When Shakira played the Super Bowl halftime show in 2020, she spent months rehearsing and ramping up her workout routine. But the singer already had a great fitness foundation to build on.
“(It wasn’t) a short-term fix. We’ve been working together for nine years—this is a commitment to fitness and wellness,” her longtime personal trainer Anna Kaiser told E! News at the time.
The pair first met in 2004 and Kaiser was instantly impressed with Shakira’s dedication to living a healthy lifestyle.
“Well, she’s very smart and she wants to learn about the body and she wants to know why she’s doing what she’s doing and what her goal is, what she’s trying to accomplish… We have a really good time together and she loves the community and she loves to work out,” she previously told W magazine.
Through a combination of diet (mostly whole foods) and exercise (three to four workouts a week or more when she’s prepping for a tour), Shakira has established a solid health and wellness routine that fuels her hectic lifestyle.
Below, we’ve outlined a few of the 47-year-old’s top fitness tips.
She alternates between strength training and cardio to build endurance
To keep Shakira on her toes, Kaiser likes to alternate between strength training and cardio.
“Some days we do just cardio and then strength and some days we start with strength and then do cardio. We like to mix it up,” she told E! News.
The trainer went on to explain how this approach helps prepare the singer for life on the road.
“I want to make sure that she is improving her endurance so that she can go into a two-hour show and also has the strength and stamina to make it through a five-month tour. It’s about making sure she gets a little bit of everything.”
She prioritizes core workouts
Shakira’s toned tummy is iconic, and she puts in the work to maintain it. Per Kaiser, the star “loves core work.”
The trainer previously shared a six-step routine with Shape to give an idea of just how hard Shakira works to shape her core and outlined several moves, including a side cincher, standing march with weighted crunch, lateral teaser, twisted crunches, three-count crunch with Pilates ball and seated C-curve with overhead towel extension.
She digs dance workouts
Shocking, we know, but Shakira also loves to bust a move when she’s not on stage. Together with Kaiser, she often does cardio dance workouts or adds dance intervals to her workout.
“The dance (component) is so important (for Shakira) to stay connected to her movement, her body, and get her mind off of work,” Kaiser told PopSugar. “You can be so present when you’re doing a dance workout. It’s great for creating new neural pathways and mental stamina.”
She incorporates a lot of protein into her diet
Shakira has a pretty hectic schedule, so she consumes a lot of protein to keep up her energy levels. According to Kaiser, the singer has some sort of protein “in every meal” and looks for creative ways to incorporate protein into her diet.
“We did some protein shakes, protein pancakes, and I would peel a couple of oranges and slice them up and top them with turmeric and cinnamon. It is pretty much about making it fun and different and also the presentation,” the trainer told E! News.
She wears a heart monitor while exercising
Who knew that heart monitors could be a workout game changer? Kaiser previously told Delish that Shakira wears one “religiously” when they exercise together.
“A heart rate monitor is very important because every day is different. Sometimes you may have a ton of energy and other days you may not, but you can hold yourself accountable for knowing how hard you’re working by having a very specific goal to work toward,” she told E! News.
Kaiser went on to explain how heart monitors can help you crush your next workout, saying, “Sometimes you’ll think you’re lifting some very heavy weight but you’ll realize your heart isn’t actually working that hard so you can push yourself a little bit harder.”
She eats regularly throughout the day
It’s no secret that eating more regularly can help fend off cravings and impulse snacking. Kaiser previously told E! News that Shakira eats something every two to three hours.
Kaiser also told the publication that her client loves to eat small meals over the course of the day.
“She’s so busy she has to keep her energy up. (She eats) all throughout the day—really healthy clean food so her body can absorbs the nutrition as much as possible,” she said.
When Kaiser was training Shakira for a world tour, she focused on “revving up her metabolism,” as she previously told Us Weekly.
“I bumped up the amount of times she ate every day with small amounts of food that would fill her up — she would snack on a creamy asparagus soup that was lightly salted,” she said.
She keeps her body guessing by switching up her workouts
Doing the same workout over and over again can be both boring and ineffective if you’re hoping to challenge your body and mind. That’s why Kaiser encourages Shakira to switch up her routine regularly.
“We’re always working to give her, you know, a new focus, a new area and exercise that she can bring into her everyday life and work on so she feels comfortable with it,” Kaiser told W. “Shakira does that same exercise set for two to four weeks.”
She eats a balanced diet and believes in treating herself
Per Kaiser, Shakira’s diet consists of a lot of fresh veggies, low glycemic fruit and lots of soups. The trainer told E! News that her client typically eats eggs for breakfast, followed by a smoothie, then fish and veggies or a salad for dinner.
“Afternoon is, I know it gets really busy, but we’ll do a soup. There are some really good artichoke soups, or it could be a leek and eggplant soup, carrot ginger, and sometimes with a side of cucumbers with lemon and salt,” she said.
At dinnertime, Shakira often enjoys fish and veggies again or pork chops occasionally.
The singer has a sweet tooth, so she leaves room for treats in moderation.
“It doesn’t have to be something big it can just be something different every day, for example, we would do a cacao topped rice cake or half of a protein bar, or I got her some chocolate tea which kind of feels like a treat with some dehydrated fruit,” Kaiser told E! News. “So it’s about allowing yourself to have a lot of different things in small quantities and keep it as fresh as possible.”
She loves to swim
Swimming is often touted as one of the lowest-impact workouts around, so it’s no surprise that Shakira is a fan. The singer often goes for a dip in the pool late at night, per Kaiser.
“There isn’t a better way to calm your central nervous system and move your body in a yummy way that almost feels like you’re taking a bath before bed but still getting a really good second workout in by working against the resistance of the water with no impact on your joints. It’s lovely but it was late and I’m really proud of us for doing it!” she told E! News.
“It’s those little things that kick it up a notch. She slept really well after those workouts and felt really good the next day. So, yeah, your body is still sweating and losing the water it’s retaining when you’re swimming.”
She incorporates foam rolling into her stretching routine
Kaiser gets creative with Shakira’s stretching routine since the star is hypermobile. Per the Cleveland Clinic, joint hypermobility syndrome is “a genetic condition that involves extreme flexibility along with pain and other symptoms.”
To make sure Shakira is stretching properly, Kaiser incorporates a foam roller into her client’s routine.
“When you’re hypermobile, it’s easy to think your muscles are flexible but your flexibility is really around your joints and not your muscles,” she told E! News. “Foam rolling is really important and making sure we are rolling out her fascia, her feet, her legs, and upper body to make sure she stays nice and healthy.”
