Gabrielle Union-Wade, the actress known for her roles in "Bring It On," "Breaking In," and "Being Mary Jane," continues to inspire fans with her dedication to fitness and health. At 51, she embodies the 'ageing like fine wine' sentiment, maintaining a balanced approach to diet and exercise. Union isn't afraid to share her fitness journey, offering glimpses into her workouts and dietary habits.
A Peek into Gabrielle Union's Workout
Gabrielle Union often shares her workout routines, offering fans a glimpse into the exercises she relies on to stay in shape. Her routines are intense and target every muscle group, from kettlebell swings to quad holds.
Full-Body Workout Routine
In one Instagram Story, Gabrielle Union highlighted seven moves she uses to fire up every muscle group:
- Kettlebell Swings: With legs spread apart and both hands on the kettlebell, she swings the weight between her legs, then swings it back out in front of her until it reaches eye level and she is in a standing position.
- Cable Crossovers: She works her chest muscles with a set of cable crossovers, pulling the crisscrossed cables downward toward her hips, then extending them back up to complete one rep.
- TRX Band Row: With the TRX band anchored above, Gabrielle fires up her arms, back, and core with some rows. Gripping the handles with her palms facing inward, she leans all the way back.
- Weighted Hip Thrusts: Weighted hip thrusts are accomplished with a little help from a circular sandbag. Gabrielle works her glutes by starting with her arms spread across a workout bench and the sandbag situated in her lap. She lowers her booty until it almost hits the floor.
- Lying Overhead Reach: Using the same sandbag, the actress ignites her back, shoulders, and arms with some lying overhead reaches. With her back firmly planted on the bench, Gabrielle lifts the sandbag backward over her head.
- Quad Holds: She gets down on all fours for a set of quad holds, which she accurately describes as "hard asf." With her hands gripped around dumbbells and knees lifted off the ground, she first lifts her left foot off the ground for a few seconds.
Strength Training, Plyometrics, and Pilates
Gabrielle Union's workout routine includes strength training, plyometrics, pilates, and lots of circuit training. Her goals are geared towards flat abs, booty-building, and staying healthy overall.
Sample Workout
Based on one of her previous Instagram stories, here is a sample workout circuit: Strength training, plyometrics, and pilates are her main workout modalities.
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Gabrielle Union's Diet: Balancing Indulgence and Nutrition
Gabrielle Union loves food and isn't shy about sharing her daily diet with her fans. She balances her love for food with her fitness goals by eating a lot more than you'd think, drinking a lot of water, and having a healthy attitude about food splurges.
A Glimpse into Her Daily Diet
In 2023, Union shared on Instagram a sample of what she eats on an average day:
- Breakfast: Seasonal fruit (like mango, kiwis, blueberries, and strawberries) then enjoys some gluten-free pancakes covered in fruit and maple syrup.
- Lunch: A typical lunch consists of a salad made with collard greens, shaved fennel, arugula, avocado, and champagne vinaigrette.
- Dinner: Union loves to chow down on Three by Wade Cabernet Sauvignon braised short ribs with a garlic cauliflower puree, broccolini, carrots, and sweet potatoes with a demi glaze.
Staying Hydrated
In 2014, Union told Elle she started drinking a gallon of water each day in her mid-thirties. "It’s something that everyone has access to and it not only helps with your beauty, it also helps with your fitness and digestion," she said.
Embracing Food Splurges
Life is short, and Union fully embraces a treat every now and then. “What good is it to be emaciated if your stomach’s always growling?” she told Us Weekly in 2015. “That sucks. Have a burger!” After all, splurging on your favorite foods can sometimes be much more productive than having the low-calorie versions.
In 2017, the star also told Women's Health she's learned to be kind to herself when she does indulge. “I’m not obsessive about food, like, ‘Oh no, I ate badly, so I have to stay in the gym for two hours!’ At the end of the day, did I enjoy that meal? Hell, yes! Am I going to stress out about it? Hell, no! And, magically, the world doesn’t end because of what I ate," she said.
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Adjusting Diet for Perimenopause
When it comes to perimenopause, Union isn't afraid to get real about the symptoms she's experienced, including sudden weight gain.
