WNBA Star Jewell Loyd in Workout Gear is “Back With My Guy”

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.”

WNBA star Te'a Cooper is upping her fitness game by working out with personal trainer Tisch Tosch Training, and developing her strongest physique yet. Cooper, 26, tagged the trainer in an Instagram video of herself working out in black two-piece workout gear and black Travis Scott sneakers. @mstischh getting the body together,” she captioned the post. Here’s what Cooper does on and off the court, and what’s next for the champion.

1. Plant-Based Diet

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Cooper took part in a cooking competition with plant-based ZENB pasta, which she says has changed the way she eats. “Having more ideas and more recipes is fun and meeting new chefs that own businesses and stuff has been fun,” she tells Blavity. “I think the fact that the noodles are yellow peas is the most interesting thing to me because it tastes just like the noodles that I use that are not yellow peas. It’s way healthier and I love pasta. They had mac and cheese, stuff that I normally eat that I would love to have made plant-based or healthy.”

2. Self-Care Sessions

Cooper takes self-care seriously (as she should!). “For me, that looks like working out, taking care of my body, eating healthy, getting my hair done, getting my nails done — looking cute,” she tells Blavity. “Taking pictures of myself, just doing stuff that makes me feel good.”

3. Hollywood Luxury Hair

Cooper is proud of Hollywood Luxury Hair, her hair and beauty brand. “I wanted to have a hair brand ever since I was in high school,” she tells Black America Web. I really wanted to be particular on the quality of the hair and the prices. I wanted it to be great quality but affordable because, you know, as an athlete, you sweat so much and you have to change your hair a lot. It’s actually hard to maintain natural hairstyles. I really wanted to have my own brand where I could also give back to the little girls growing up and the girls that wanted to have their own hair, or be endorsed by somebody with a hair company. I wanted to be that person.”

4. WNBA Inspirations

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Cooper is inspired by her fellow athletes. “Arike Ogunbowale, for sure,” she tells Black America Web. “She plays for the Dallas Wings and is killing the fashion this year. I love what she’s doing on and off the court. Flau’jae [Johnson] and Angel [Reese] — those my girls; they’re killing it! DiDi Richards is the other brand ambassador for my hair, and she’s killing it off the court and on the court. She played for the New York Liberty and she has her own podcast and talk show now with the WNBA, so that’s dope.”

5. Swimsuit Model

Cooper was thrilled to be a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. “I’ve never taken a bikini picture,” she tells Blavity. “I don’t really take pictures in bathing suits. I kind of just wear ’em for the pool, so that was very different to have all those cameras on you, you in a bathing suit, you kinda gotta be sexy… They kind of just give you confidence that you can’t really deny in that moment ’cause you’re in front of the camera. So you got the water, the weather, the scenery, the bathing suit. You got people encouraging you. It was a great time for me. The group of women that I did it with were so amazing and we all had different stories, so I think SI highlighting each person and their story made it even more powerful.”

WNBA star Erica Wheeler is showing off her spectacular boxing skills on social media (just add it to the list of things she excels at). Wheeler, 32, posted a video of herself wearing black Adidas workout gear and sparring with coach Vinnie Calautti, joking “I will knock you out” before conceding defeat over her “noodle arms”. The Indiana Fever star has worked hard her whole life to play professional ball—here’s what her game philosophy looks like.

1. Basketball Drills

Basketball shooting drills keep Wheeler sharp and ready for action. “You have to train your mind,” she told Adidas. “And how do you train your mind? Consistently doing something the same way and doing it harder and harder and getting better and better. With time you become more talented because you become more consistent. I think with practice comes muscle memory. My body knows what it's going to do before I even tell it to do it, because I've been doing it so long.”

2. Lifting Heavy Weights

Wheeler lifts heavy weights as part of her training—and she’s thrilled with every step of progress she makes. “I’ve never lifted anything over 200 lb!” she captioned an Instagram video. “Last week I hit 250 lb, I was hype bout that! Then somebody said I couldn’t hit 300 lb! NOTED! Today I got up to 315 lb 😳 I probably could’ve went to 325 but my trainer crazy, but he wasn’t on demon time today 😂.”

3. Family First

Erica Wheeler/Instagram

Wheeler had offers from colleges such as LSU, South Carolina, and UConn, but chose Rutgers University after meeting their head coach C. Vivian Stringer. “The conversation was super family-orientated because we just started talking about food, it wasn’t even about basketball,” Wheeler told WSLAM. “I think the one thing that stuck out to my mom was I never left home, so she felt more comfortable with me going to Rutgers because of how Vivian approached our family.”

4. Popular Player

Wheeler’s teammates at the Indiana Fever love her energy and work ethic. “She’s been so great,” says Fever head coach Stephanie White. “She’s fun. She’s a hard worker. She’s a great teammate and she’s really the perfect fit for our franchise because of her commitment to the defensive end, her toughness and her energy. That’s exactly what we want; hungry players who want to be better for each other.”

5. Open Mind

Wheeler keeps an open mind when it comes to sports. “I don't close my mind to anything,” she told Adidas. “When it comes to basketball, you can elevate your game in so many ways, whether it's dribbling, whether it's how to read the game, whether it's a simple drill to tighten up your handling... Always give a pat on the back, because at the end of the day nobody's a real loser if you're going hard. You got to take some losses, but if you’re competing and you're doing it at the highest level you can, you're not losing. You're just getting better.”

