WNBA Star Skylar Diggins-Smith in Workout Gear Is “Dangerously Disciplined”

WNBA Star Skylar Diggins-Smith works out and trains for hours every day, a routine any athlete would find challenging at times—which is why discipline, not motivation, is so important. Diggins-Smith, 33, shared a video montage of herself wearing black leggings and a black t-shirt, training hard with “consistency” written in text over the footage. “It hits different when you’re dangerously disciplined,” she captioned the post. Here’s how the athlete stays strong and focused.

1. Breakfast Is a Must

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Diggins-Smith never skips a protein-packed breakfast—usually scrambled eggs, oatmeal, avocado, or an omelet. “Breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day for me,” she told ELLE. “As the day goes on, you just never know what's going to happen so I think you should get the adequate amount of fuel in your system, [otherwise] it's like having a car on ‘E.’ 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.”

2. Living In the Gym

Diggins-Smith’s training changes during the on season. "I start practice around 7:45 a.m. with weights or individual shooting,” she told Refinery29. “We have team practice from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with film, and then we'll cool down and leave around 2 p.m. On game days, we shoot around in the morning, walk through some plays, and then it's game time. During the season you literally live in the gym. I train in bunches because you don't want to peak too early. Off season is all about maintenance. I do yoga, Pilates, meditation, and weights to train different aspects of my body."

3. Pre-Game Carbs

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Diggins-Smith enjoys the same pre-game meal every time. "Chicken pasta with garlic bread (yes, seriously) is my go-to pre-game meal,” she told Refinery29. “I need something carb-heavy to last me until after the game. There's a misconception that you should cut out carbs, but carbohydrates are so essential for what we do as athletes."

4. Mental and Physical Work

Diggins-Smith goes the extra mile every time to give her best as an athlete. “Yeah, you work hard, but do you go game speed every rep?” she told Complex. “Do you take off reps? What's your mentality? Not just physical. What's your mental like? Are you mentally tough? Are you a leader? Do you watch basketball, or do you just play? Do you study the game? Do you watch film? Do you rest and recover? Do you lift? Do you ice your knees every time?”

5. Inspiring Young Athletes

Diggins-Smith genuinely loves giving back to young fans. "When I was a kid, you went outside and rode your bike or went to the playground,” she told Refinery29. “Now, when you drive by a park, kids aren't there anymore. In this age, we have an issue with technology not inspiring exercise. So to empower young women, I share what sports did for me. I do camps all around the country for grade-school-aged kids and talk about the life lessons that came from the game.”

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) showcases extraordinary athletes whose physical prowess and dedication to their craft are nothing short of inspiring. From setting goals and adopting healthy lifestyles to overcoming obstacles and using their platforms for social change, these remarkable women offer valuable insights into their journeys both on and off the court. Here, we delve into the stories of 20 WNBA players who have shared their experiences, highlighting their approaches to wellness, training regimens, and personal philosophies. From Lisa Leslie's goal-oriented mindset to Kelsey Plum's advocacy against sexism, each player brings a unique perspective to the table. Whether it's diet and exercise, mental fortitude, or using their voices for important causes, these athletes demonstrate what it takes to achieve greatness both physically and mentally.

1. Lisa Leslie

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Lisa Leslie shared some of her tips to stay positive and productive in an interview with People. "I love to set goals,” she says. “Short-term goals and goals I want to achieve within one year. When I set those goals, it's still somebody that's got to be the best, so why not me?"

2. Sheryl Swoopes

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In an interview with Oprah Daily, Sheryl Swoopes talked about the best advice she’s received. “The best thing that my mom said to me growing up was, ‘Stop trying to be like somebody else and just be you.’ And I was always like, ‘I’m not trying to be someone else.’ But I was. I would look around and think, ‘My friends have so much more money, they live in a bigger house, they have better clothes.’ It took me until my adulthood to really, truly, finally grasp that I was doing that.”

3. Diana Taurasi

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In a 2018 interview with Women Fitness, Diana Taurasi talked about her vegan diet. “I think it is something I have really benefitted from,” she says. “Just staying away from foods that cause a lot of inflammation, fats and sugars that everyone knows are obviously a little counterproductive if you eat large amounts of them. So, I have stayed more on a plant-based diet and it has really benefitted me, but everyone has a different take on food and what they need.”

