Witney Carson In Workout Gear Says “You’re Stronger Than You Think”

Professional dancer Witney Carson welcomed baby number 2 in May 2023, and her postpartum fitness journey has been anything but easy. Carson, 30, shared a video of herself wearing a variety of different workout outfits, detailing her journey back to strength. “My 9 month pp journey for the second time, and what a JOURNEY it was! I feel you mamas, it’s freaking hard! You’re stronger than you think! Does it get harder with every baby because wow?! 😅” she captioned the post. Here’s how Carson takes care of her health and wellness both inside and out.

1. Morning Workouts

Carson works out first thing in the morning before the workday starts—her favorites are Barry's Bootcamp, Rise Nation, F45, Cycle House, and Carrie's Pilates. “I love anything that gets my heart rate up with good music and leaves me dead after!” she told L’Oreal Paris. “I love Pilates especially for stretching and lengthening. When I’m on the season, a typical day would start with a morning workout and, depending on the day of the week, choreographing. From there, I go to rehearsals for five to six hours, make dinner, and spend time with the hubs. I also answer emails and plan my weekly blogs and Instagram posts.”

2. Healthy Treats

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Carson loves healthy treats to satisfy her sweet tooth, like her peanut butter apples. “Peanut butter apples are a perfect sweet treat,” she says. “They are so quick and easy to make and help keep things on the healthier side. Simply cut an apple in half and spread peanut butter on both sides. You can leave it as simple as this, or for a little extra savoriness, I like to drizzle caramel or chocolate on top. You can also add crumbled pretzels or mashed up Reese’s pieces if you are looking for a little extra indulgence.”

3. Skin Protection

Carson was diagnosed with melanoma when she was 19, so skincare protection is a non-negotiable. “For my face and neck, EltaMD has an amazing UV Restore Tinted SPF 40,” she told New Beauty. “I love this one specifically because as a working mom, I can’t fuss with a ton of skin-care products, and this one kind of serves as a moisturizer and a sunscreen, and it has a slight tint so it gives my skin that healthy glow.”

4. Surfing and Hiking

Carson loves being active even on the weekends. “Usually on weekends I try to relax from the week,” she told L’Oreal Paris. “I spend time with family and friends and usually look for amazing restaurants to eat out. My husband and I love food and movies. We’re constantly looking for new and upcoming restaurants to try,” she shares. “In the summer, we’ll usually be out on the lake, surfing, hiking—honestly anything outside.”

5. Postpartum Confidence

Carson learned to be kinder to herself after welcoming her first baby Leo in January 2021. “‘Listen, this is your body making a baby, birthing a baby, this is beautiful, this is amazing and you’re still amazing, no matter what your size is,” she told Hollywood Life. “Whether you’re your fittest or your skinniest to your biggest and everything in between. You’re still beautiful.’ I felt like I had to do a lot of soul searching and a lot of leaning on my husband and my family to kind of encourage me to get back to that good mental state where I was accepting every stage of my body.”

Whitney Simmons, a popular fitness influencer, consistently shares her wellness journey with her millions of followers. Known for her dedication to mental and physical health, she regularly posts workout routines, tips for managing her autoimmune condition, and the importance of gratitude. Recently, Simmons shared a back and bicep workout on Instagram, offering tips like "elbows have to stay pinched to your side" when doing bicep curls. Beyond the gym, she’s open about her struggles with psoriasis and how she's embraced confidence over time. From mixing up her workouts to trying new fitness approaches like Pilates, Simmons is an inspiration to her followers, showing that wellness is a combination of fitness, mental health, and self-care. Here's a look into her approach.

1. She Lifts Weights

Simmons showed off a recent workout that targeted her back and biceps while wearing cute brown camo workout pants, a white tube top, and white sneakers. When doing bicep curls, she explained that “elbows have to “stay pinched to your side,” and palms should face the sky. Another tip the trainer gave was to drive your elbow towards your hip, then squeeze your lat at the bottom when doing single-arm cable pulldowns.

1️⃣ 3x10 bentover barbell row

2️⃣ 3x10 wide bicep curls

3️⃣ 3x10 single arm cable pulldown

superset with 4️⃣ 10 cable bicep curls

5️⃣ 2x10 reverse fly

2. She Doesn’t Hide Her Psoriasis

Simmons once felt uncomfortable showing her psoriasis, an autoimmune condition that causes itchy, scaly patches of skin, but now she’s in a more confident place not to feel shame or embarrassment over the condition. “The more severe it got, the more I wanted to cover it,” she told Women’s Health. She worried that showing it would make people uncomfortable. But now, she chooses to be vulnerable. “I have so many women in my DMs who say, ‘I used to cover every inch of my body at the gym, and now I just don’t care. I am going to wear the shorts.’”

3. She’s Grateful

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Faced with heavy and dark life issues, at one point, Simmons wanted to end her life by driving into a concrete wall. “But “at the very last second, I decided, ‘Not yet,’” she told Women’s Health. A few days later she started therapy and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. She took a long break from social media, and followers began asking what had happened. She shared her story on the Fleurish podcast and then eventually her channels. Therapy and telling her story helped her grow confident, and now Simmions is in a great place. “From seeing nothing beautiful in any day, to now—I am so grateful that I made it through that,” she says. “It is a beautiful day to be alive.”

