Kat McNamara’s Latest Workout Challenge Has Fans Amazed—Here’s Why

Kaytlin “Katniss” Neil is sharing details about her personal training services with her followers – in her workout gear. In a new social media post the MMA fighter shows off her amazing body in a two-piece exercise set while discussing “custom workouts” – and drives her followers wild. “You look sooo good 😍,” commented one of them. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.

1. Walking Backwards

Kaytlin does cardio and even walks backwards. “Here’s how to walk backwards!” she wrote in a post. “5-10 mins before a workout for a warm up. 20-30 mins for some LISS cardio. Start with level one and see how your knees feel! Then progress through the levels once one level feels comfortable on your knees. NEVER push through knee pain.”

2. Creatine

Kaytlin takes creatine, answering her followers' questions in a post. “When should I take creatine? Doesn’t matter when, as long as you consistently take it every day. Should I take it on days I don’t workout? Yes. Every. Day. Can women take creatine? Yes & they should! Every day. Can I take creatine if I don’t workout? Yes, it doesn’t just help with gym performance, it also is great for brain health. Why take creatine? It helps with energy, power, strength, endurance & brain health. It’s one of the most studied & safest supplements out there & with amazing benefits for taking it,” she writes.

3. How She Started MMA

“I grew up doing dance, gymnastics, and cheerleading. I made varsity as a freshman, my cheerleading team took first place at every single competition that we went to. I was captain my senior year. So, I thought I was set when I went and tried out for the college team, and then when I went and didn’t see my name on the list I was like, “What the heck? What do I do now?” I knew I wanted to stay active and compete in something. So, I was thinking CrossFit or body building. I actually did a couple of body building shows, but I did not like it, I did not like the diet. So, my friends happened to take me to MMA fights my freshman year of college and there was one women’s fight on the card, and I was like, “I’m doing that.” So then after that, I found a gym and started training, and it’s been 10 years now,” Kaytlin told UFC about how she got into martial arts.

4. Ab Workout

Kaytlin recently shared an ab working. She recommends adding “this to the end of your next workout,” she writes in a post. “Set a timer for 4 mins. Complete 20 reps of each exercise (10 each side) Repeat exercises as many times as you can in 4 mins! If you’re feeling spicy, take a 1 min break and repeat it!” she says.

-Plank Toe Taps

-Single Leg V-Ups

-Crossbody Mountain Climbers

-Crunch Heel Taps

5. Martial Arts

While “everyday is different” with her training, “a typical day of training is going to team practice, where we focus on mma,” she says. This includes “striking, mma wrestling, mma grappling then I’ll try to go to 1 or 2 other training sessions whether that is,” she told Century Martial Arts. Also, “boxing, muay thai, or jujitsu and squeeze in 45-60 minutes of strength training.”

Anyone who has watched Carrie Underwood perform live will understand why her exercise routine is so hardcore—it takes a huge amount of stamina and endurance, not to mention basic fitness, to perform on stage night after night. But how exactly does she do it? Underwood’s personal trainer breaks down exactly what her workouts look like, why they are so effective, and how the singer prioritizes her health and wellness. Read on to find out exactly how it’s done.

1. Full-Body Workout

Underwood’s long-time personal trainer Eve Overland says the singer has an incredible work ethic when it comes to her training. "Even though the touring life is high-demand and schedules are crazy, we have a set routine and can guarantee that time together," Overland tells Women’s Health. "Carrie prioritizes her time to work out. That is her 'me time' to do something she truly enjoys and to start her day on a positive note. Carrie is always up for a challenge… She loves to push her body. She continues to grow by trying new things and practices until it is mastered. She is a machine." Here is part of Underwood’s routine Overland shared:

Warm up: 15-minute jog or hill walk

Cardio round: Perform 3-4 rounds—30 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest. Rest 30 seconds in between rounds.

1. Toe taps
2. Box squat
3. Touchdowns
4. Box jump

Superset #1: Perform 3 rounds, resting for 60 seconds between each round and 10 seconds (or longer if you need!) between each exercise. For bilateral exercises, don't forget to repeat on left side before moving on.

1. Pullup (5 reps)
2. Kneeling single-arm cable lat pulldown on right side (10 reps)
3. Renegade dumbbell row (10-12 reps)
4. Right forearm plank thread-the-needle (30 seconds)

Cardio burst: Perform 1-3 rounds of the following move—30 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest.

