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Carrie Underwood is celebrated for not just her Grammy-Award-winning country music career, but also her superbly toned physique and unwavering commitment to fitness. She even tours with her longtime trainer, Eve Overland, and a mobile gym. We look at how Carrie Underwood, who recently turned 40, trains and eats to sculpt one of the best bodies in all of entertainment. Let’s examine Carrie Underwood’s workout and diet.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD WORKOUT
You can’t nail down Carrie Underwood’s precise workout because she and Eve Overland , her trainer for the past 13 years, are always changing it. Variety is the basis of Underwood’s fit52 fitness app and her fitness regimen. But from what the superstar singer and her trainer have said, we determined the essential principles for Underwood’s training.
Train (Almost) Daily. Carrie Underwood trains almost every day, even when touring.
Variety Rules. No two workouts are exactly the same. The exercises and order of exercises are constantly changing.
Combine Upper Body and Lower Body. Overland told SHAPE magazine last year: “Each workout incorporates both upper-body as well as lower-body exercises. Most commonly, we will work with opposing muscle groups, so she gets a lot of frequency with lower-body exercises without overworking it on any given day. This approach has contributed to her amazing strength as well as sculpted physique.” For example, one day she’ll focus on upper body pull exercises, like chest presses and triceps extensions, as well as lower-body pull exercises, like leg curls and deadlifts. The next day will be upper body pull exercises (back and biceps) and lower body push exercises (quads). The next day will be pull again, 48 hours from the last pull workout. So, Underwood can focus on one side of her legs and upper body daily without overworking both sides.
Stick to the Basics. Overland guides Underwood through basic compound exercises, including squats, deadlifts, shoulder presses, and rows. The reason, Overland explains, is “because they work and they give you the most bang for your buck, no matter what age you are.” Underwood isn’t afraid to lift heavy either, with reps in the 10-12 range.
Weightlifting Comes First. “Nothing is going to change your physique like weightlifting does,” Overland told E! News. “So, depending on your goal, don’t get caught up in cardio.”
Cardio Comes Last. Underwood will often go for a run after the weight-training session. “She also needs to think about preparing herself to perform,” Overland explains. “So jogging, it’s waking up her lungs and opening up her airwaves to say, ‘Hey lungs, you gotta work later!'”
Do What’s Best for You. Carrie Underwood is now working on refining her physique. “She’s at that point where she’s so completely sculpted and conditioned,” Eve Overland recently told E! News. “So now I’m working on the detail.”
CARRIE UNDERWOOD LEG WORKOUT
It’s the legs! When women talk about wanting a Carrie Underwood body, what they want most of all is the supremely toned legs of the 5’3″ country music superstar. According to Eve Overland, Underwood’s favorite leg exercises include squats, lunges, and deadlifts. “She likes to stick with the basics because they work,” Overland told SHAPE. “Lateral band walks, leg press machine, hamstring curls, and cable straight-leg kickbacks are a few more go-tos because of the great pump they give you.”
Eve Overland offered advice for women who don’t have the workout time, dedication, or genetics of Carrie Underwood: “To have legs like Carrie, be consistent,, and if you don’t love lifting [weights] then we got to take it back. What can you do sustainably? Set attainable goals. If you can only workout twice a week, great. Do it. Anything is better than nothing. Go for a walk. If that’s all you can get in the day, that means everything. Whatever your body has to offer and whatever time you have, just get it in and your body will thank you. Find something that you like to do and stick with it.”
The workouts are always changing, but Overland shared a sample Carrie Underwood leg workout with SHAPE magazine. We detail it below. You won’t need a leg press or leg curl machine for this one. This workout can be performed outside a gym with a minimum amount of equipment. Note that each of the three superset sequences ends with more of a cardio/balance exercise to crank up the heartrate.
To see how the exercises are performed, watch this Instagram video of Underwood’s trainer Eve Overland demonstrating proper exercise form.
Do each superset sequence with minimal rest (10 seconds or less) between exercises. Rest one minute between sequences. Do three sequences.
LEG SUPERSET SEQUENCE #1
Dumbbell Squat (heels elevated) — 12-15 reps
↕️ superset with
Dumbbell Crossover Step-up — 10 reps per side
↕️ superset with
Touchdown — 12 reps per leg
Dumbbell squat is simply a squat performed while holding dumbbells either down at your sides (easiest) or up at your shoulders (harder).
