Nina Dobrev in Bathing Suit Swims with Sharks

Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev is proof you can have a balanced approach to health and fitness, and still look incredible. The 33-year-old actress posted a photo of herself wearing a one piece swimsuit with pants and a shirt on top, captioning the shot “❣️❣️❣️.” "So beautiful," said one commenter. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 6 ways Dobrev 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!

1. She Has An At-Home Gym

Dobrev put together an at-home gym so she could continue to work on her fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I started slowly, over time, accumulating equipment and things that I could use to move my workouts at home," Dobrev told Shape. "When I'm done shooting and I have to memorize the next day's work, I can sit on the bike with my script and exercise, and learn my lines for the next day. I'm really proud of my home gym, I use it a lot. It's really nice to have that flexibility of working out, whether it's really early in the morning before I go to set, or really late at night when I get home from set, or after a long flight."

2. “Mama Needs Some Coffee”

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Dobrev starts her day with “some real strong, strong coffee,” she tells Harper’s Bazaar. “I do a shot of espresso and then I do a regular coffee and I mix them together.” Coffee has been shown to have protective benefits for the liver—but there’s an important caveat. “We have a lot of evidence that coffee is good for the liver,” says liver specialist Jamile Wakim-Fleming, MD. “You have to consume regular coffee — not decaf — daily to get the liver benefits. There’s something inherent about caffeine that is helpful to the liver.”

3. She Free-Dives With Sharks

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Dobrev loves free-diving with sharks and is an outspoken proponent of shark conservation. “If you’ve been following me for a while you know how much I love free diving with sharks,” she captioned an Instagram video. “I used to be afraid of them until I got into the water to try to get over my fear. That's when I realized how uninterested in humans they are. Since then, I've gotten to be in the water with so many different kinds of sharks, and it’s been a dream of mine to swim with Tiger sharks specifically, which I FINALLY got to do with @oceanramsey & @juansharks.”

4. She Loves Bread

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Dobrev is not interested in a carb-free lifestyle—the actress loves to eat bread. “Sometimes you eat the bread basket, and sometimes the bread basket eats you 🥖,” she captioned a tongue-in-cheek Instagram snap. “Traditional sourdough undergoes a slow fermentation process, the result of which is an increase in the bioavailability of the bread’s vitamins and minerals,” says registered nutritionist Nicola Shubrook. “This process also starts the breakdown of protein (including gluten), making sourdough easier to digest. Research suggests that the fermentation process improves the bioavailability of fiber and minerals. This is because a naturally occurring compound found in grains, called phytic acid, is broken down and this enables us to access the grain’s nutrients more readily.”

5. She’s a Yogi

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Dobrev has a background in gymnastics and is a regular practitioner of yoga. “Despite popular belief, yoga is more than just a physical practice—yoga is a complete program of how to live in the world,” board-certified internal medicine physician and registered yoga teacher Ingrid Yang, MD, tells SELF. “You never hold any posture for too long; therefore, if you dislike a posture, you know you’ll get to move on soon enough. And if you love a posture, you learn to let it go because you cannot dwell in only the things you like—the next posture will be called out soon enough. Thus, it teaches us the natural rhythms of life. When you are uncomfortable, you learn to sit with discomfort because you know it will pass. When you are joyful and want to hold onto something, you learn to let it go because things inevitably change.”

6. She Mixes Up Her Workouts

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Dobrev loves to mix up her workouts, enjoying a “workout cocktail” of running, yoga, boxing, weight training, and walking her dog, Maverick. “I’m getting older and more conscious of what I eat and how I eat it and what I do,” she says. “Doing something different [each day] has been the most fun, and I’ve seen the most benefit because you shock your system. I need to sweat every single day somehow, even if it’s just in the steam room. Some days are better than others, I’ll be honest with you. Some days, Maverick gets a shorter walk than she probably deserves, if I’m running late or don’t have it together or press the snooze button 18 times too many.”

Nina Dobrev is swimming with the sharks! On Monday, the Love Hard actress shared a throwback photo taken by conservation photographer Juan Oliphant to her Instagram Stories. In it, she shows off her fantastic figure during an underwater dive expedition with One Ocean Diving. Aside from scuba diving, how does the star stay fit? Read on to see 6 ways Nina Dobrev prioritizes her health 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!

