Top Chef Star Nyesha Arrington In Workout Gear Lifts Weights

Top Chef star Nyesha Arrington is showing fans and followers what her typical workout looks like. Arrington, 42, shared a picture of herself wearing black shorts and a black CrossFit shirt, crouching while gripping a barbell. "Kaizen mindset (改善) reminds us that even the small adjustments can lead to big changes. 🌱 ✨ Whether it's refining our crafts or sharpening a skill, sustainable progress is built a small shift at a time. Lock in, it's all about the journey! 💫 🌠 #continuousimprovement," she captioned the post. Here's how the professional chef and author stays fit, focused, and healthy.

Being a chef is a grueling career, but Arrington keeps a good balance. "After 18 years in the restaurant industry, I started seeking the same thing, from yoga classes to the next greatest diet innovation to HIIT-style workout classes," she told the Institute of Culinary Education. "I have been able to find balance in creativity and business, and you don't really need a gym membership or a nutrition certification to be healthy; sometimes the answer can be found with meditation or a journal entry."

Now a flexitarian, Arrington cut out meat and alcohol for a period, calling it a hard reset. "I decided to eat plant-based and eliminate alcohol, refined sugar and starch from my diet," she told the Institute of Culinary Education. "That resulted in losing 22 pounds and gaining an incredible amount of balance in my brain function. I started to only eat foods that have life in them. For example, I sprout my lentils before consuming them, or I eat foods that only contain a pH level of 4 or higher, and I have never felt better in my life."

Arrington does ice baths, something she calls a spiritual experience. "Depending on what's happening in your mind and body at the time, every ice bath is a different experience," she told Muscle and Health. "I always try to do a minimum of three minutes, then go for twenty minutes in the sauna afterward. It really helps you to regulate self-pressure and stress. I tend to do it after a workout towards the end of the week, generally on a Sunday."

Arrington stays hydrated and says it's a game changer. "Performance in the gym has yielded extremely quick results, and I am training all the time. My energy level is through the roof," she told the Institute of Culinary Education. "I'm up to drinking a gallon of water a day compared to when I was cooking on the line and would sometimes totally forget to drink water because I was so slammed with work. Our bodies are made up of about 22 essential minerals and 12 vitamins so I tailor my diet to feed those cells for optimal health."

Arrington loves lifting weights. "I train three days a week at the moment," she told Muscle and Health. "I've always been active, but it was only when I joined a HIIT group in 2019 I realized it was okay to be strong and female. Some of the group became really good friends. Now I do CrossFit-style workouts. I've been doing them for around a year now. I deadlifted 205 pounds the other day. It was a personal best. That was cool."