Isla Dawn in Workout Gear Has the "Fighting Spirit"

Isla Dawn is training at Fighting Spirit – in her workout clothes. In a new social media post the WWE Raw wrestler shows off her amazing figure in exercise gear as she visits the wrestling academy in Florida. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.

1. She Was an Actress First

Isla started off as an actress. She was discovered after being cast as a wrestler on a Glasgow theatre production called Cementville. “I was trained by Killian Dain who is in WWE now. He got me into wrestling in a weird way. I was acting and he scouted me. He thought I’d be good,” she told The Sun. “We bonded straight away and as soon as I fell into wrestling, I realised it was the perfect job for me. It had everything — showmanship, physicality, competition. It combined everything I’d done previously. It’s been a funny ride but an amazing one.”

2. Kick-Boxing

“I did kick-boxing,” she says, “so he said I could transfer my skills. During Cementville, he visited to make sure we were doing things properly.” Harvard Health maintains that boxing is a great way to build strength, improve balance, posture, hand-eye coordination, boost mood and endurance, and helps increase alertness.

3. Dancing

"I’ve been dancing since I could walk,” Isla added in another interview with The Mirror. "I danced professionally until wrestling became by focus" she adds. Dancing is a great workout for many reasons. Not only does it build strength and promote flexibility, but helps you lose weight and even promotes cardiovascular function. A 2016 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine determined that people who engaged in moderate-intensity dancing were 46 percent less likely to develop heart disease or die from it than non-dancers. In comparison, moderate-intensity walkers were just 25 percent less likely to suffer heart health issues.

4. Powerlifting

"I do a lot of powerlifting training, I kickbox a lot and I like being strong,” she told The Mirror. "I don’t just want to be strong looking, I want to BE strong.”

5. Girl Power

"I’m really close to (WWE NXT Superstar) Nikki Cross, and I remember at one point I think it was just her and two other girls that were wrestling in Scotland. There were hardly any shows that had even just one match for a girl. They had a tough time getting the experience, and they had to work extra hard,” she told The Mirror. "So, to be able to come in (to WWE) at a point where there are so many girls to wrestle, and so many places to learn, and so many opportunities for us, it’s amazing. I don’t think people would have believed this could have happened for the women 10 years ago."

UFC Star Michelle Waterson-Gomez doesn’t need extra plates when she’s doing dips at the gym—something she makes fun of in an Instagram post. Waterson-Gomez, 38, shared a video of herself wearing black leggings and a gray t-shirt, doing an upper body workout with the text “When you got a built in weighted… 😅” written over the video. “It’s a struggle lol 😆,” she captioned the post. “Relatable 😅🫠,” a fan commented. Here’s how the MMA star trains, eats, and lives her fittest fighter life.

1. Drills, Boxing, and Tabata

Waterson-Gomez says when it comes to training, nothing is more important than drills. “I also like shadow boxing which is like fighting an imaginary opponent,” she told Women Fitness. “Shadow boxing allows you to fix your mistakes and make your movement smooth so that it becomes second nature. Doing bag work is also a good workout routine. It allows me to work on my power and footwork. One of my favorite things to do to improve my stamina are tabatas. 20 seconds high intensity, 10 seconds rest, seven times, then rest for one min in between sets. Do it three times. This is a very short but very effective way to build your explosive muscles.”

2. Training Diet

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Waterson-Gomez is strict with her diet when she’s training to fight. “I stay very hydrated, and eat very clean,” she told Women Fitness. “I try to stay away from processed, fried foods. Towards the end of my camp I stick to leaner meats and lots of green veggies.”

3. Fighting Beauty

Waterson-Gomez refuses to be boxed in by stereotypes of what a fighter should look like. "When I talk to people that have no idea that I fight, their first thing they say is, "Really, you fight? You don't look like a fighter,'" she told PeopleStyle. “I'm like, 'Well, what are fighters supposed to look like?' Some of us like to wear makeup, the red lips, the sexy black dress [too]."

4. Shaped by Martial Arts

Waterson-Gomez says martial arts has shaped who she is today and she couldn’t be more grateful. “It gave me a voice when I was too afraid to speak,” she told Numéro Netherlands. “It gave me the courage to take action when I was petrified with fear. There have been so many times throughout my life when Ifelt lost or stuck, and I leaned on my training as a martial artist to help guide me. Martial arts taught me to be humble, patient, persistent and driven.”

5. Love For Julie Kedzie and Holly Holm

Waterson-Gomez is inspired by and has great respect for fellow fighters Julie Kedzie and Holly Holm. “These ladies inspire me in more ways than one,” she told Women Fitness. “Outside of being amazing people, they carry the spirit of true warriors and I have learned so much from them. I have sweat, bled, cried and celebrated with these two and I would do anything for them.”

WWE star Zelina Vega is showing off the impressive results of her intense training routine, on social media. Vega, 33, posted highlights of her life recently, including a stunning snap of her posing in gray sweats and a matching sports bra, looking strong and toned. “Thank you all for the bday love yesterday. Means more than you know. Never know what helps fuel a person to keep fighting. Or just to simply not feel alone. Love you guys. Now, back to work💪🏽,” she captioned the post. Vega works hard to stay strong and ready for the ring—here’s how she does it.

