Cara Santana in Workout Gear Shares Exercise Routine

Cara Santana is an actress and a writer from El Paso, Texas. Earlier this month, she hit the Pilates studio for a workout. Santana shared a workout video on Instagram on May 8. In it, she is seen doing stretches and exercises on a reformer. Santana captioned the post, “My f*cks are on vacation.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Cara Santana stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

1. She Does Pilates

As you can see from her Instagram video, Santana likes to do Pilates to stay in shape. The Cleveland Clinic states that Pilates has a lot of benefits. “Pilates is a form of strength training, but it doesn’t look like some of the other strength training exercises you might be familiar with. Pilates focuses more on improving muscle tone than building muscles, but the result is similar: greater stability and endurance. Pilates isn’t going to bulk you up — if anything, it’s designed to cultivate a longer, leaner look. Still, it can lay a strong physical foundation for muscle-building activities — and may even reduce your likelihood of injury.”

2. She Gets Enough Sleep

Santana shared some of her wellness secrets in an interview with Women Fitness. She says that one of her biggest secrets is getting enough sleep. “The more tired I am, the worse I eat and the less energy I have to work out,” Santana explained. “I am huge on sleep- always getting 8 hours while working. So I think it’s a big component. You crave less sugar and carbs if you are well rested. So sleep is very important.”

3. She Mixes It Up

Santana likes to do a variety of different things to stay in shape. “I like to feel pushed, but without feeling overwhelmed by the completion of the workout,” she tells Women Fitness “It’s a balance between being pushed and knowing what your body can handle. So a mix of anabolic and anaerobic exercises that are fun and have good pace. I love mixing up my exercises to keep things fun and exciting.”

4. She Stretches

Santana tells Women Fitness that she makes sure to warm up. One thing she usually does is stretch. “I stretch typically after a workout so that it reduces tightness and soreness. If I’ve really been pushing myself, sometimes I’ll stretch beforehand.” The Mayo Clinic states, “Research has shown that stretching can help improve flexibility, and, as a result, the range of motion of your joints. Better flexibility may: Improve your performance in physical activities. Decrease your risk of injuries. Help your joints move through their full range of motion. Increase muscle blood flow. Enable your muscles to work most effectively. Improve your ability to do daily activities.”

5. She Wants To Help Others

Santana is an advocate for sobriety and mental health. She talked about this in the caption of this Instagram post. “19 years sober and there is nothing more important to me than to end the stigma of addiction and help those suffering find their way to freedom. @end.overdose and @rareromance teamed up for this ‘Guardian Angel’ tribute necklace where 100% of the proceeds go directly to @end.overdose so they can continue providing lifesaving, harm-reduction resources including FREE lifesaving training, FREE naloxone, and FREE fentanyl test strips.”