4. Maya Moore

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Maya Moore is known for giving back to others. In an interview with Sports Illustrated Kids, she talked about wanting to be a role model for others. “I think a good team leader, first and foremost, is someone who leads by example. Someone who walks the walk and is unselfish, willing to serve and help give as much as they can to help their group succeed. I think a good team leader is also a good teammate and doesn’t expect everyone to only think about them. They realize that they are part of a team and that they have a leadership role.”

5. Breanna Stewart

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Breanna Stewart shared some of her favorite workouts in an interview on Redbull.com. "I need to make sure that my body is ready and that means getting in the weight room. I just work everything—upper and lower body. I also do Pilates to make sure that my core is strong. When I’m on the court, I’m using everything, so I want to make sure that my whole body is ready to go.”

6. Candace Parker

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In an interview with ESPN, Candace Parker talked about her mindset and journey to winning games. “I look at guys like [the NBA’s Nikola] Jovic and guys that are slower that get to their spots. How do they do that? It’s like, really being a master of your matchup, and sometimes it involves slowing down and figuring out what the defense is giving you within a game.”

7. Sue Bird

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Sue Bird shared some of her favorite meals and foods in an interview with Women’s Health. "Breakfast is my favorite meal so I literally never miss it," she said. "I will wake up an hour early if it means I can get breakfast in. I'm obsessed with egg sandwiches.”

8. Elena Delle Donne

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Elena Delle Donne has Lyme disease, and she makes sure to take care of it. “Eating healthy is really important to me in managing my Lyme disease,” she explains to TheKitchn.com. “I try to eat gluten-free as often as possible.” Donne also shared some of her favorite meals in the interview. “One of my favorite dishes to make for dinner is a pesto chicken with sautéed onions.”

9. Skylar Diggins-Smith

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Skylar Diggins-Smith talked about some of her favorite workouts in an interview with ELLE. She says that she does a lot of box jumps to stay in shape. “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.”

10. Tina Charles

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Tina Charles opened up about her attitude on the court in an interview with The Daily Beast. “I’m all about winning,” she says. “Everybody has a role on the team. Some carry a heavier load. But I’m willing to do that night in and night out. I’m really thankful.”

11. Nneka Ogwumike

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Nneka Ogwumike shared some of her diet and exercise secrets in an interview with ESPN. She says that she learned that she had to reduce the amount of exercise she does. “I used to think that you had to do everything to really get the benefits. But everyone's body is different. I learned that my body doesn't need so much. It reacts very quickly to whatever I eat or whatever training I do, so I try to really limit all the extra stuff and keep it simple.”

12. Seimone Augustus

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In an interview with The Athletic, Seimone Augustus talked about her approach to exercise. “Obviously as we get older, we start to focus more just trying to make sure we’re fueling our body in the right way and making sure we’re keeping ourselves prepared to come on the court and perform at our highest. But it’s always a struggle. I’m not going to lie, people. It is a struggle to eat healthy. But it’s fun to kind of challenge yourself in different ways as well.”

13. Angel McCoughtry

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Angel McCoughtry talked about why she spoke out against Kelly Loeffler’s comments to the Black Lives Matter movement and why she joined the Say Her Name Campaign to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was really important to me, not just for Louisville -- of course that hit home a little bit. But just in general, we were just tired of seeing so much happen, one after the next after the next. We get to see it on video. But it was just important to try to find some type of initiative while playing basketball that we could kind of advocate for. That's how we were able to do the Say Her Name campaign, and it has become a big success. So I've been really proud of what's come out of it.”

14. Liz Cambage

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In an interview with Women’s Health, Liz Cambage talked about her approach to wellness, and revealed the best advice she received. “The best advice I've ever received is, that you have to live your life, not someone else's. Do what's good for you. If someone's commenting on yours and what you should be doing, tell them to go focus on theirs."

15. Jewell Loyd

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Jewell Loyd took Women’s Health through her daily routine. She says that staying hydrated is important to her. “Immediately, I like to drink my water. I’m trying to get close to a gallon a day, so I start with half that amount and then refill my bottle for the rest of the day. Luckily one of the features on my new Samsung Galaxy Watch5 is a water tracking feature, so I can set goals for daily water intake and it reminds me to hit those each day.”