“I once went up 27 pounds (seemingly) overnight,” she told Allure in 2023. After talking to a hormone specialist, the star embarked on an anti-inflammatory diet, which limited her intake of gluten, dairy, alcohol and caffeine.
“It’s really changed everything,” she told People in 2023. “I didn’t want it to be true because I love all the things. I love cinnamon rolls and real butter, lard, like a lot. So it’s been a journey. And there’s days I backslide, and when I backslide, especially around vacation, (my symptoms are) going to come right back.”
Union's Tips and Tricks for a Balanced Lifestyle
Gabrielle Union has shared several tips and tricks for maintaining a balanced lifestyle, including:
- Morning Workouts: Morning sweat sessions often work best with Gabrielle’s schedule.
- Allowing Indulgence: Gabrielle previously told WH that she occassionally indulges in “eating what the hell I want and not thinking about it."
- Affirmations: Gabrielle shared with WH that she listens to affirmation podcasts, specifically Affirmation Pod by Josie Ong.
- Taking Time for Herself: Her self-care routine also includes finding moments alone to enjoy some quiet time and reading.
- Spending Time Outdoors: Gabrielle told WH, “I need sun. I need vitamin D on my face."
- Working Out with Family: She works out with her husband, Dwyane Wade, and her kids.
- Drinking a Ton of Water: Gabrielle previously told WH that while she's on set during the week, she drinks a gallon of water a day.
- Eating a Nutritious Diet: Gabrielle has a pretty specific diet. She told WH that she eats good fats and is gluten-free and dairy-free. She also watches her sodium intake.
- Working with a Nutritionist: When Gabrielle was struggling with physical side effects of going through IVF, she consulted Alisa Vitti, a functional nutritionist and women’s hormone expert.
- Cardio and Weights: Gabrielle's daily workouts usually consist of 15 to 20 minutes of cardio, plus strength training and Pilates, she told WH.
- Saying No: She explained to WH: "My best anti-aging tip is the ability to say no, no, and hell, no. We run ourselves ragged saying yes to every freaking thing, whether it's to our family, spouses, or careers. I sleep eight hours a day and don't let myself stress out. A lot of people call it selfish, but I don't have any wrinkles."
- Consistency: Consistency is also key for Gabrielle. "If I don't work out for two weeks, it's like I've never done anything, ever," she told WH.
- Simple Skincare: When it comes to her amazing skin, she's pretty open about her tricks for her glow and smooth texture.
- Finding Humor in Aging: "Of course, as I've aged, everything on my body hurts! My hips, back, shoulders-lots of aches and pains. I dye my hair and people say, 'You look young,' but my gray hairs are saying, 'She's old as f-ck!'," she joked to WH.
- Family History: Gabrielle shared that she a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
- Arm-Focused Workouts: Gabrielle told WH, "I love my arms because it's where I get fast results…my arms come back quickly. I try to maintain my moneymakers."
- Pilates: "The great thing about Pilates is that I can take out my annoyance from waking up early on the machines instead of human beings," she said to WH. "It's for the greater good. My body responds to it, and I'm also more clear."
- Wine Enjoyment: Gabrielle did a natural wine taste test with WH and said she picks her wines based on the label.
- No to Cleanses: "The craziest diet I ever tried was when everyone was doing the Master Cleanse a thousand years ago, I attempted it," she told WH. "I lasted about a day and a half and then the rage set in…You can't do the Master Cleanse and have a normal life. Like I'm cussing everybody out…'cause I'm hungry."
Motivation and Mindset
Gabrielle Union has shared that she doesn't always love exercise, and even described some workouts as “varying degrees of torture” in a 2014 interview with Elle. “But I like kickboxing because I can work out some aggression without judgement. Because you can’t go around hitting people, apparently they arrest you for that. A good boxing workout is the best stress, anxiety, and rage reliever there is, so I definitely look forward to that,” she said.
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She also told Women's Health in 2020, “As the workout phases come and go, I’ll try everything,” Union told Women's Health in 2020. “Nothing, not one thing, has stuck. I’ve tried kickboxing, cardio barre, I’ve tried a SoulCycle class … I’m not a class person.”
Union’s goals are geared towards flat abs, booty-building, and staying healthy overall. Her family health history includes a risk of diabetes and heart disease, which she said is as a motivator for working out. She told Health, "Between fearing health issues and fearing 'Stars, they're just like us!