WNBA legend Sylvia Fowles may be retired from the WNBA, but her training and fitness routine continues to be intense and inspiring. Fowles, 38, shared pictures of herself wearing shorts and a white crop top, posing on her bike. “Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one. -Bobby Knight,” she captioned the post. “Yes yes yes!!!!! 🔥❤️🔥 all that strength and range!” a fan commented. Fowles’ reputation as an incredible athlete is well-deserved—here’s what she does to stay strong, fit, and ready for the next chapter.

1. Low-Impact Workouts

Fowles says it took her 14 years to start feeling aches and pains that made her change the way she worked out. “It took me two years to put on 10 pounds…I have a hard time gaining weight,” she told Nike.com. “But last year when I got hurt, it was a wake-up call that I was bottom heavy. My legs already carry a lot of weight, and so adding those 10 pounds was not good on my joints. And so from last year to this year, there are things that I do differently. Pilates has helped me a lot. I really don’t eat all that healthily, but I do watch what I eat. Biking has helped a lot too — anything that takes weight off my joints is pretty much a success for me.”

2. Happy Exercises

Fowles works out daily not just to stay in shape, but to feel happy. "Just try to work out daily if you can, even if it's just for like 30 minutes,” she told Oprah.com. “Just get it in. A good workout makes me feel good, and when I sweat, it makes me feel like I did a lot, that I accomplished a lot."

3. New Talent

Fowles is thrilled about the new generation of female players upping their game quite literally. “I think we’re now getting a whiff of what the WNBA can look like a couple years from now, just like what Phee said with the talent level coming out of high school, but also the quickness,” she told Nike.com. “They’re jumping higher, they’re moving faster. It was only me and Candace [Parker] dunking when we were in high school. But within the next five years in the W, we’re definitely going to have a lot more girls dunking. It’s impressive! Napheesa [Collier] asks me to dunk every game. First of all, it takes too much out of me. I got three people hanging from me, and I don’t have the energy to even jump sometimes.”

4. Basketball Shape

Fowles retired from the WNBA in 2022 after listening to warning signs from her body. “Being in shape is one thing, but being in basketball shape is something totally different,” she told CBS News. “I got to that point when workouts were just getting harder and harder, and you take into consideration how many times I've been hurt over the last couple of years, too. I just don't think physically I want to do it to my body anymore. That's how I knew."

5. Bike Riding

Fowles loves to ride her bike as a way to clear her head. “Mentally, it’s my way of debriefing,” she told Sports Illustrated. “It’s another form of therapy. I get to ride and relax. I get to reflect on my day, reflect on the conversations that I’ve had throughout my day and certain situations I didn’t handle well.”

Jonquel Jones is a successful player in the WNBA. She recently joined the New York Liberty. Jones previously played on the Connecticut Sun. Jones recently went to AllStar, and shared highlights from the game on Instagram. In them, she wore her team uniform. Jones captioned the post, “Had a great time at All Star this past week. Now it’s time for playoffs.” Jones also shared highlights from a vacation she took on Instagram, captioning the post, “Great friendships. Great vibes.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Jonquel Jones stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

1. She Wants To Win

In an interview with The Next Hoops, Jones talked about her decision to join New York Liberty. She says that she was drawn to how talented the team was and how invested they were in winning. “Playing against Liberty last year, I saw a shift in the culture, that was for sure,” she said. “The way that they played high-octane basketball, playing both sides of the ball, a lot of young talent that was very lively. And you can see that they were invested in winning, and like I said, changing that culture.”

2. She’s Taking Opportunities

Jones tells The Next Hoops that another factor in her decision to join the Liberty was wanting more opportunities. “Being in Connecticut, I can tell them firsthand that you may think that you have more [playoff] opportunities, but no opportunity is as important as the one that you have before you right there and right now,” she said. “And so I think that’s going to be extremely important is letting them understand that every opportunity matters, and every chance you get to step on the court is [an] opportunity to play your best. And the future is not promised. So in order for us to maximize our potential, play at the level that we know that we’re going to be capable of playing, which is a very high level … we’re gonna have to be willing to sacrifice and play hard every game.”

3. She’s Dedicated

Jones is extremely dedicated to the WNBA. She talked about this to The Next Hoops. “Anything that the organization needs me to do, I’m there. Obviously, we want to put our best foot forward. And I’m all in on whatever they want to do. … It hasn’t started yet. But when it does, we will be there.”

4. She Has Support

Jones tells ESPN that she grew up with a supportive community around her. She says that she wants her children to have a similar environment around them. "It wasn't just my parents that were raising me," Jones says. "It was everybody in the community. When I think about raising my kids one day, I want them to be raised in a type of situation like that."

5. She Plays Basketball

Jones is a basketball player, and this naturally helps her stay in shape. The Mayo Clinic reports that basketball has a lot of benefits. “Basketball as a recreational exercise seems to share many affirmative attributes with typical health-enhancing physical activities. Boosting cardiometabolic health and strengthening bone structure might be among the most promising benefits of playing leisure-time basketball, while controlling for risk of injury.”