Iskra Lawrence Reveals "Foolproof" Way to Exercise

Iskra Lawrence is opening up about her relationship with fitness. In a new interview with CelebWell, the model and body positivity advocate, who once struggled with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia, reveals that her approach to exercise hasn’t always been healthy. In fact, she used to equate breaking a sweat with “punishment.” However, over the years the mother-of-one has developed a healthier – and happier – method of working out. Read on to learn about how Iskra Lawrence learned to love exercise and why she decided to partner up with new online fitness platform and at-home gym OxeFit—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

1. She Used to See Exercise As Punishment

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Iskra explains that she hasn’t always had a healthy relationship with exercise. “As someone who's had an eating disorder and had body dysmorphia, I used to see exercise as punishment, and I used to simply see it as a means to burn more calories, so I could be in calorie deficit,” she tells CelebWell. It wasn’t until she found “that joy in movement” and realized that exercise didn’t have to be “all or nothing” that she started to enjoy it. “Now I know that there are so many different ways I can move my body,” she says.

2. She Gave Herself Challenges

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Iskra explains challenging herself helps keep her motivated to keep going. “When I do find a new challenge. I then feel really accomplished when I do something that's either unexpected or I know is empowering.” This could be in the form of setting a high number of reps or weights.

3. She Starting Viewing Strength As Power

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Iskra enjoys weight training, which makes her feel strong and empowered. “I like to view my body as something that's strong and something that's able, something that's taking me around the world enabling me to do things,” she continues. “I love going on hikes running after my little one.” She adds that this has helped change her mindset of how she views her body, “it’s like it's my home, I want it to be strong. I want it to be built out of brick, not straw.”

4. She Tries to Put Herself in Exercise Situations Where She Feels Comfortable

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While Iskra has been working out at her local gym in Austin, Texas (wearing a mask!) she reveals that she isn’t exactly comfortable in that setting. “As a woman I feel like I'm never taken seriously when I want to use a piece of weight equipment,” she says. “I get interrupted a lot, even during reps and sets. I've been interrupted multiple times, tapped on the shoulder trying to talk to me about form. And for me when I want to work out it's like I only have this much amount of time allotted to move, and I just want to be in it. I want to forget that I'm in the real world. I'm just in this zone.”

5. She Mixes Up Her Workouts

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Iskra explains that maintaining variety with her workouts is very crucial. Her partner, Philip Payne, can do the same cardio workout every night of the week, but she needs to mix up her routine. “That would drive me bananas,” she exclaims. “I need to switch it up.”

6. She Discovered OxeFit

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Iskra recently signed on as the newest ambassador to OxeFit, an at-home connected fitness platform. The brand’s XS1, an AI-powered total body at-home gym offering over 200 workouts and includes everything needed from weights and cables to a built-in pilates reformer and rowing machine, fusing together cardio and strength training in an easy to operate at-home workout experience. Programs include rowing, canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding, SurfSwiming, SkiCross and digitally-controlled pilates. Iskra explains that it checks off a lot of the boxes for her in terms of meeting her needs, including figuring out how to maintain variety with her workouts, being able to work out at home, and efficient use of workout time. “I need a foolproof way to be able to squeeze in a 15 minute workout because I just don't have time,” she says, adding that the creative machine enables you to “almost forget that you’re working out” and describes it as a “breath of fresh air,” compared to other methods. “Our aim is to educate people on how movement should be joyful,” she says.

Margot Robbie gives 100 percent to every role she takes on (the actress did 100 sit ups a day while training for I, Tonya!). So it’s no surprise that her workout routine for Barbie was intense—but incredibly effective, and the results are right there on screen for all to see. “She’s always had a very healthy approach to exercise,” trainer David Higgins told Women’s Health. “[For her], it’s about nothing more than being strong and healthy, physically and mentally.” Robbie’s Barbie workout is not an easy one, but just one hour will give amazing results. Here’s how she did it.

1. The Workout

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Robbie did a mixture of strength training and reformer Pilates with trainer David Higgins. Higgins shared the exact routine with Women’s Health:

Warm up with a foam roller.

15 reps each with minimal rest

Supine chest press

Bent-over row, right side

Bent-over row, left side

Standing bicep curl

Seated shoulder press

Supine skull crushers

100-rep ab challenge:

20 crunches

20 toe taps (legs together)

20 toe taps, left side

20 toe taps, right side

20 toe taps (legs together)

20 x curtsy lunges, right side

20 x curtsy lunges, left side

Reformer Pilates (2 mins each)

Wheelbarrow

Plank hold

Plank to pikes

Plank hold

Glute kickbacks, both sides

Leg circles

2. Reformer Pilates

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Using a reformer machine gives a low-impact workout with significant results. “Reformer Pilates has so many incredible benefits including increased core strength, injury prevention, correcting muscle imbalances, improving posture, flexibility and so much more,” Marisa Fuller, owner of Studio Pilates in Brooklyn, tells Vogue. “It really is a jack-of-all-trades workout. Reformer Pilates works on core stabilization which is vital to any athlete.”

