Skylar Diggins-Smith in Workout Gear is "Dangerously Disciplined"

Skylar Diggins-Smith is a member of the WNBA team, the Seattle Storm. She had previously played for the Tulsa Shock, the Dallas Wings, and the Phoenix Mercury. Smith shared a video on Instagram of herself practicing basketball. She captioned the video, “It hit different when your dangerously disciplined.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Skylar Diggins-Smith stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

1. She Eats A Protein-Rich Breakfast

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In an interview with ELLE, Smith talked about her daily diet. She says that she likes to get a lot of protein into her diet. She says that she eats a protein-rich breakfast. “For my breakfast, I am an oatmeal and eggs girl—boiled, poached, scrambled. I think it's so important to get, you know, protein in before I get up and go to practice since I have to work out and stuff like that so I'm not burning off any muscles. To me, that's the one thing I need to start my day. If I'm in a rush, I'll eat fruit and scrambled eggs, with avocado.”

2. She Does Box Jumps

Smith shared some of her favorite workouts in an interview with ELLE. She says that she doesn’t skip leg day, and shared one of her favorite lower-body exercises. “I do box jumps. You don't have to have the tallest box you've ever had in your life. A 12-inch box will work to do your box jumps. Box jumps help with explosions, verticals, and your legs get a good workout. I also do a lot of stuff for my core too, so planks and side planks.”

4. She Cooks

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Smith loves to cook, and shared some of her favorite meals with ELLE. “I started cooking more recently. My husband and I cook the majority of our meals. We gave up red meat, pork, and a few other things. I would say I have a pescatarian diet. I do eat a little chicken, but mostly fish. I try to meal prep for us and cook. I prepare veggies, meat, and potatoes beforehand because I'm so busy during the week. The meal prep helped me a lot and it also saves a lot of money. Plus, you know what you're putting in your body. It’s important for me to know what I’m putting in my body and how it affects my performance.”

5. She Takes Care Of Her Skin

Smith makes sure to take care of her skin, especially after a workout. She shared her post-workout skincare routine with ELLE. “The biggest thing is you’re sweating all the time. I try to keep my skin fresh and clean. To moisturize I use a coconut oil—my grandma is really old school so I use a lot of natural oils to keep my skin soft and moisturized. You got to keep some lip balm, body spray, and deodorant. It’s important.”

3. She Does A Variety Of Workouts

Even when Smith isn’t playing basketball, she makes sure to stay consistent with her workouts. She tells ELLE that she does a variety of different things. “I’m revving up for the season already, which doesn’t start until April, but it’s a lifestyle so I feel like I never stop anyway. I spend about two hours working out just off the court—no basketball, just body, core, and strength. It really depends on the day, I also do some pool workouts. I spend two hours doing weight and body and then I spend an hour to two on the floor. For four days, I just do body workouts and three days a week I do body workouts plus basketball court work. When I get closer to the nitty gritty I’ll ramp it up. It’s about four-hour workout days on the days I do both and on the others it’s two hours.”

Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner welcomed her first baby in September 2023, and is working hard to be her healthiest postpartum self. Skinner, 27, shared a video of herself doing an intense cardio workout with friends, wearing brown leggings and a white sports bra. “Don’t worry we’re actually both trying our best 😂 @mykaylaskinner2016 is killing it 3 months postpartum 😮‍💨 ,” the Instagram caption reads. Here’s how Skinner stays fit and happy.

1. Trainer Sessions

Skinner was forced to take a step back after getting COVID and recovering from a bone spur in her foot. “I was out of the gym for a little over a month in total,” she previously told ELLE. “For a gymnast, that’s a lifetime. It has definitely set me back, which sucks. But it did give me extra time for my foot to heal. Right now I’m training in the gym for five and a half hours every day, with Wednesdays and Sundays off. I also go to a trainer twice a week, and physical therapy twice a week.”

2. Gymnastics Foundation

Skinner loves trying new sports and workout routines. “I feel like gymnastics really makes you good at any sport,” she told Bustle. It will be fun to try different things and see what else that I'm good at. In Arizona, pickleball has become a trend, so I'm excited to be done with gymnastics and really get into it. I would also love to explore and go hiking.”