4. She Mixes Up Her Workouts

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Experts always recommend switching up your gym routine to help prevent hitting a plateau with fitness goals, reduce the risk of injury, and keep workouts fun. Simmons mixes up her workouts and shares with followers exactly what she does to achieve her goals. For leg days, she does the following:

“LEGS GET IT ❤️‍🔥 let me walk you through my glute workout”

1️⃣ 3x10 bb hip thrust

2️⃣ 3x8 bb RDL

3️⃣ 3x8 front rack step up

4️⃣ 3x10 glute med cable kickbacks

In another video, she shared other ways to target your legs and glutes.

Whitney Simmons/Instagram

1️⃣ 3x8 bb RDL

2️⃣ 3x10 bb hip thrust

3️⃣ 3x8 deficit reverse lunge

4️⃣ 3x10 weighted glute dom back extension

superset

5️⃣ 10 bodyweight

5. She Isn’t Afraid to Try New Workouts

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Earlier this year, Simmons tried Pilates for the first time. In the video, simply titled “Pilates Princess,” she did a variety of moves and was taken aback by how much she worked her muscles. Are we on the easiest resistance,” she asked her instructor. “This just feels a little too advanced,” she joked. “My belly hurts so bad,” she laughed when doing the ab portion of the workout. When it came time to focus on the lower body, she asked, “Do you see my legs shaking.” She then said, “I don’t think I’ve ever worked my inner thighs like this.”

Jana Kramer has been working hard to get into the best shape of her life, and it shows! The actress and country singer shared a mirror selfie this week, flaunting her rock hard body in a two-piece swimsuit. How does the mother-of-two keep herself so incredibly fit? She recently revealed some of her diet and workout secrets. Read on to see 5 ways Jana Kramer 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 Worked “Hard” For Her Body

In the new Instagram post, Jana explains that it isn’t a “thirst trap” photo, or an “I want attention post” or a “post to make you compare your body to mine,” but is more about her feeling proud of her body. “Because when I look at this photo, I see strength. If I’m honest, I lost a little too much weight after my divorce, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the number I saw. But that’s an unhealthy way to look at it. It should never be about the number. It should be about how you feel,” she explained. “I have been actively becoming strong again for me. I look at this pic now and I’m proud of myself for the hard work and commitment to loving myself. This body made two beautiful humans. I’m proud of my body." She mentioned feeling even better after her breast augmentation and promoted Natrelle Breast Augmentation.

2. She Works Out with a Trainer

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Jana does a lot of cardio on her own in her home gym, but works out with Nashville based personal trainer-to-the-stars Erin Oprea as well. In a recent Instagram story, she revealed that they pretty much follow Oprea’s Pretty Muscles app workouts. “I work out with Erin two times a week,” she explained. The duo do “a ton of squats, sumo squats, lunges.”

3. Running Helped Her “Lean Out”

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Oprea also got Jana into running. “I hated running and now I love it,” she confessed. “It’s helped me lean out.”

4. She Is Proud of Her Body

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Jana’s go to diet rule? “I personally think everything in moderation,” she revealed. “I had a chocolate chip cookie last night. I will eat another one tonight. I don’t think you should deprive yourself of anything. I think, eat when you are hungry. But all-around diet is how I do it.”

5. Exercise Boosts Her Mental Health

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“Still not feeling 100 percent,” Jana explained earlier this year in an Instagram story video. “But I'm still going to run it out, sweat it out." She once explained to Us Weekly that the mental health benefits of exercise are a motivating factor. “Working out for me is my sanity…Even just going for a walk, that is a place where I come back and I'm like, 'I feel good, I feel balanced. Working out is 100% how I stay level."

Bianca Belair is a wrestler with WWE. She’s recently picked up a new hobby: sewing. In June, she shared a video on Instagram of herself sewing. She captioned the post, “Sewing is Dope! It’s a skill that can seem really intimidating, but it really is about just diving in, trying, failing, and just trying again… of course you can take some classes but in my case I just watched a lot of YouTube and learned thru trial and error!” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Bianca Belair stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

1. She Strength Trains

Belair shared some of her fitness secrets in an interview with Muscle and Fitness. “My training is basically strength training” says Belair. “I do agility training. I do a lot of CrossFit-type of stuff and we have a great coach at the Performance Center, Sean Hayes, who does all types of powerlifting and just general strength.”

2. She’s Confident

Belair tells Muscle & Fitness that she’s confident in herself and her abilities. “I don’t ask for opportunities because I feel like whatever comes my way is what I deserve and I don’t have to ask for it, but I’ve been sitting here proving myself over and over, and I finally got that spotlight. A lot of people were like, ‘Who is this girl?’, ‘Where has she been hidden?’ or ‘Oh, she’s so good now’. It’s not now, I’ve always been good, it’s just now you finally know who I am and now you are seeing what I’ve been saying [all along]. For me, pressure is just a part of the game, and part of competition. I’ve been competing since I was a little girl so I am used to it, I’m always ready for whatever comes my way.”

