Hailee Steinfeld On Finding Balance, Staying Hydrated, and Working Out with Her Dad

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Hailee Steinfeld knows exactly when she's feeing dehydrated. "I've gotten to a point where, if I don't hydrate, my body lets me know very quickly," she tells Shape. The way her skin looks and feels and even her attitude can signal to the 25-year-old actress that it's time to drink some water, she explains. When she doesn't have her usual Core Hydration by her side (Steinfeld is partnered with the water bottle brand), she reminds herself to drink water by setting alarms on her phone (yes, really!), and she's totally behind the motivational water bottle trend. "I love the bottles that have the little markers of encouragement on them," she says. (Related: The 16 Best Water Bottles for Workouts, Hiking, and Everyday Hydration)

Staying hydrated is important to Steinfeld, who strives to live a healthy lifestyle. "My goal always is to feel great, and how amazing that in working out and in working out properly, you get to reap physical benefits from that," she says. So how does Steinfeld prefer to work up a sweat? "I work out with my dad," she says, quickly clarifying that he's actually a personal fitness trainer. "I always feel the need to say that because sometimes I'm like, 'I work out with my dad,' and people are like, 'oh that's cute,' and I'm like, 'oh no, it's not cute,'" she adds.

Working out with her dad is "very challenging and very hard but so much fun," she says. The two typically do circuit training and cardio together, and Steinfeld relies on her dad/trainer to "switch it up and keep it fresh," she adds. "My dad knows me and knows what I'm capable of more than anyone," explains the Pitch Perfect alum. "He pushes me to the best of my ability, and I come out stronger every single time." (See: Hailee Steinfeld Shares Her Tricks for Staying Fit and Healthy While On Tour)

For instance, when Steinfeld began preparing for a particularly physical role in the Disney+ miniseries Hawkeye (based on Marvel Comics), she turned to her dad for training before she was even officially cast on the show. "I knew I wanted to get to a place physically that anything could be thrown at me on the day [if I got the role]," she says, noting that at one point she was doing bear crawls the length of a football field in preparation for the role. "That was short-lived," she says with a laugh.

Along with bear crawl exercises, she and her dad did circuit training, full-body work, and "a lot of endurance" training during that time. Steinfeld also worked with an archery coach to learn how to play protégée to master archer Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye) in the series. "Let me tell you, [archery] will work out muscles you didn't even know you had," she says. (Related: Brie Larson's New Hobby Is Archery and of Course, She's a Natural)

When she's not training with her dad or prepping for a role, Steinfeld likes to do yoga and Pilates, go for long walks with her dogs, and practice guided meditations. "I think finding your balance is truly about finding your happiness and being patient with yourself and being kind to yourself," she says. "It is a term that we hear a lot along with a lot of suggestions as to maybe how to find that balance, but I think you are the one, the only one, that can really define what that is for you."

Steinfeld strives to strike a balance between working hard and doing nothing at all. "I love working out, but I also love doing nothing: sitting in my backyard looking up at the trees and the sky and breathing," she explains. "I think we all can find three to five minutes to ourselves just to breath and remind ourselves of where we're at and check in with ourselves." Consider this your reminder to spend a little time doing nothing today.