3. Gluten on the Weekends

Skinner avoids caffeine and gluten. "[I'm] always trying my best to stay hydrated, but it never seems good enough,” she told Delish. “I drink my 32-ounce water bottle for gym time and sometimes a bit more. Whenever I go out to eat, I drink water. So, yeah, [I don't drink] that much. But I’m getting better since water helps with recovery… I used to eat whatever I wanted. I’m now gluten-free except for the weekends.”

4. Positive Mindset

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Skinner went through periods where she felt self-doubt, something that led to her changing her overall mindset for the better. “It's hard being a high-level athlete because there are so many times you get really down on yourself,” she previously told Bustle. “For me, if I'm not perfect, after a meet I'll text my husband and say, ‘I'm going to quit. I'm done. I suck.’ But then I'm like, wait a second—if I suck I wouldn't be here. Now I have a mental trainer that I talk to in order to change that mindset.”

5. Excited For the Future

Skinner is excited for the future, and showing her daughter what her mother once did. “"I'm so excited. I hope I can be that mom — that cool mom," she told PEOPLE. "Just to be able to compete at the Olympic Games and to hit four events, do the best that I did was something that will last for me forever. It'll just be cool to be able to tell my kids one day that I went to the Olympics."

College basketball star Hailey Van Lith has been training hard her whole life to be a champion—even in high school she would work out every day to improve her game, and her discipline has clearly paid off. Van Lith, 22, shared a picture of herself wearing black leggings and a cropped sweater, doing a pull up at the gym. “WAKE UP HAILEY POSTED,” commented her friend Angel Reese. Here’s how Van Lith stays fit, focused, and a force to be reckoned with.

1. Strength Exercises

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Van Lith’s strength (as evidenced by those pull ups) is impressive. “A pull-up is a bodyweight exercise that targets your upper body, particularly your muscles in your back, shoulders, and arms,” Lucie Cowan, PhD, master trainer at Third Space and PT tells Women’s Health. “When properly performed, they also engage your abs, including your deep transverse abdominis, a muscle which wraps around your trunk.”

2. Passionate About the Game

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Van Lith is tired of the double standard women face when it comes to showing emotion during their sport. “Serena Williams is a great example because she might hit her tennis racquet on the ground out of frustration,” she told NBC Sports. “People will say ‘oh, you’re not acting like a lady or, or you have a bad attitude.’ But when a man does it, it’s just because they love the game and they’re so passionate… Be surrounded by people who always tell you to continue to be yourself. For me, my parents, my coaches, my teammates have all been there for me saying ‘continue being you’, because that’s what makes us great.”

3. Mental Toughness

Van Lith knew her move from Louisville to LSU would be tough—but she was prepared. “I think it’s unprecedented, and we just gotta put one foot in front of the other, and I think you have to lean into the people that have been here and just accept the challenge,” she told LSU Wire. “I think it’s about mental toughness, true competitiveness, and knowing who you are. My motto for this year has been ‘Take one step every day.’ Sometimes I have bad games, but the next morning I get up and take another step. It’s hard, but that’s why I came here.”

4. Discipline and Commitment

Van Lith is disciplined about putting in the time for her training, as she knows it's integral to her success. “It’s an everyday commitment,” she told The Wenatchee World. “There are days where I don’t want to go to the gym for the third time, but I know I still want to be the greatest to ever play women’s basketball. If I want to achieve that, then I have to push through those days where I don’t always want to do it.”

5. Olympic Dreams

Van Lith is focused on the next big goal. “I’m really focused on the Paris 2024 Olympics,” she told NBC Sports. “I would love to be there and would feel honored to be there but obviously if that doesn’t happen, I’m still young so LA 2028 would be great for 5×5 or 3×3. I’m also focused on the WNBA and the next level, being a top pick in the draft and going to a team and making an impact in whatever role I have to be in.”

On Instagram, she clearly has an incredible spirit in these joyful photos of her with the team. The American basketball player from LA and Los Vegas Aces Guard in the WNBA is a world champion and a fitness guru. She has the dedication and drive to be part of winning championships back to back, so what’s her secret to staying so fit, strong, healthy, and driven? We did some diving into her routine.

1. She grew up playing sports

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Being active was a family affair growing up. “Everyone in my family played volleyball,” she said. “But I just didn’t have that passion for it. I just kinda wanted to do something different, so my dad took me to play pick-up when I was a kid, so I just started playing, and I loved it.”