3. She Doesn’t Diet

Belair shared some of her diet secrets in an interview with Women’s Health. She says that she had some body image and eating struggles and she doesn’t like to diet for this reason. “I feel like every woman has this moment where they have to figure out what works for them. For me, I don’t do diets because I find myself becoming a little obsessive. Everything in moderation. I don't believe in overindulging or in depriving myself of anything.”

4. She Eats A Protein-Packed Breakfast

Belair also shared some of her favorite meals in her Women’s Health interview. She says that she eats a lot of protein in the morning. “I’m not a morning person. But it doesn’t matter if I wake up at seven, eight, or noon, I’m still having breakfast food first thing when I wake up. Breakfast is when I try to focus on getting lots of protein in. I might do a piece of cinnamon toast to get some carbs in there. I’m also a big coffee drinker, since I’m not a morning person it helps me wake up.”

5. She’s Consistent

Belair tells Essence that she makes sure to stay consistent with her workouts. “My husband and I; we constantly workout all the time,” Belair says. “We’re always in shape, but we really start hitting it even harder on the roads for WrestleMania. So I’ve been dieting, I’ve been working out extra hard, going to the ring, working out in the ring. You really just want to bring your best self to the table because there’s going to be 70,000, 80,000 plus people in the stadium and millions of people watching on their TV screens.”

Steph Claire Smith loves being a mother, but in addition to motherhood, she’s an entrepreneur, and even a co-host for @kicpod + KICBUMP! She embraces the health and wellness journey, and uses social media to inspire others to do the same. “Some running tips from someone who never thought they’d say they could enjoy a run. When I tell you I used to HATE running, I mean I really hated it. I’d get to 200m and wonder why I’m bothering and hate the fact that I was already struggling. So here’s what I’ve learned and what helps me actually enjoy going for a run! 1. Needing to walk or take a break doesn’t mean the run doesn’t count. 2. Your pace does not matter - stop comparing it to those you see online. 3. Following a program helps you build up to your goal distance safely. 4. Starting your journey with friends or a community helps so much with motivation!! 5. Don’t worry about what your body looks like as you run, it’s gonna jiggle, it’s gonna move, it’s gonna get red and sweaty,” she said on Instagram. Here’s what Steph does to maintain her fit physique.

1. She pushes through difficult workouts

She pushes through tough workout routines. “Not every session is going to feel amazing! There are so many factors that can come in to play when it comes to how we feel doing during any given workout. There were many points throughout my workout today where I questioned if I should just stop right there and then and walk out. And if this was because of energy levels, I would have! I think it’s important to tune into our bodies like that… But I knew I had the energy, and I’ve committed to doing three sessions a week for this challenge,” she said on Instagram. “I just had to get out of my own head, and stop worrying about having to regress or rest, I took the pressure off of the workout needing to look a certain way and just kept at it. I’m so glad I got it done, and I’m proud of myself for sticking to my goal! Don’t let these sessions define the next! You’re incredible.”

2. She sets a good example

She loves being a mom, but doesn’t feel guilty prioritizing her health and setting a good example for her child. “Love him seeing his mumma put in time for herself. Finally got my first workout done of our Express Lift Challenge 💪🏼 We were shooting new Kic workouts last week, plus I was a lil under the weather so didn’t want to push it by visiting the gym, but I finally got to it today and even better… I got to get it done in our new STAX. X Kic collection 🤩Challenge enrollments are still open if you’re wanting to start our gym challenge with me!! If you’re not already subscribed to Kic head to the link in my bio 😘 Lettssss go,” she said on Instagram.

3. She’s strong

She wants to inspire others to focus on building strength. “The workouts that have made me stronger than ever are here and I’m so excited for you to try them. For those of you who get into their first Express Lift workout of the challenge, please let me know your thoughts! I can’t wait to kick butt together for the next 8 weeks,” she said on Instagram.

4. She does pilates

She practices pilates to stay in shape. “A question I get asked a lot is ‘what is your fav training style’ and I always get stuck because I think it’s fairly even between Pilates and strength training in the gym! I think what I love about our Pilates in the app is that I can squeeze them in at home when Harvey’s watching the tv,” she said on Instagram. According to Better Health, “the health benefits of Pilates include improved flexibility, increased muscle strength and tone, particularly of your abdominal muscles, lower back, hips and buttocks (the ‘core muscles’ of your body), balanced muscular strength on both sides of your body, enhanced muscular control of your back and limbs, improved [stabilization] of your spine, [and] improved posture,” to name a few.

5. She's confident

In a video she posted on Instagram, she shared photos of athletes with bodies of all shapes and sizes, captioned “just a reminder that elite female athletes look like this!! So beautiful, strong and talented in their own unique ways and we’re here for it. This is your reminder that ‘healthy’ doesn’t look one way.” She wants to spread the word about the importance of confidence and mental strength to her online community.