'Doing Kate Hudson's Fitness Routine For a Week Killed My Arms'
Let's be real: Kate Hudson is a fitness icon. Receipts, you ask? Her rock-hard abs and toned AF booty have graced the cover of Women's Health mag more than once...not to mention the fact that she makes working out actually seem fun. A not-so-easy feat. Plus, she likes exercising so much that she co-founded an activewear brand Fabletics (very cute).
So yeah, in addition to being an all-around talented badass, the actress and mom of three is veeery vocal about prioritizing her fitness routine and healthy habits. And naturally, I wanted in on all of her ~workout deets~. From Pilates to yoga to running, Kate does it all. A bonus? Her exercise schedule is totally quarantine-friendly. And after spending a week recreating some of her go-to workouts, I have a whole new appreciation for how Kate stays so fit at 41.
Workout 1: Nicole Stuart Training
Kate's been training with Nicole Stuart since she was just 19 years old. Pre-Covid, they were meeting up weekly when they're both in Los Angeles, but since Kate travels so much usually, Stuart also designs digital workouts for her to do on the road. Stuart has tons of online classes available for purchase on Vimeo (they're 10 dollars max), so I decided to give one of her full-body sessions a shot.
The video starts with Stuart chilling in her luxurious-looking backyard pool (vibes), then she introduces herself and we get right into the bodyweight movements. Each exercise (we did clamshells, arm raises, leg lifts, and more) was quick but super tough, so I found my butt and abs hurting so good for just the right amount of time before I wanted to give up. Stuart gives you a rep range for all the exercises (like 10–15 of each move), so you can just go at your own pace.
Another positive? Stuart's voice is calming as hell. She's got the most caring demeanor, and working out with her felt like getting a warm hug from my mom—10/10 would recommend. I can see how Kate's kept working out with her for 22 years (#relationshipgoals).
Workout 2: Pilates
Kate posts tons of IG content about all her Pilates reformer workouts, so obviously another Pilates class was on my agenda. Lucky for me, theWH team already did a major roundup of the best free Pilates videos on YouTube, so I pulled the article up on my laptop, rolled out my yoga mat and scrolled through my options.
I chose a 20-minute arms and abs burn with Cassey Ho since the video had almost 1.5 million views and she's got over five million subscribers to her channel (casual). This workout was short but damn, my poor limbs burned. By the end of the video I already felt sore from my torso up, so I just laid on my mat and rested for another 15 minutes.
Workout 3: Yoga
Kate's been a pretty outspoken yogi ever since experiencing some challenges while pregnant with her third child Rani. (She said it was a huge part of supporting her pregnancy.) So while I'm not pregnant (chill), if Kate loves yoga, that means I love yoga, too.
PSA: I'm literally the least flexible human on Earth, which is why I typically steer clear of in-person yoga classes. (It's super embarrassing when I can barely do beginner yoga exercises without cowering in pain, lol.) But because I'd be doing this workout at home, I sucked it up in the name of all that is Kate Hudson, chose a basics flow from this free YouTube yoga roundup, and got to #werk.
I'd been feeling pretty sore from the past two days, tired AF from work, and kinda stressed by everything going on in the world. That said, this "Yoga With Adrienne" video was soooo calming and absolutely just what I needed. I felt centered by the breathing and gentle stretching throughout, and there were no moves that made me feel like the uncomfortable-looking pretzel I usually am during yoga. Basically, this was pretty much the best possible way to relax and cap off my day. (Thanks, Adrienne!)
Workout 4: Peloton Run
Kate's got both a Peloton treadmill and bike at her house right now (I'm very jealous), so it's safe to say she's covered in terms of doing indoor workouts. I have neither of those fancy pieces of home gym equipment, but I do have an iPhone, so I downloaded the Peloton app and started a free trial for access to the company's online classes. I chose a 20-minute outdoor running class, so all I had to do was put in my earbuds and jog to the trail near my parent's house—yes, I'm quarantining with my fam. (Pray for me.)
I started with a 10-minute warmup run on my own (which the app recommends) to get my legs moving before pressing play on the Peloton audio. My workout was guided by fitness instructor Jess Sims and had a 90s music theme, so with each running "push" Sims initiated, I found my feet easily increasing pace to the beat of whatever Britney Spears or Q-Tip beat was playing at that time.
Toward the end of the intervals, though, my legs were dragging and I was breathing veeery heavy. (Basically **dry-heaving**, hah!) Once I finished, I walked back into my house and collapsed on the floor, shirt totally drenched from the workout but thoroughly enjoying the runner's high everybody's always going on about.
Workout Five: Wine Bottle Arms
There's one thing I've made sure to always keep stocked during quarantine: wine. It turns out this (very important) precaution came in handy for modeling Kate's routine, too, since she demoed a special lil' wine bottle-arms workout on Instagram that was just begging to be copied. I used these upper body-toning exercises, grabbed two of my (many) wine bottles, and got moving.
For a quick, 15-minute arms workout, I gotta say, it was a bit harder than it looked. Wine bottles may not be the heaviest thing in the world, but my balance was kinda thrown since the wine sloshing around made the weight distribution uneven.
Let's just say that by the end of this week-long Kate Hudson workout experiment, my arms (especially my triceps) and my abs (it hurts to breathe) were pretty much dead and I had to pour out some wine from one of my bottles for them.
That said, Kate pushed me out of my strength-focused comfort zone this week and got me moving in a way that I hadn't really considered since quarantine started. And for that, I'm #grateful.
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