Kelly Rowland’s fitness routine and the major life events that shaped it

Once upon a time, Kelly Rowland was a bit embarrassed by her athletic physique.

“I used to be scared to hold up my arms,” she previously told Us Weekly. “People would be like, ‘Oh my God, she looks so masculine.’”

However, the singer eventually learned to embrace her hard-earned muscles and “feel strong.”

“Whether I look masculine or feminine, I’m comfortable in my skin. I don’t give a care what anybody says, I look great. And I feel that’s how every woman should feel. Don’t be ashamed of your body; own it,” the 43-year-old added.

Rowland has a balanced wellness routine that focuses on healthy eating and exercise, but she’s not someone who obsesses over the number on the scale.

“I like the fact that exercising makes me feel good. It’s not about size,” she previously said during an appearance on “The Graham Norton Show.”

Still, all of Rowland’s hard work certainly seems to be paying off. Looking for some fitspiration? Here are some of what the star’s said about her wellness routine.

She sees working out as “me time”

Busy moms know all too well that finding time to take care of yourself isn’t always easy. But Rowland told Extra TV that she views her workout routine as a form of self care.

“When I work out, that’s my time for (my)self. That’s my time to pour into myself physically (and) mentally,” she said.

She prioritized health even more after her mother died

When she lost her mother to cardiac arrest in 2014, Rowland got serious about her health.

“I made a vow to myself to change the way I would eat (and) how I would take care of my body when it came to exercising because that was something I really wish she would have done more of,” she told Business Insider. 

While chatting with TODAY.com about her renewed focus on health, Rowland said she’s motivated to take care of herself for her children’s sake.

“I promised myself when I became a mother, I would have my kids see me eat healthy — I can indulge, of course sometimes — and work out and go for walks with them,” she said. “I feel like the earlier kids learn all these things for themselves, the more they’ll be able to put it in their own lives.

Music motivates her to work out

As a musician, Rowland is particularly inspired to exercise when she has the right workout soundtrack.

“I’m boxing a lot right now and when I first recorded ‘The Game’ it put me in a different headspace. I really wanted to go into my workouts like Rocky. Jeanette (Jenkins, her personal trainer) was like, ‘What is wrong with you?’ It kind of just snaps you into place. Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ did that for me too, the other day when I was doing yoga and it came on at the end, and I just danced out of class,” she previously told Cosmopolitan.

She doesn’t count calories

Obsessing over calories can send you into an unhealthy spiral, and Rowland previously admitted that she doesn’t examine every calorie that enters her mouth.

“I don’t really count calories,” she told Women’s Health.

Instead, Rowland makes it a point not to eat meals past 7 p.m. when she can.

“Trust me, there are some days when it’s hard to look at seeds and nuts and fruit when everybody’s got French fries and burgers and Roscoe’s chicken and waffles at midnight,” she said, adding that heavy foods late at night interrupt her sleep cycle.

Rowland has also never been a fan of the word “diet,” as she previously told PopSugar.

“I never like to say diet. I like to say eating clean and actually listening to your body and knowing what your body responds well to. For me, it’s green vegetables or fish. I don’t feel like I’m heavy or weighted down or lethargic from food. Food should give us energy. It shouldn’t weigh us down, unless you’re having a cheat day,” she said.

Dancing is one of her go-to workouts

When she was a member of Destiny’s Child, Rowland had plenty of opportunities to show off her moves. Years later, she’s still a fan of dancing.

“I really, really love to move. You know what I mean? I mean, it’s not a workout, but I absolutely love to do it, and that’s performing, which is very close to doing Zumba,” she previously told Glamour.

“When you’re on stage and you’re moving everything, every single part of your body, it’s actually working and active to the tips of your fingers. You’re burning a hell of a lot of calories.”

She was very active during her first pregnancy

When she was pregnant with her first child, Rowland was quite passionate about fitness.

“I swam, I did yoga, I did weights, I jogged and walked,” she previously told Women’s Health.

The star even suggested that her commitment to exercise ushered in an easier delivery with only “four pushes.”

She focused more on strengthening exercises after a postpartum health scare

After she gave birth to her first son, Titan, Rowland noticed her abs looked different. She later learned that she had a common condition called diastasis recti.

Per The Cleveland Clinic, it occurs when “the rectus abdominis muscles (six-pack ab muscles) separate during pregnancy from being stretched.” As a result, your belly can “stick out or bulge months or years postpartum.”

Rowland then worked with her personal trainer to learn about strengthening exercises that could remedy her condition.

“My trainer now helps me with my abs, and it’s such a relief because I can feel them, slowly but steadily, coming back together,” she previously told Self.

While reflecting on her condition with E! News, Rowland said the experience shifted her perspective on fitness.

“The inside of my body changed and it was a moment when my core became extremely weak, which gave me back problems—Diastasis recti,” she said. “It affected my abs, which affected my back. I don’t care about being skinny more than I care about being healthy.”

She altered her workout routine during her second pregnancy

After a super active first pregnancy, Rowland was anticipating a similar experience when she was expecting her second child. However, she told Women’s Health she spent the first few months of her second pregnancy in bed.

When she was able to start working out, Rowland eased in with yoga, walking and stretching. She also prioritized strengthening exercises to avoid another abdominal separation.

Later on in her pregnancy, Rowland posted a video of herself doing an intense workout that involved squats, donkey kicks and a wall sit.

She likes to ‘shock’ her body by switching up her workouts

Before she got married in 2014, Rowland spoke with Glamour about her pre-nuptials workout routine, saying she was “changing up” her workout routine like she’s “always done.”

“Jeanette Jenkins always says, ‘I believe in shocking the body!’ So we do different types of workouts—from weights to dancing to running our mouth sometimes. We have a good time! She changes it up on me: sprinting, boxing one day, cardio, sculpt,” she said.

She’s grown to love Pilates

After hearing about the many benefits of Pilates for years, Rowland decided to give the workout a try. In 2023, she told TODAY.com she was “obsessed” with it.

“(When I’m traveling), I will usually call my Pilates instructor and figure out a time that works for us both for me to get in a session. If I’m not doing that, then I’m walking or I’m sprinting or lifting weights,” she said.

She’s a Southern girl at heart and still enjoys her favorite foods in moderation

A nutritional diet is one of Rowland’s top priorities, but she still gives in to her cravings.

“I’m a Texas girl, and I love queso with chips,” she previously told Delish.

The star also enjoys combining waffle fries and ice cream, a combo she called “amazing.”

“You’ve got the salt with the potato and the sugar; it’s just so good,” she said.

Of course, Rowland also likes to load up on healthy options.

“I am a Southern girl. I love food but I have learned to eat what I like in moderation,” she previously told Essence. “I drink a healthy amount of water daily and I do some form of exercise daily.”

While talking with Extra TV in 2015, Rowland said she believes in the 80/20 diet rule.

“The 80/20 rule is all the way real, 80% of the time you eat those foods giving you nourishment, you’re eating clean, and 20% of the time, have guacamole, a ton of it like I do, and a margarita and maybe queso too!” she said.