16. Chelsea Gray

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Chelsea Gray notably suffered an injury in college. She tells The Sports Section that this inspired her to not only take better care of herself, but also to learn more about health. “The first step was changing my diet. I got a little bit leaner and smarter about the weight that I put on and carry with my knees and legs. It was the first time I really paid attention to my diet to get the most out of my body. Our body is how we make our money — it’s what we do. And so to be able to, for lack of a better term, treat it like a temple and make sure I know what’s going on inside is important.”

17. Allie Quicgley

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Allie Quigley talked about her process for staying in shape in an interview with High Post Hoops. “Physically just taking care of your body, eating right, getting good rest, doing your exercises in the weight room to keep yourself actually on the court. Basketball wise, just figuring out as a player what it is that is going to make you the most successful. Trying to stick to that and be as efficient as possible.”

18. Natasha Cloud

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Natasha Cloud is known for speaking out about things that are important to her. She shared why she does this in an interview with The Washington City Paper. “We are blessed to be playing and having a platform at the WNBA, blessed to play for a coach that backs us when we do speak up and feel strongly about stuff and supports us in it,” Cloud says. “Also we’re in the most powerful city in the world, in D.C., so there’s a lot of controversy always here that we can speak on. I feel like if I don’t use my platform, and don’t use my voice, then I’m doing a [disservice] to a lot of people out here in the world.”

19. Kelsey Plum

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Kelsey Plum is all about promoting change. In 2017, Plum talked to The Bleacher Report about the sexism she faces as a basketball player. “I tell people, I don't play women's basketball, I play basketball. Putting the ‘women's’ next to it shouldn't be an asterisk, like it's "less than." I have been given a little bit of a spotlight, and I hope to show that we can keep moving forward in convincing people that women are just as capable as men.”

20. Kia Nurse

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Kia Nurse opened up about her offseason activities in an interview with BarDown. “Some days, it hits more than others. Right now, this is my offseason, this week that I have now not doing anything physical will be the rest that I get. [laughs] Then, getting ramped up and ready to go again for the WNBA season will be all of the next preparation.”

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.”

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.”

Kamilla Cardoso is a rookie in the WNBA. She plays for the Chicago Sky. Cardoso is from Brazil, and last month, her family flew to the US to surprise her. Omaha Productions shared a video of the surprise on their Instagram—the "surprise of a lifetime." How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Kamilla Cardoso stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

1. She Plays Basketball

Cardoso obviously plays basketball to stay fit. On The Right Path states that basketball has a lot of benefits. “Basketball involves aerobic exercise, promoting heart and lung health, and enhancing cardiovascular function. Regular participation in basketball helps burn calories, contributing to healthy weight management and reducing the risk of obesity.”

2. She Lifts Weights

Cardoso talked about her basketball career in an interview with FIBA. She says that when she first got to college, she had to change her wellness routine. One thing she added was lifting weights. “I knew I couldn’t just rely on my height,” Cardoso said, “I had to lift weights, because I was skinny. And when I tell you I was skinny, I was super skinny.”

3. She Works With A Nutritionist

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Cardoso told FIBA that she also had to change her diet. “The food here was very different for me,” Cardoso said. “I went a couple of weeks without eating much. My mom used to cook every morning, every night, every afternoon. I was very used to Brazilian food.” She says that she decided to work with a nutritionist for this reason. “I got a nutritionist and was eating more protein,” Cardoso said. “Even though I didn’t like the food, I was eating more so I could gain some weight.”

4. She’s Confident

Cardoso tells FIBA that being away from her family in Brazil has forced her to be stronger and more confident. “I’m much more confident than before,” Cardoso said. “I’ve grown a lot. I’m more comfortable in myself, inside and outside of the court. I see myself as a strong person. I had to move out of my home when I was 15. I’m a momma’s girl, so being away from my family for seven years is hard.”

5. She’s Aggressive On The Court

Cardoso has played in a lot of tournaments, notably the AmeriCup. She shared what these experiences have taught her to FIBA. “I was way more dominant and aggressive. I’ve been working on that for the past couple of months. This tournament was really helpful for me to realize the things I can do on the court. That will help me to be more dominant now.”