1. She Loves Working Out

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Nina enjoys exercise, including yoga, HIIT, and boxing. "I just love working out," she told Women's Health. "Doing something different [each day] has been the most fun, and I've seen the most benefit because you shock your system.” She added to Shape that strength training is one of her main methods. "I actually did not do a lot of [strength training] in the past-I only did yoga and ran in terms of training. Strength training with weights and such a regimented schedule has been new to my life, and now that I understand the way it all works, the science behind it, it's changed everything for me.”

2. She Is Active Outdoors

In addition to her regular workouts, Nina stays incredibly active outdoors. Aside from scuba, she hikes, skis and snowboards with beau Shaun White, and rides bikes.

3. She Fuels Her Body All Day Long

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Nina makes sure to eat throughout the day so she doesn’t get too hungry. "I used to eat three full meals and then I would not be able to move after each meal. I would be so full and tired. Now, I eat all the time but portion control is what's important for me-I'm eating more in total but not more at a time,” she told Shape. “Basically, I aim to have the size of my thumb in fat, the size of my palm in protein, and then unlimited veggies. I wish I'd learned this in school."

4. She Juices

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Nina also keeps herself hydrated with healthy juices. "When I'm sick or not feeling great, I'm all about the juices," she told Well+Good. "It seems like the worse the taste, the better it is for you, so I do ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper, oregano oil—ugh, double ugh— lemon, everything." Sometimes she even adds collagen peptides for a bit of protein.

5. She Pumps Herself Up with Music

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"Music is a big part of my training and my life. Before I had a trainer I would go to the gym and go on the treadmill and whenever it was the chorus I would sprint and whenever it was not the chorus I would just jog. If there's a beat I can usually get into a groove and sense what's happening and if something burns I just plow through it because the music is what drives me,” she told Shape.

6. She Exercises in the Morning

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"You need to make a decision-do I want to look and feel a certain way and put the work into it? I see the difference so I make the time for it on set. I would wake up an hour earlier. Even though I was exhausted after a 12-hour day and did not want to work out, I did it because I always knew I would feel better after,” she explained to Shape about why she gets her workouts in early in the day. “I do it first thing when I wake up because then I can't make up an excuse for it, like being tired later on in the day. Because usually by 6 p.m. you're just like, I have no energy. I've done all the things I've done! I don't want to do anything else! I just get it done in the morning."

Nina Dobrev is embracing the winter, in a unique way. Dobrev posted a video on Instagram of herself enjoying time in the snow. In the video, she falls backwards while wearing a winter coat. She then pops up in a red bathing suit. She captioned the video, “My version of a meltdown.” How does she stay so fit while having so much fun? Read on to see 5 ways Nina Dobrev 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!

1. She Snowboards

Making funny videos on Instagram is not the only thing Dobrev loves to do in the snow. She is also an avid snowboarder, and has posted photos of her on the slopes on Instagram. Dobrev is also dating professional snowboarder Shaun White, so the two of them might like to board together.

2. She Works Out With Her Friends

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Dobrev says to Harper’s Bazaar that she loves to work out and go to classes with her friends. “Before dinner we often meet up at a Les Mills (fitness) class together - my favorite is Grit - or a dance class, or go to the gym. We'll detox and then retox."

3. She Makes Healthy Smoothies

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Dobrev broke down her favorite meals to Harper’s Bazaar, where she revealed that she has a go-to smoothie recipe. "I make the same shake for breakfast every single morning: Sunwarrior protein powder, the chocolate flavor, half a banana, coconut peanut butter that I have shipped in from Hawaii, almond milk, spinach, kale, and cinnamon.”

4. She Thinks About Portions

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Dobrev revealed to Shape that she is now a lot more conscious about her portion sizes, and that it has helped her stay alert and active. "I used to eat three full meals and then I would not be able to move after each meal. I would be so full and tired. Now, I eat all the time but portion control is what's important for me-I'm eating more in total but not more at a time.”

5. She Strength Trains

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Dobrev also told Shape that she has started to do strength training exercises, and she’s seeing results. "I actually did not do a lot of [strength training] in the past-I only did yoga and ran in terms of training. Strength training with weights and such a regimented schedule has been new to my life, and now that I understand the way it all works, the science behind it, it's changed everything for me.”

Nina Dobrev is enjoying a Costa Rican vacation with her boyfriend, legendary snowboarder Shaun White. Which means her Instagram followers are getting to see a lot of swimsuit photos. Dobrev lounged in a red one piece, on a towel, in her most recent photo, captioning it, with tongue in cheek, “Hakuna my tatas.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Nina Dobrev 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!