Dumbbell crossover step-up starts with you standing next to a step or box. Step up and onto the step or box with your outside leg, crossing it over your inside leg.
Touchdown is like a speed-skater move. Kick one leg out to the side and bring the corresponding hand down towards the floor. Go back and forth like this for 12 reps of each leg kicking out.
LEG SUPERSET SEQUENCE #2
Dumbbell Deficit Sumo Deadlift — 12-15 reps
↕️ superset with
Bodyweight Bosu Dome-Up Single-Leg Deadlift — 10 reps per leg
↕️ superset with
Bosu Up-and-Overs — 12 reps per side
Here’s how to do the dumbbell deficit sumo deadlift. Stand with a wide stance and hold a kettlebell or single dumbbell with both hands. While keeping your legs nearly straight, bend down to touch the weight to the floor. The “deficit” is because you get a longer range of motion by standing on two steps, blocks, or weight plates.
The Bosu Sport Balance Trainer is an inflated device with a rubber, flexible, dome side and a plastic, hard, base side. Bodyweight single-leg deadlifts on the Bosu dome side require more balance. Reach down while standing on one leg and raise the other leg, held straight, behind you.
An up and over is a cardio and balance exercise. Start standing on one side of a dome-up Bosu. Step up sideways onto the dome with both feet and then step down sideways to the other side. That counts as one rep. Then step up and over to the opposite side for another rep. Do 12 reps per side. Reaching up on each rep will make it more intense.
LEG SUPERSET SEQUENCE #3
Dumbbell Single-Leg Box Squat & Lunge — 8-10 reps per leg
↕️ superset with
Log Hop — 12 rep per side
Here’s how to do the single-leg box squat and lunge. Sit on a bench or box. Rise up with one leg while keeping the other leg bent. Then lunge forward onto the bent leg. Then return to sit on the bench. You can alternate legs or do all of one side and then the other. Hold a dumbbell or dumbbells to add difficulty.
You can do the log hop standing, hoping sideways over a medicine ball, a block, or, presumably, a log. But Eve Overland demonstrates a crouched version that goes like this: Hold on to a bench with both hands so your torso is parallel to the bench and your feet are on one side. Kick your feet up, bending your knees, and bring your feet down on the other side. As soon as your feet touch one side, bring your legs back over to the other side. Go back and forth like this for 12 landings on both sides.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD DIET
Carrie Underwood is a longtime vegetarian. She stopped eating meat at the age of 13 and currently claims to be 95% vegan. The superstar occasionally has some dairy, and she sometimes eats eggs from the chickens on her 400-acre Tennessee farm. “She strives to eat whole, natural foods,” Overland said of her client. “Carrie loves to garden, and her favorites are all the things she grows herself and prepares from scratch.”
Underwood loves to cook, even when she’s touring. “I bring pots and pans and little burners and things like that so I can cook food while I’m on the [tour] bus,” Underwood said. “I’m always buying groceries on my days off.”
Here’s some of Carrie Underwood’s favorite foods:
steel-cut oats / A bowl of steel-cut oats is a great complex carbohydrate to fuel her busy day.
tofu breakfast skillet / Ingredients: tofu, bell peppers, onions, coconut oil, topped with fresh salsa (eggs are optional).
vegetable chips / One of her go-to snacks is Veggie Straws.
fruit and nut bars / Another go-to snack: Raw Rev vegan bars.
roasted vegetables / The old standard.
vegetable stir-fry / If she’s not roasting the veggies, she’s stir-frying them with lots of garlic.
bean and rice burrito / Underwood even keeps a stash of “emergency” meatless burritos in the freezer.
blueberry muffins / This is one of her favorite treats.
dairy-free ice cream / Another occasional treat.
spaghetti squash / A favorite dinner dish for Underwood, her husband, Mike Fisher, and their two children.
veggie burger / Another favorite meal.
quesadilla / She makes these with beans and Daiya vegan cheese.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD ON HER FITNESS LIFESTYLE
“Making exercise a priority changed my life,” Carrie Underwood wrote in her book Find Your Path. “I don’t know how I would have made it this far without working out to keep me going. For me, fitness is my therapy. It’s my way to blow off steam. When everything else is nutso in my life, at least I know what I’m doing for the 45 to 90 minutes that I’m working out. That time is just for me.”
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