Claudia Gadelha is hitting the gym – on her birthday. In a new social media post the MMA star shows off her strong body – including her chiseled abs – during a workout session on her special day, wearing a two-piece exercise set. “Why should I take a day off from the habits that make me my best self? Just because it’s my birthday doesn’t mean I should distract myself with things that don’t benefit my health, well-being, or the goals I have for my life. It doesn’t matter if it’s Monday, Sunday, my birthday, or even a holiday—I’ll keep doing the things that build the best version of me every single day. That’s what winners do. That’s what living a life on purpose looks like,” she captioned the Instagram video. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
Martial Arts
Claudia has been fighting for her body since she was a kid. “I feel like I was lucky to find martial arts at a young age. I know people start even younger today, but I feel like I had the opportunity to use my youth to learn about respect, discipline, and hard work in a martial arts academy,” she told Thorne. “I knew what I wanted to be when I found martial arts at age 14. My drive to get it done was my family. I wanted to show them how big I could be. My dream was to go back home one day and make my family proud of me.”
Meditation
Claudia gets her zen on first thing in the morning. “I meditate for 5 to 10 minutes and write down my goals for my sessions I have during the day,” she told Thorne. “When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress,” says the Mayo Clinic. Benefits include:
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
- Increasing imagination and creativity
- Increasing patience and tolerance
- Lowering resting heart rate
- Lowering resting blood pressure
- Improving sleep quality
Nutrition
“Nutrition is a big part of being a great athlete. Like I’ve been saying, your body needs the best fuel you could possibly feed it with. I treat my body as a Lamborghini, and I would only put the best gas in my Lamborghini,” she told Thorne. Her favorite meal of the day? “I love my breakfast, so I cook a very nice Brazilian breakfast every morning to be nourished for my hardest session, which is always in the a.m.,” she said.
Sleep
Claudia understands the importance of sleep. “I have been trying to learn new ways for helping my body and brain stop a little bit so I can rest, but my nonstop mindset can keep me away from a good night’s sleep sometimes,” she told Thorne. “I didn't care when I was younger, but now I know how important a good night of sleep is for my health and recovery, so I do everything I can to have a good night of sleep.”
Cardi, Strength Training, HIIT
Claudia gets her heart rate up in the morning. “I love waking up to a nice cardio session, so even on my rest days, I wake up and go for a nice run or a high intensity session. I work out two to three times a day. Usually a strength and conditioning session and two technical sessions,” she says.
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