WNBA Star Charisma Osborne in Two-Piece Workout Gear "Gets to the Light"

Charisma Osborne is working through the darkness – in her exercise gear. In a new social media post, the basketball star, who was the first pick in the third round of the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury, shows off her strong body on the court. "Sometimes you gotta work through the darkness to get to the light ⌛️," she captioned the Instagram Reel. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.

Charisma drinks pre workout before she hits the court. "It provides the extreme focus, energy and intensity that I need for my training sessions," she says. 

Charisma loves to dance. She has a tab devoted to dancing where she keeps her old Instagram Stories and also shares dancing clips on TikTok. Dancing is a great workout for many reasons. Not only does it build strength and promote flexibility, but helps you lose weight and even promotes cardiovascular function. A 2016 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine determined that people who engaged in moderate-intensity dancing were 46 percent less likely to develop heart disease or die from it than non-dancers. In comparison, moderate-intensity walkers were just 25 percent less likely to suffer heart health issues.

Charisma cycles to keep herself ready to play. Here she is prepping for the court on an air bike. The Cleveland Clinic explains that biking, a low-impact aerobic exercise, is great for building muscle, improving strength and flexibility, and improving balance. It can also boost mental health and help other health conditions, including arthritis. 

Having a dog helps the athlete get her steps in. Charisma has a golden retriever, and spends a lot of time walking her pooch. Going for a daily walk can be a game changer in terms of exercise, especially at a brisk speed. One study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that walking at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes a day led to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia and death, compared with walking a similar number of steps but at a slower pace.

Charisma gets most of her exercise on the court. "Basketball promotes speed, agility, strength, power and endurance. It [has] also been shown to increase flexibility and motor coordination. As a result, basketball is uniquely oriented to improve fundamental motor skills that are shown to be beneficial in promoting general health," Koco Eaton, M.D., orthopedic surgeon, founder of Eaton Orthopaedics and a former basketball player, tells Nike.