule.
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
Inspiring Others
Carrie’s dedication to fitness isn’t just about her career-it’s about inspiring others. Through her transparency on social media and initiatives like her fit52 app, she encourages fans to take charge of their health in ways that work for their unique lifestyles. Her fitness routine isn’t about perfection; it’s about consistency, effort, and having fun while staying active.