AJ Michalka is reminiscing about Italy in her swimsuit. In a recent social media post, one half of the band Aly and AJ shows off her amazing body in a bathing suit from a recent European vacation. “Italian road trip flashbacks from October,” the singer and Goldbergs star captioned the series of Instagram snaps, eliciting tons of comments from her followers. “Looking good,” one of them wrote. “You look beautiful,” added another. How does the young star approach health and wellness? Celebwell rounded up her top lifestyle habits.
1. Pilates
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AJ loves pilates. “My balance and flexibility have never been stronger due to Pilates,” she told Parade.com. “Pilates on the Reformer, for me, is my main form of working out. I have the most fun doing this. Why is pilates a good workout? According to the Mayo Clinic there are lots of benefits to the workout, as it “strengthens the body's inner core while increasing its flexibility resulting in improved overall health. It can also promote longer, leaner muscles, injury prevention, relief from stress and back pain, enhanced athletic performance, and heightened mind-body awareness.
2. Yoga
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AJ is also into yoga “I sprinkle in yoga a little bit in my every day routine if I can,” she added to Parade. There is a laundry list of reasons to do yoga, explains Harvard Health. “Researchers found that people who practiced yoga for at least 30 minutes once a week for at least four years, gained less weight during middle adulthood,” they said. “People who were overweight actually lost weight. Overall, those who practiced yoga had lower body mass indexes (BMIs) compared with those who did not practice yoga. Researchers attributed this to mindfulness. Mindful eating can lead to a more positive relationship with food and eating.”
3. Online Workouts
No gym, no problem. AJ does online workouts when she isn’t around a studio. “The cool thing is we have the Wundabar Pilates Movement online that she’s created,” she said. She brings discs, a ring, ball, and bands to get the workout done when she is traveling.
4. Portion Control
“We are big foodies, so I think the big thing with being on tour is really finding the hotspots in each city where we can really enjoy a nice meal. And that’s when I try not to worry about intake necessarily; it’s more portion control. But, for me, if I see an exciting menu, I’m going to want to go there. We’re very eclectic eaters,” AJ told Parade about how she approaches diet.
5. Therapy
AJ is a huge advocate of therapy. “My big thing is, regardless of mental health, my goal is for Aly and I to preserve our friendship and our relationship," she told Popsugar. "That's the forefront of our lives, as opposed to us as a band and partnership. I do think it would be smart to see someone, almost like couples therapy but for siblings."