Iskra Lawrence Reveals "Foolproof" Way to Exercise

Iskra Lawrence is opening up about her relationship with fitness. In a new interview with CelebWell, the model and body positivity advocate, who once struggled with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia, reveals that her approach to exercise hasn't always been healthy. In fact, she used to equate breaking a sweat with "punishment." However, over the years the mother-of-one has developed a healthier – and happier – method of working out. Read on to learn about how Iskra Lawrence learned to love exercise and why she decided to partner up with new online fitness platform and at-home gym OxeFit—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

Iskra explains that she hasn't always had a healthy relationship with exercise. "As someone who's had an eating disorder and had body dysmorphia, I used to see exercise as punishment, and I used to simply see it as a means to burn more calories, so I could be in calorie deficit," she tells CelebWell.  It wasn't until she found "that joy in movement" and realized that exercise didn't have to be "all or nothing" that she started to enjoy it. "Now I know that there are so many different ways I can move my body," she says. 

Iskra explains challenging herself helps keep her motivated to keep going. "When I do find a new challenge. I then feel really accomplished when I do something that's either unexpected or I know is empowering." This could be in the form of setting a high number of reps or weights. 

Iskra enjoys weight training, which makes her feel strong and empowered. "I like to view my body as something that's strong and something that's able, something that's taking me around the world enabling me to do things," she continues. "I love going on hikes running after my little one." She adds that this has helped change her mindset of how she views her body, "it's like it's my home, I want it to be strong. I want it to be built out of brick, not straw." 

While Iskra has been working out at her local gym in Austin, Texas (wearing a mask!) she reveals that she isn't exactly comfortable in that setting. "As a woman I feel like I'm never taken seriously when I want to use a piece of weight equipment," she says. "I get interrupted a lot, even during reps and sets. I've been interrupted multiple times, tapped on the shoulder trying to talk to me about form. And for me when I want to work out it's like I only have this much amount of time allotted to move, and I just want to be in it. I want to forget that I'm in the real world. I'm just in this zone." 

Iskra explains that maintaining variety with her workouts is very crucial. Her partner, Philip Payne, can do the same cardio workout every night of the week, but she needs to mix up her routine. "That would drive me bananas," she exclaims. "I need to switch it up." 

Iskra recently signed on as the newest ambassador to OxeFit, an at-home connected fitness platform. The brand's XS1, an AI-powered total body at-home gym offering over 200 workouts and includes everything needed from weights and cables to a built-in pilates reformer and rowing machine, fusing together cardio and strength training in an easy to operate at-home workout experience. Programs include rowing, canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding, SurfSwiming, SkiCross and digitally-controlled pilates. Iskra explains that it checks off a lot of the boxes for her in terms of meeting her needs, including figuring out how to maintain variety with her workouts, being able to work out at home, and efficient use of workout time. "I need a foolproof way to be able to squeeze in a 15 minute workout because I just don't have time," she says, adding that the creative machine enables you to "almost forget that you're working out" and describes it as a "breath of fresh air," compared to other methods. "Our aim is to educate people on how movement should be joyful," she says.