2. Why She Loves It

Underwood loves the physical benefits of her workouts, but also appreciates the mental ones. “It can be a challenge to exercise, especially when you’re having a rough year in the world,” she tells Prevention. “Yes, it would be easier to sit on my couch, but that’s not going to make me feel good and that’s not going to keep me healthy. I want to choose what’s best for me‚ so I just get up and do it... It’s so important on every level, not just from a physical standpoint because you want to do it to look good—that’s just a byproduct and it’s awesome when you’re feeling good about yourself—but for your mental and emotional wellbeing. Even if you’re getting up and going for a walk... there’s so many benefits to movement and working your body.”

3. Why You’ll Love It

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So why are full-body workouts like Underwood’s so effective? “The benefits of working everything at once is you combine cardio and strength training which has been shown to increase fat loss, burn more calories and reduce heart health risk factors,” Chris Antoni, founder of Tailor Made Fitness, tells GQ UK. “If you can only get to the gym three times a week, this helps maximize workout efficiency by covering all muscles, and gives you greater flexibility and variation in your workouts.”

4. How To Get Started

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Whether at home or at the gym, make sure to incorporate a variety of movements into your routine. “Full-body workouts can be an effective way to build muscle and strength, especially for beginners or for those who are short on time and want to get a lot of work done in a single session,” Anthony Maritato, trainer and founder of PT database choosept1st.com, tells GQ UK. “It's important to incorporate a variety of exercises and training modalities in order to achieve balanced physical development and avoid overuse injuries. Changing up your regular workout routine by doing a full-body workout every so often can give your body the stimulus it needs to work other muscle groups and spark new growth, and can help fight mental fatigue when you find yourself going through the motions.”

5. This Writer Tried It

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Writer Addison Aloian tried the full Underwood/Overland workout for herself and was surprised at how challenging it was. “Since I’m used to doing a lot of the same workouts each week based on my personal programming, I don’t always feel as exhausted as I’d like to,” she writes in an article for Women’s Health. “This workout was a breath of fresh air in that regard, though—with exhaustion comes actual results and strength. Not only did it incorporate a type of exercise I’m not used to doing as much (cardio), but the strength training exercises that I was used to doing were also harder than in my workouts.”

Katy O’Brian is showing off her guns for GQ. In a new photoshoot the Love Lies Bleeding star flexes for the cameras, flaunting her incredibly strong body. “You look amazing and most of us probably envy your shape,” commented one of her followers. Another added “good lawd 🔥.” How does the 35-year-old approach diet and fitness? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.

1. Battling Crohn’s Disease

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Katy battles Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune condition with symptoms including diarrhea, abdominal pain, and intense fatigue. “My symptoms started at least a year before my diagnosis when I suddenly lost 15 pounds. Then I was just so tired, to the point of feeling like I could barely function, especially after a bigger meal. Meanwhile, it wasn’t unusual for me to have diarrhea four times over the course of a 12-hour day of filming. I had no idea what was going on, so I chalked my GI issues and fatigue up to nerves,” she told Self. “Then there were some weird symptoms that you don’t typically think of as being part of Crohn’s: I developed open sores on the corner of my mouth; I started having night sweats; and when I experienced even the slightest surprise, it felt like a bolt of electricity was shooting through my body.”

2. Martial Arts

Aside from being an actress and writer, “martial arts instructor” is also on Katy’s resume. Studies confirm that the practice helps with balance, cognitive function and psychological health in addition to weight loss and physical fitness.

3. Strength Training

While filming Love Lies Bleeding, Katy spent two to three hours every day at the gym doing cardio and lifting. “My character, Jackie, is training for a bodybuilding competition, so in addition to filming gym scenes and some pretty intense action scenes, I had to work out for multiple hours every night once I got home,” she told the publication.

4. Watching Her Diet

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“Paying attention to how my body reacts to different things has been a game changer for me. I’ve had to just try different things and see how they affect me. For instance, I have issues with high-fat foods and spicy foods. (Although I have to admit, while I moderate how much spicy food I eat, I’m not ready to give it up completely.) I’ve also found that taking a multivitamin that includes a digestive enzyme before I eat a questionable meal tends to work really well,” Katy said about her diet. “The filmmakers did an amazing job of making sure I was taken care of on set. I had a nutritionist who was responsible for all my meals, which made it easy to eat really healthy and to avoid my trigger foods,” said Katy.

5. Lower-Intensity Cardio and Rest

“I also had a trainer who designed a program that prioritized sustainability; whereas I’d usually do martial arts as my cardio, in addition to lifting, he had me doing lower-intensity cardio and taking one day fully off per week,” Katy added.