Carrie Underwood Uses An Aerobic Step To Get Those Killer Legs
Thanks to Carrie Underwood's dedication to fitness and the help of her longtime trainer, Eve Overland, Carrie prioritizes workouts—even when she's on tour.
You don't ~need~ a personal trainer and a full weight room on wheels to get fit like Carrie, though. In her new book, Find Your Path: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, And Get Strong With The Fit52 Life, Carrie gets real about her workout routine—and the sweat and dedication it's taken to build her famously strong bod.
Luckily for all you muscle-building gals out there, you just need a few basic pieces of exercise equipment to work out just like the country star.
In Find Your Path, Eve breaks down the must-have workout equipment she relies on to keep Carrie fit and strong on the road (they train every day)—so consider them your go-to's the next time you hit the gym (or want to level up your home workouts).
1. A Bench Or Aerobic Step
Though Carrie likes to do moves like box jumps on a wooden box, she also loves her adjustable Reebok Deck, which functions as a step, flat bench, incline bench and more. (It's one of Eve's favorite pieces of equipment for home workouts.) Carrie uses her bench for everything from tricep dips to up-and-overs (think lateral step-ups with a hop).
2. Dumbbells
No surprise here: A good set of dumbbells (Eve recommends having a light, medium, and heavy pair) are super versatile and easy to use for all sorts of strength-building moves. Not sure what weights to use? Start with the lightest set. If you can do more than 20 reps of a move with them, they're too light.
One of Carrie's go-to dumbbell moves: Romanian deadlifts, which are guaranteed to set your hamstrings and glutes on FIRE.
3. Resistance Bands
When you're super crunched for space or need a break from the dumbbells, swap in resistance bands (the kind that have handles). As with dumbbells, Eve recommends having a light, medium, and heavy resistance band. For bonus points, grab a door anchor, which opens up so many more exercise options. (Eve and Carrie use it to fire up those back muscles with standing resistance band rows.)
Eve love's Black Mountain Products' resistance band set, which includes five different bands, plus a door anchor, ankle straps, exercise guide, and travel bag—pretty much everything you could ever need.
4. Mini Bands
Like giant circular rubber bands, you can loop mini bands around your ankles or legs to do lateral (side-to-side) movements, Eve says in Find Your Path. One in particular Eve and Carrie do: banded squat tap-outs. With a mini band around your ankles, you'll hold a squat position while alternating between tapping your right foot out to the right side and your left foot out to the left.
Grab a medium- and heavy-resistance band to feel the lower-body burn like Carrie.
5. Stability Ball
That large, inflatable stability (or Swiss) ball is good for more than just bouncing on! Eve and Carrie use it for all sorts of bodyweight exercises—from traditional core moves like crunches to hamstring curls. (It also makes for a great bench alternative if you want to test your balance during moves like seated shoulder presses, Eve says.) You'll find this one from Power Systems in Carrie's mobile gym.
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