Stress levels have skyrocketed for everyone amid the pandemic, and no one can avoid the anxieties and frustrations that have come with a year of such uncertainty.
That includes country star Carrie Underwood, whose biggest stressor is one too many parents can relate to: keeping her kids entertained. They require different things than we do. My little boys are so social, and were so used to being around lots of people and lots of other kids all of the time, Underwood tells Prevention.
During quarantine, every day around 3:00 p.m., she would turn to her husband, Mike Fisher, and ask what one-year-old Jacob and five-year-old Isaiah should do next. You have your morning routine and theres breakfast, and then you get ready, and then its lunch, and now what? she says of her familys routine. So, its been a difficult time.
Through the struggles of parenting amid a global pandemic, the 37-year-old singer has been trying to stay positive in the best ways she knows how: keeping up with her fitness routine, spending time in nature, and focusing on creative projects. Ahead, Underwood shares her top self-care tips for stressful times.
Like most of us, Underwood admits finding motivation to keep up with her fitness routine has been tough. It can be a challenge to exercise, especially when youre having a rough year in the world, the CALIA by Carrie Underwood founder says. Yes, it would be easier to sit on my couch, but thats not going to make me feel good and thats not going to keep me healthy. I want to choose whats best for me so I just get up and do it.
Not only does it keep her fit, but it keeps her happy, too. Its so important on every level, not just from a physical standpoint because you want to do it to look goodthats just a byproduct and its awesome when youre feeling good about yourselfbut for your mental and emotional wellbeing, she says. Even if youre getting up and going for a walk... theres so many benefits to movement and working your body.
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To get her sweat on, Underwood usually heads to her home gym to squeeze in a workout with her husband. It served as extra motivation and helped the couple spend quality time together (sans children!).
She recently launched a fitness app called fit52 this year, which she uses anywhere from four to six days a week. Its been a saving grace for me, she says. We had no idea this year was going to happen like it happened. So to have this app thats focused on bodyweight and minimal equipmentdumbbells and a benchits been a blessing in my life to be able to have that.
Typical exercises include burpees, pushups, squats, and resistance training moves like bicep curls using dumbbells. fit52 also offers a range of all-encompassing circuit training workouts, which Underwood compares to CrossFit type fitness. On top of that, she adds yoga and Pilates to sneak in mobility moves.
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Underwood has been focusing on her nutrition at home, too. The vegetarian hasnt eaten meat since she was 21, which she calls a lifestyle instead of a diet.
While she joked about the old COVID nutrition (because who hasnt been snacking like crazy?), shes been keeping up with her healthy eats by growing some of her own food, which has been a huge stress reliever for her.
I have a garden outside, so Ive really gotten to get my hands dirty this year. Its such a wonderful thing to grow your meals, she says. We ended up eating a lot of zucchini, and I was finding all kinds of different ways to make zucchini because I had so much of it. Theres nothing like your own fresh tomatoes and basil.
In addition to gardening, Underwood found other ways to safely spend time in nature with her family. (For good reason: Even a short, 15-minute break outdoors is enough to lower levels of stress and fatigue, research shows.)
Most days whenever we could we got outside, wed go and have picnics or go for walks, and we have a four-wheeler that wed get on and ride around, she says. As for the ultimate family day out? She has horses at her home in Franklin, Tennessee, so shed take her kids out to feed and play with them.
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Underwood has also thrown herself into creative projects to keep herself busy. Were always working on things musically, she says. She even released a Christmas album during the pandemic, which brought a little joy to a difficult year.
That was just such a blessing for me to be able to go into the studio and shut out what was happening outside and just sing these songs that mean so much to me, so hopefully people can get that and hear that when they listen to the album, she says of My Gift.
Shes also worked on some new collections and pop-up shops for her athleisure brand, CALIA by Carrie Underwood. (Find them in Nashville, Santa Monica, and Austin through Dec. 31!)
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We just kind of wanted to bring something fun and new to those areas and see what happens! I want people to come and be like, Oh my gosh, Im loving this collection, or maybe spoil themselves with a couple of things or get gifts for people for the holidays, she says.
The pop-ups are following COVID-19 safety guidelines, she ensures. Were requiring employees and customers to wear masks in the stores and disinfecting high-touch areas, and just doing all the things we need to be doing to make sure everybodys safe as they come and check out what we have going on.
Overall, Underwoods finishing out 2020 feeling a bit more positive about whats ahead. Im excited to spend the end of this year, hopefully with family, and start a fresh year, she says. I feel like everybody is. Lets all be positive and look forward to what could be in the new year.
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5 Ways Carrie Underwood Stays Fit, Happy, and Motivated During Stressful Times - Prevention.com
