Elisabetta Canalis in Bathing Suit is “Stupenda”

Elisabetta Canalis is showing off her new bathing suit collection with the best possible model—herself! Canalis, 44, shared a picture of herself posing in a bronze one-piece swimsuit, much to the admiration of her many fans. “Stupenda!” one commented. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Canalis stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don’t miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

Canalis is a Pilates pro, first starting the practice when she was pregnant with daughter Skyler, 7. “I was hiking with my dogs twice a week. And then I started to do Pilates,” she says. “I had never done Pilates before. I found a very good place here in Los Angeles. I tried Pilates before and thought it was boring. The most important thing is to find a good school, a good teacher who motivates you. Even though I was pregnant, I saw results. The people who were teaching me knew exactly how to teach a pregnant woman.”

Canalis says she never diets. “I’m very athletic,” she says. “I love sports. I’m never on a diet regimen. I love food. When I’m not on the show, I eat a lot of protein and carbs.”

Canalis has always enjoyed high-intensity workouts. “My sport the last two years [pre-pregnancy] has been mostly martial arts, which is not really the best thing to do during pregnancy,” she says. “I do Krav Maga [an Israeli self-defense technique]. It’s definitely not a pregnancy thing. I had to replace it with something because my body was changing so fast. Good cardio was the best thing to do. I always had a good muscle structure so I didn’t really need to do a lot of weights or hard things. Cardio makes you feel good. It helps keep your energy high.”

Canalis never skips stretching before her workouts. “A lot of people don’t understand that stretching has to happen on a regular basis. It should be daily,” says David Nolan, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

Canalis loves horseback riding. “I did ten years of horseback riding,” she says. “It’s a really good workout. It’s my first passion in my life. I think right after this show [Dancing With the Stars], I will come back to horseback riding.”