1. HIIT and Muay Thai

Vega does plenty of HIIT workouts mixed up with martial arts. “I workout probably, like, six days a week,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “My husband [Malakai Black] likes to make these, like, powerlifting routines for me and then we also mix it up with Muay Thai. So, it’s a lot of different things that I feel like helps me a lot in the ring, whether it’s strength-wise, speed-wise, so yeah, it’s tough but you gotta fit it in.”

2. Diet Advice From The Rock

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Vega enjoys a vegan diet, and brings her own food on the road. “It is very difficult to eat though, I will say that, because you are just so busy running around all the time,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “Like even with [media calls], I completely forgot to eat, but I learned this from Dwayne Johnson: He had a timer on his phone that showed ‘OK, it’s time to eat’ and he would stop what he was doing and he’d make sure he gets his meals in, and then he would continue doing what he was doing.”

3. Video Game Star

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Vega appeared in the Street Fighter 6 video game as a commentator, and would love to expand to other games. “I've always loved Mortal Kombat and Tekken 2,” she told Screen Rant. “I think what's cool about the fighting game community is that I think we just kind of support all games. It's not even just after one, that's all you can ever be. But also, I would love to be a part of something that has to do with Naruto or Demon Slayer or something like that, because I'm such a big anime head that I'd love to kind of blend those two. Because obviously, I've played Naruto and Ninja Storm, stuff like that. So in some ways, I'd like to find a way to blend the anime gaming space there.”

4. Puerto Rico Pride

Vega is thrilled about the increased diversity in the wrestling world. “It has always been important to me. I’m Puerto Rican from New York,” she told TV Insider. “We’re all very proud of who we are. My family, I’m proud of them and feel like I’m representing them. I’m also representing the culture while I’m doing what I’m doing. I want that to reflect well on all of us as Latinos and Latinas. You think of Eddie [Guerrero] and Rey [Mysterio], but I wanted people to initially, especially in NXT, to think of me. That was a huge thing for us.”

5. Pre-Fight Ritual

Vega has a moving ritual before she gets in the ring for a fight. “I have a moment where I talk to my dad,” she told HOLA! USA. “I call my guardian angels. I go through my list: my dad, my uncle, my grandfather. I mean, even my little puppy that I lost. So I get to talk to them and tell them to be there with me because, without them, I wouldn’t be where I am. And even though they’re gone, I feel them making sure that I’m safe in the ring. I always say, ‘Make sure I’m safe, make sure I remember everything, make sure that the fans love it.’”

MMA fighter Paige VanZant is used to dealing with heavy weights—but even though she makes it look effortless, her training is seriously intense. VanZant, 30, shared a video of herself wearing brown shorts and a black sports bra, pushing a very heavy sled across the gym with a smile on her face. VanZant is open about the incredible discipline it takes to train like an athlete and prepare for fights—here’s what her diet, fitness, and training routine looks like, and her best advice for anyone who wants to be strong.

1. She's Dedicated to Her Regime

VanZant is strict and dedicated to her workout regimen. “I’m in the gym every day twice a day,” she told Women Fitness. “Since I have switched over to professional boxing my schedule comprises of boxing every day, sometimes twice a day. And strength and conditioning three days a week. I do all of my training at American top team, a world renowned MMA and combat academy.”

2. Fighting Diet and Cheat Days

VanZant is careful about her diet, but makes a point of making her healthy food as delicious as possible. “Dieting is a huge part of being any sort of professional athlete,” she told Women Fitness. “My husband and I love cooking and we really enjoy making healthy meals together. I like to think of myself as a chef and have competed on many cooking shows. We of course have our occasional cheat day here and there. But once we have a flight scheduled it’s down to business. Then after we fight we go a little bit crazy and eat everything in sight.”

3. Intense Training and Relaxing Workouts

VanZant is active even on her “off” days, going on hikes to relax. “Every day is different, it depends on what day of the week it is,” she told Vogue. “We have lots of classes, wrestling, jujitsu. I do a lot of Pilates, yoga, CrossFit as well. I also try to include one relaxing workout through the week like hiking. When I gear up for a fight I try to cut out a lot of the fun outdoorsy workouts and do a lot more training in the gym. I do more cardio, and I run a lot if I can. I do a lot more sparring and more combat throughout the week.”

4. Fitness Goals

VanZant advises anyone wanting to get fit to start slowly and set realistic goals—you don’t have to work out like an MMA fighter to reap the rewards. “Just taking a cardio kickboxing class [can be helpful],” she told Vogue. “You can go into a gym and it’s all cardio-based and you get to learn a little bit of self-defense as well. When I started MMA, I got into the best shape of my life.”

5. Dancing With the Stars

VanZant loved her stint on Dancing With the Stars, as she has a background in dance. “Competing on Dancing With the Stars by far was one of the greatest experiences I have been able to take part in because of my successful MMA career,” she told Women Fitness. “I actually grew up dancing and had been away from it for the past 10 years. Being on the show helped me get back in touch with my roots. I absolutely loved my partner Mark Ballas. We are still very good friends and chat every now and then. I would love to be able to compete on the show one more time and redeem myself and my second place trophy. As a professional fighter I really want that first place win.”