Two times Olympic gold winner and leading Tennis star Serena gives us some serious fitness goals. She has ground herself for hours to get those gorgeous pairs of abs. Her work out is pretty intense, and her diet is equally strict, and well that is the kind of discipline you need to achieve something like this!
Serena Williams’ Workout Routine
Check out what Serena Williams went through every day to get such a perfect shape –
Warm Up
Never underestimate warm up. It is as essential as the rest of the workout because without warming up your body first, you are bound to end up with cramps. It prepares your body to go through an hour or more of vigorous exercising efficiently without fatigue. So, even if it is a famous athlete, they never skip their warm up. Serena Williams’ warm consists of Cardio and Zumba to open up the body muscles and get flexible. She warms up for about 10 minutes before moving on to her hardcore exercise routine.
Arm Exercises
What exercises to perform: Fitness ball transfer, rolling knee tucks, resistance band hip extensions, plank rows.
How long: Do each of these exercises for at least 3 to 4 minutes.
Butt Exercises
What exercises to perform: Barbell Pause Squat, Barbell Front Squat, Barbell Box Squat.
How long: Perform 3-5 sets for each of these exercises.
Leg Exercises
What exercises to perform: Bicycle Crunch, Leg crunch (horizontal followed by vertical), Pillar holds, Dumbbell walking lunges, Dumbbell step ups.
How long: Perform 3-5 sets for each of these exercises.
Abs Workout
Serena Williams has one of the best abs in all tennis players. To build such fine abs, she had to go through a series of complicated exercises. It wasn’t easy, and it never is, but determination is the key.
Planks
Serena’s coach says this is a great exercise to start with if you are aspiring to build abs. These planks are supposed to be performed with a row using a cable or a band.
Fix the cable to something stable and move the plank to the forearm position. Keep one forearm on the ground flat and pull the opposite straightened arm with which you are holding the cable close. For effective results, do 3 sets of 15 reps each.
TRX
Put your feet on the TRX strap and stabilize yourself pulling both your knees towards the chest. Pull and release 15 times and perform 3 sets.
Medicine Ball
Medicine ball Squats: Hold the medicine ball (weighing around 6 to 8 pounds) and bring it outside your knees while you squat. Continue by swinging it from your body towards your ear diagonally. Do it as fast as you can and with as much energy as you can. This exercise requires 3 sets of 15 reps each.
Medicine ball Rested side planks: Position the ball on your hip while you are in the side plank position and move the hips up and down continuously. Repeat it 15 times in one set and perform 3 such sets.
Sprints
Sprinting is a great way to lose fat, and any person you see with remarkable abs on their body is into sprinting. Williams sprints daily, her one 100m sprint being under 20 seconds. At least 3 such sprints are advised by her coach.
Serena Williams’ Diet Plan
Since Serena has some extremely fine abs to maintain, she keeps her diet strict and healthy including lots of fruits and vegetables in her meals. And if course, Olympic players have to take a good care of what they eat. Even though she has to travel a lot, Williams never compromises on her diet.
An ideal balanced diet of a star tennis player must contain 60-70 carbohydrates, 10-15 fat, and 20 proteins. If the carbohydrates intake is lesser than this, it affects the muscle. An athlete should never cut down on carbohydrates as it is their major source of energy. They have to keep both their bones and muscles strong.
Here’s what her everyday meals look like –
Breakfast
Serena takes her breakfast early and keeps it simple with a cup of oats nourished with strawberries and almond butter. She also takes some supplements that would keep her metabolism boosted for the day.
Late Morning Snack
As she keeps her breakfast light, she takes a slightly heavy morning snack. She usually takes vegetable sandwiches without cheese or brown bread topped with almond or peanut butter.
Lunch
It would not be surprising to see an athlete’s lunch consisting completely of salad. Her salad lunch contains spinach, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, mandarin oranges, onions, pita croutons and peeled almonds. Along with it, she drinks lemon juice to keep her fresh and full of vitamins and minerals. Her meals sound refreshing and already make you feel guilty, don’t they?
Evening Snack
She occasionally likes to have her favorite grilled chicken along with a healthy beverage like green tea or low sugar lemonade.
Dinner
Her last meal of the day is not heavy and easy to digest. It comprises of a limited quantity of brown rice, salad and lots and lots of freshly cooked vegetables.
