Fitness is a lifestyle as well as a business for top athleisure designers. Six of the most successful designers attended Funkshion’s athleisure event in Miami, and they revealed the inspirations that keep them on track toward their fitness goals. The designers’ favorite workout music, pre-workout snacks and workout routines will motivate you, too. Learn the workout secrets of the women who get you moving with athleisure wear that goes from studio to street with style.
Favorite workouts:
Michelle Wahler, cofounder and CEO of Beyond Yoga is a huge fan of The Studio MDR in Los Angeles, where instructors blend Pilates, cardio training, and weight-bearing exercises to make clients strong.
Mat Pilates classes provide an amazing core workout that looks deceptively easy but isn’t for Luli Hanimian, founder of Luli Fit by Luli Fama. She suffers from some back pain, and she says Mat Pilates really helps.
Tash Oakley, cofounder of Monday Active, Monday Swimwear, and A Bikini a Day, recommends then bodyweight and dumbbell exercises found at Body By Gilles, which is run by her boyfriend Gilles Souteyrand. He’s a top personal trainer based in London.
Yoga is the favorite workout of Michelle Watson, founder and creative director of Michi. Her instructors inspire her to go home and practice handstands and acro-like moves. She’s also taking an Afrobeats dance class.
Melissa Pizzuto, designer for Ultracor, challenges herself with Pilates, which she says is the opposite of everything my body does naturally.
Yin yoga, running and SoulCycle are the faves of Taryn Toomey, first-time designer for lululemon’s lululemon x The Class by Taryn Toomey Collaboration.
Favorite workout song:
Oakley calls “Calabria!” her pump-up song. Beyoncé remixes get Wahler moving. Toomey says Mumford and Sons “There Will Be Time” motivates her.
A Lagree Fitness instructor introduced Watson to a remix of an indie song mixed with dancehall with Vybz Kartel. And she says it gives her a burst of energy of the hardest butt workouts. “Toothbrush” by DNCE lifts Pizzuto’s mood every time, while Hanimian: rocks “Despacito!”
Favorite pre-workout snack:
For sweet tooth satisfaction and energy boost, Pizzuto craves her fave bananas and almond butter. Oakley opts for almond protein Bounce energA y balls and Watson for a handful of mixed nuts.
Wahler powers through with a green juice from Pressed Juicery in Los Angeles. The move to smoothies is echoed by Devin Brugman, cofounder of Monday Active, Monday Swimwear, and A Bikini A Day. She nominates The Basic Smoothie from California’s Beaming Cafes as the world’s best.
Tangerines are the snack that Hanimian Ziplocks to takes along. Toomey usually avoids pre-workout snacks but sometimes opts for fruit she can digest easily.
Read More: On their go-to travel fitness moves and favorite trends in athleisure wear at Glamour’s Top Athleisure Designers Share Their Secrets to Getting the Best Workout of Your Life.