3. Strength Training

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Strength training has incredible benefits—you don’t have to do hours of dance training like Robbie did to enjoys the benefits of strength and endurance. “Strength training can help you manage or lose weight, and it can increase your metabolism to help you burn more calories,” say the experts at the Mayo Clinic. “It's important to use proper technique in strength training to avoid injuries. If you're new to strength training, work with a trainer or other fitness specialist to learn correct form and technique. Remember to breathe as you strength train.”

4. How To Get Started

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Beginners are advised to take guidance from an expert if they’re not familiar with using reformer machines. “Pilates isn’t about how fast you perform the repetitions,” Fuller tells Vogue. “Instead, focus on controlling the movement to help isolate and strengthen the correct muscles… Everyone feels out of their element when they try Reformer Pilates for the first time, but don't let that deter you—with every class you'll gain confidence and feel the difference in your body as you develop strength and tone. There are a lot of different exercises that you'll be learning so don’t worry if you don’t feel like you’ve mastered them in your first class!”

5. This Writer Tries the Barbie Workout

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Writer Bridie Wilkins tried Robbie’s workout with Higgins, and lived to tell the tale. “As our hour together comes to an end (David has another five clients that day – all in different time zones), I feel good,” she writes for Women’s Health. “Whether for firing question after question at David at the same time as trying to perform the workout or not, I’m more out of breath than usual for a strength or reformer session, but I’m not as whacked as I would be after, say, a run. Every part of my body is aching; my core, my arms and my glutes, but I’ve still got plenty of… Kenergy.”

Linn Lowes, a successful fitness influencer, recently shared a motivating workout video on Instagram, sporting bright yellow workout gear while performing some of her favorite bodyweight exercises. "Let’s go! 🫵🏼🌤️Always loved these bodyweight circuits, especially in the sunset light!" she captioned the post. Linn emphasizes that you don’t need fancy gym equipment to get a great workout and boost your mood through exercise. Whether it's lunges, glute kickbacks, or RDLs, Lowes is proof that simple, effective exercises are key to staying in shape. Here’s a look at her top fitness habits that help her stay strong and healthy.

1. She Does Lunges

Lowes loves to do lunges to stay in shape. In her Instagram video, she is seen doing reverse lunge crunches and jumping lunges. ACE Fitness states that since lunges are a unilateral training exercise, they have a lot of benefits. “Unilateral training is a more effective way to build functional strength (than using both legs) because these types of movement mimic other everyday motions, like walking and climbing stairs — and not just to the working leg. Research suggests the strength gains to the nonworking side are about half of the strength gains of the working side.”

2. She Does Glute Kickbacks

Lowes does a lot of lower body workouts. One thing she likes to do is glute cable kickbacks. Lowes shared this video on Instagram of herself doing them. She captioned the post, “My key tips for targeting glute max & glute med with cable kickbacks! Both really good, I do them both frequently. 💪🏼 1️⃣ Glute Max - the biggest of your glute muscles. Turn toes out, heel in - lean forward as much as you can, hold onto the cable machine for stability and kick backwards with a slight angle. 2️⃣ Glute Med - Sits both underneath and slightly higher than your glute maximus. Lean forward, step over the cable with your non working leg, turn heel outwards on your working leg and kick in a cross movement.”

3. She Uses Weights

Lowes likes to use weights when she works out. She shared her approach in the caption of this Instagram post. “I used to train more like this in the beginning of my fitness journey then I transferred into more sets and fewer exercises. Now I’m back to enjoying both! Lots of exercises with light/medium weights, slow motions, lots of mindful muscle connection leaves your muscles exhausted. It’s so nice to work ut a sweat using weights from time to time! I never get sweaty moving heavy weights..”

4. She Does RDLs

Lowes likes to do RDLs to stay in shape. She revealed in this Instagram video that she likes to use them with a cable weight instead of a barbell. Lowes captioned it, “RDL’s with the cable instead of a barbell - yesss, I’m a bit obsessed! Started doing these after thousands RDL’s with a barbell because my lower back felt a bit fried. 

The setup is important however! Keep these 2 key points in mind if you decide to try it. 

1. You must stand on something elevated to keep the cable stretched at all times. 
2. You must be suuuuper close to the cable machine so the weight comes from beneath you and NOT in front of you. 

I also like to have a slightly wider stance than I usually have in a RDL movement. (Personal preference!) 

Save & Try!”

5. She Values Exercise

Lowes naturally values exercise. She talked about this in the caption of this Instagram post. “Training has been a huge thing for me during good times and bad times. It truly is medicine for your body mind and soul. I honestly don’t know where I’d be today without training because that’s one of the major things that made me jump out of bed when all I wanted to do was pull the curtains down and sleep for days.”