1. She Makes Juices When She’s Sick

Dobrev tells Well + Good that whenever she’s sick, she likes to make juices at home. She says that she likes to put a lot of different fruits, veggies, and vitamins in her recipes, no matter if she enjoys the taste or not. “When I’m sick or not feeling great, I’m all about the juices,” says Dobrev. "It seems like the worse the taste, the better it is for you, so I do ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper, oregano oil—ugh, double ugh— lemon, everything.”

2. She Prioritizes Her Sleep

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For Dobrev, getting eight hours of sleep each night is a priority. “No product is going to replace sleep—if you don’t rest, those dark circles are not going to go away," she says to Well + Good. Dobrev also says that she likes to use products that help her sleep soundly. "I use a sound machine app on my phone called White Noise. I sleep so much better with it, especially when I travel.”

3. She Trains Like An Athlete

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While Dobrev is an actress, she’s a professional athlete when it comes to working out. Dobrev’s trainer, Emily Samuel, gives her extremely intense workouts to do, and treats her like a professional football or baseball player. “What I really like about Nina is that she is super badass and she loves athletic training,” Samuel tells SELF. “I give her very athletic workouts that I would give an actual [pro] athlete.”

4. She Loves Leg and Arm Workouts

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Dobrev likes to do exercises with her trainers that work multiple parts of her body. Celebrity trainer, Harley Pasternak, posted this video on Instagram of Dobrev doing glute raises with tricep lifts. “I love that it’s incredibly efficient,” Pasternak tells SELF of this exercise. “It targets two very important posterior chain muscles, the butt and triceps, and requires very little equipment, and because you’re lying on your back, your heart rate really never gets too high.”

5. She Inherited Her Family’s Work Ethic

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Dobrev is extremely hardworking, and she says that she learned this from her family. She is the daughter of immigrants, who moved to Canada when she was a young age. She tells SELF that she grew up watching her parents work hard at their jobs, and that this influenced her greatly. "My mom crossed into Canada to meet him at Niagara Falls with one suitcase and a kid in each hand," Dobrev says. "I learned hard work from them."

Nina Dobrev is out at sea in her swimsuit. The Vampire Diaries alum shows off her incredible figure on one of her latest adventures, out on a boat with her boyfriend, Shaun White, and a bunch of their friends, in Indonesia. “All hands on deck,” she captioned a series of Instagram snaps, including several of herself in bathing suits. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 6 of Nina Dobrev’s top fitness tips for staying 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!

1. Go Free Diving

Nina loves free diving. “If you’ve been following me for a while you know how much i love free diving with sharks. i used to be afraid of them until i got into the water to try to get over my fear. that’s when i realized how uninterested in humans they are. since then, i’ve gotten to be in the water with so many different kinds of sharks, and it’s been a dream of mine to swim with Tiger sharks,” she captioned this video. Free diving is a great leg workout.

2. Drink Coffee

Nina loves starting her morning with a jolt. In many of her photos on social media, you can find her sipping on a cup of Joe. A new 2022 study published in European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that drinking two to three cups a day of most types of coffee – especially a mild to moderate intake of ground, instant, and decaffeinated coffee – may protect you from cardiovascular disease and an early death.

3. Go Surfing

Dobrev is also an avid surfer. Not only is the sport great for promoting cardiovascular fitness from paddling, it helps build shoulder and back strength and leg and core strength.

4. Snowboard

Ever since Nina has been dating Olympian Shaun White, she has been spending a lot of time hitting the slopes. “Winter wonderland,” she captioned this photo of one of their many snowboarding adventures.

5. Play Pickleball

Nina recently picked up a new sport: Pickleball. “I eat pickles on rooftops with balls #itspaddletime,” she captioned a post. The racquet sport is very similar to tennis, which blends together cardio and aerobic exercise, as there is a lot of running around, and hand-eye coordination says ACE Fitness.

6. Take a Hike

As can be evidenced in her latest Instagram post, Nina loves going hiking – especially when on an adventure. According to the National Parks Service, taking a hike is a great form of exercise, as it is a great whole-body workout, “from head to toe and everything in between,” they say. Some of the physical benefits include building stronger muscles and bones, improving your sense of balance, improving your heart health, and decreasing the risk of certain respiratory problems. It also offers many mental health benefits, according to a Stanford University study.