2. She goes for good gear

Plum focuses on finding good gear to use while playing. When asking her what she would go for in DICK’s Sporting Goods, “I would definitely head for the shoe section and get some sweet Under Armour shoes. Hopefully the Plum’s would be in stock, the ones that just dropped, so I would start with those and then I’d probably go to the sweatshirts,” she said.

3. She works on mobility

Mobility is a big priority when training. “In basketball, there’s a lot of different elements that you need,” she said. “You need strength, you need speed, but you need mobility. You need to be able to change direction and so working on those things has helped me to become a better athlete.”

4. She does box jumps

Plum does challenging box jumps to work on control. “It’s not just about the hours you put in, but what you are doing, and being purposeful with your movements (is what counts),” she said. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “a 2022 study showed that a bodyweight workout like calisthenics counts as high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Study participants who did calisthenics exercises at a vigorous pace got the same cardio benefits as interval running, sprinting and walking on a treadmill.”

5. She focuses on staying mentally clear

Plum has the training aspect down, so she focuses on staying mentally clear, as well. “When I think about being motivated or passionate about things, I really just try to stay present,” she said. “I try to stay in the moment and whatever is in front of me, whether it’s a workout or whether it’s a game, a lift, I just try to be great in that workout.”

WNBA star Jewell Loyd doesn’t cut any corners when it comes to her workouts. Loyd, 30, shared a video of herself working out in the gym in black sweatpants and a purple shirt, sparring and flexing her biceps. “Back with my guy!!! @foxholecoach #5amclub,” she captioned the high-energy post. Loyd was dubbed the “Gold Mamba” by Kobe Bryant himself—here’s how Loyd is continuing on his work, and what her own training looks like.

1. Meditation and Workouts

Loyd starts the day with meditation and taking her dogs for a one-mile walk. “When it comes to breakfast, I do not hold back,” she told Women’s Health. “I love breakfast, and unless I’m just having a smoothie, I go all out. I love pancakes and waffles, and if it’s game day, I add bacon and eggs. I’ll never skip breakfast. Post-breakfast, I get training. Sometimes I’ll lift weights in the morning, but usually, it’s basketball first to just kind of get my body moving. If I’m starting with lifting, I try to get a nice sweat and get tempos in my lifts, but it doesn’t take me super long to get warm. I always focus most on my shoulders.”

2. PickleBall Star

Loyd has developed an appreciation for pickleball, and even takes part in tournaments. “I start with basketball workouts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,” she told Women’s Health. “On Tuesdays and Thursdays, it’s pickleball, and that’s a two-hour workout of technique stuff. Lately, I’ve been playing pickleball every day, getting ready for a tournament. My body’s been adjusting to a different sport, but it’s been fun. I grew up playing tennis, so I’m used to the spinning motions, but there really are different muscles being used compared to basketball.”

3. Gold Mamba Workout

Dubbed “Gold Mamba” by Kobe Bryant himself, Loyd created the Gold Mamba Workout to help aspiring ballers in his honor. "Kobe had a lot of information and, in his latest years after he retired, he did a great job of giving that information to the next generation of athletes, regardless of the sport they were in," Loyd told Business Insider. "For me, understanding that and knowing that I have information, I want to do as much as I can to give that back to the next generation."

4. Sleep Habits

Loyd tries to practice good sleep habits. “I'm fairly consistent, but depending on my workout schedule, my sleep fluctuates a little bit,” she told Women’s Health. “I obviously sleep better when I don't have to wake up for that 5:00 lift. But sometimes even when I don’t have to get up that early my sleep is still off because maybe I played an extra game of pick-up the day before or did something else and didn’t recover enough.”

5. Professional Training For All

Loyd says the 94FEETOFGAMEAPP allows Kobe’s legacy to be passed down and appreciated even by people who couldn’t afford one-on-one training. "This app allows people who really don't have resources or don't have a personal trainer to get professional training and advice — the real stuff and not just stuff from some people who don't know anything about the league," Loyd told Business Insider. "They're getting real access to Phil [Handy]— who's been in the league and has trained everyone from Kobe to Kawhi [Leonard] to Kyrie [Irving] — and real information, which is hard to get sometimes, especially for females. So allowing them to have that all in one place in an app is pretty amazing.”