Bodybuilder Kristin Pope in Two-Piece Workout Gear Looks "the Best"

Kristina Nicole is sharing a motivating message to her followers – in her workout gear. In a new social media post the IFBB pro shows off her famous figure in a two-piece set. “Your job is not to rush the timing. Rather, to determine the type of person who will meet it at the doorway,” she captioned the post, quoting Brianna Wiest. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.

1. She Makes Progress in the Off Season

Kristina, who also goes by Kristina Mendoza, maintains that most progress is made in her offseason. “There’s a lot of calories going in. Training gets more and more intense as the calories go up,” she said, adding that she used to train legs twice a week, but now only does legs once. “I’m trying to bring my upper body up, be a little more symmetrical with the legs, so I have better flow and balance onstage,” she told Muscle & Fitness.

2. She Trains Hamstrings and Quads on the Same Day

Mendoza trains hamstrings and quads on the same day with adductors added in as well. “I like to burn them out a little bit before I get into the compound movements like the leg press or squat machine,” Mendoza explained. After a brief introduction, Mendoza then demonstrates each of the movements that she likes to work with.

3. Hydration

Mendoza prioritizes hydration. “water break,” she captioned this post. According to the Mayo Clinic, hydration is important for a variety of reasons. Water helps get rid of waste through urination, perspiration, and bowel movements, keeps your temperature normal, lubricates and cushions joints, and helps protect sensitive tissues.

4. Mastery Is “Mindset”

“Mastery is a mindset: It requires the capacity to see your abilities not as finite, but as infinitely improvable. Mastery is a pain: It demands effort, grit, and deliberate practice. Mastery is… never fully reaching mastery but always striving to get there,” she captioned a post.

5. Warmup and Stretching

Before lifting, Kristina warms up on the bike. “I like to start with lighter weight for the first couple of sets before I work up into my working sets,” said. She performs two to three lighter sets before doing one working set. She then follows that up with a “back-off” set with lighter weight and more reps.

Kristine Best, a dedicated CrossFit athlete, not only showcases her fitness prowess but also shares motivational insights through her Instagram videos. Recently featured in a Mike Sharin Media video, Best, alongside fellow athletes, demonstrated intense exercises like weightlifting and pull-ups. Known for her positive and engaging personality, she emphasized the joy of fitness in her caption, reminding her followers not to take life too seriously and to enjoy the journey. This blend of high-energy workouts and a light-hearted approach defines Best’s philosophy, encouraging her audience to maintain fitness while finding joy and camaraderie in their daily activities. Her social media presence continues to inspire and rally her community, proving that fitness is as much about mental health as it is about physical.

1. She Enjoys Herself

Best is all about enjoying herself, and she wants others to do the same. She talked about this in the caption of this Instagram post. Best wrote, “Reminder: Don't take yourself too seriously 😅Dive into life. Find warmth among friends. Stand together. Go the extra mile. Keep your cool.”

2. She Swims

Kristine Best/Instagram

Best is seen swimming in the previous Instagram post. Swimming has a lot of benefits. Better Health states, “Swimming is a great workout because you need to move your whole body against the resistance of the water. Swimming is a good all-round activity because it: keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off your body, builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness, helps you maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart and lungs, tones muscles and builds strength, provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming.”

3. She Uses A Stationary Bike

Best shared some of her favorite workouts in this Instagram video. In it, she is seen using a stationary bike. Penn State PRO Wellness states that using a stationary bike is a great cardio workout. “Cardiovascular or aerobic workouts, such as cycling, strengthen your heart, lungs, and muscles. They also improve the flow of blood and oxygen throughout your body. This, in turn, can benefit your health in a number of ways, including:improved memory and brain functioning, lower blood pressure, better sleep.”

4. She Does Sit-Ups

Kristine Best/Instagram

In the previous Instagram video, Best is also seen doing sit-ups. The Cleveland Clinic states that the exercise has a lot of benefits. “Sit ups are great for tightening your core. They strengthen and tone your rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus and oblique abdominal muscles as well as your neck muscles. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions three times per week.”

5. She Lifts Weights

Best likes to lift weights to stay in shape. She shared this set of photos of herself lifting a barbell on Instagram. Best captioned the post, “The unbeatable spirit.” ACE Fitness states that weightlifting has a lot of benefits. “Using maximal loads for compound (multi-joint) movements like the deadlift, squat-to-shoulder press, bent-over row or chest press can improve intermuscular coordination, which is the ability of many muscles to work together to generate and control high levels of force through multiple joints.”

Kristy Hawkins is feeling “jacked” – in her workout gear. In a new social media post the powerlifting shows off her award-winning body in a two-piece exercise set during a lifting session at the gym. “Some lifts this past week that made me feel jacked—seated dumbbell press @ 90lb x11, hammer strength rows @ 4 and 1/4 plates x8, and incline dumbbell press @ 110lb x5ish. #pugsandpowerlifting,” she captioned the Instagram post. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.

1. From Cardio and Dance to Bodybuilding

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Kristy, a PhD, explained to Muscle & Fitness that she was overweight as a teen. She tried to use extreme dieting to lose weight, and developed an eating disorder. She also tried to “work off” the excess weight with cardio and dance.

2. Exercise and Training Helped Healed Her

“In the same way my brain seemed natural to respond to learning about science and math,” she explains to Muscle & Fitness, “my body responded to exercise and training. I found that developing these two aspects of my life – mind, and body – created a balance that I found extremely rewarding.”

3. Walking Her Dog

Kristy is rarely found without her dog, He-Man the Pug, who accompanies her to the gym. She also takes him on lots of walks. Going for a daily walk can be a game changer in terms of exercise, especially at a brisk speed. One study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that walking at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes a day led to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia and death, compared with walking a similar number of steps but at a slower pace.

4. Swimming

Kristy also swims with He-Man. “Had to repost from @he_man_the_pug because I love him so much and am slightly sorry I traumatized him. But I loved how he kept trying to climb on top of my shoulders,” she joked in a caption about one of their swimming sessions. Swimming is a good way to get regular aerobic physical activity, according to the CDC. Just two and a half hours per week of aerobic physical activity, such as swimming, bicycling, or running, can decrease the risk of chronic illnesses. In addition to the many physical benefits, there are multiple studies supporting the mental health benefits of swimming as well.

5. She Works in Biology

Aside from being one of the best female powerlifters of all time, Kristy has a career. “Not powerlifting-related but this is how @he_man_the_pug and I spend our days. I’m proud to be a co-founder and CSO of Antheia using synthetic biology to revolutionize the way plant-inspired medicines are manufactured. #dogsofantheia #science,” she captioned a post.