Ellie Goulding's Instagram gives us fitness FOMO every time we scroll through our feed. So we were thrilled to get to grill Ellie on all things fitness. Grazia Daily caught up with the singer to talk motivation, workoutwear and her favourite cheat day treats...
Grazia Daily: How do you motivate yourself to exercise when you’re tired?
Ellie: It really is a matter of just doing it! The second I get my heart rate up, I’m up for anything. I could do a 10K run, a boot camp; I just have to get past that point. You know when you are about to jump in a pool and it’s cold but once you’re in it’s fine? It’s like that. Once my heart rate is up, I can do anything, even if I am exhausted. The best thing for me if I get off a plane or something, is to get on a treadmill and slowly build my heart rate up. That’s probably the best way to start if I’m feeling tired or have just got off a flight.
Grazia Daily: What does your exercise schedule look like? Do you try and work out every day?
Ellie: I work out as much as I can, but I don’t really like being regimented. I’m not really hard on myself. I’m in the studio all week at the moment, if I am recording, I just try and give myself a bit of a break. I’m eating well so I just do whatever comes along. Tomorrow morning I’ll probably run. I didn’t train today but I trained yesterday so it depends where I am. I know I have got a big training session on Saturday so I’m excited to do that. I know it sounds really lame but I get excited about if I know I’m going on a long flight and have big session beforehand. I try and work out every day, if not, it’s every other day.
**Grazia Daily: What type of exercise do you do? **
Ellie: If I’m in a good routine I’ll try and do Bikram Yoga, I’ll do various bootcamps, and I have a couple of personal training sessions. I’ll do this thing called SBC, which stands for ‘Skinny Bitch Collective’, which sounds awfully unhealthy, but it’s not about being skinny, it’s about being a fit bitch! It’s awesome and I mix it up a lot. I try and fit a couple of runs in each week as well.
**Grazia Daily: What music do you like to listen to when you’re running? **
Ellie: I actually started trying to not listen to music. I try to listen to my breathing and feet, and that pattern. House music is really good to run to actually, occasionally I listen to dub step and drum and base. Just stuff with a good rhythm, beat and pulse, but there are so many things I listen to I couldn’t possibly just name one or two artists.
**Grazia Daily: What do you like to wear to workout? **
Ellie: I have different workout stuff for different things. If I’m going out running in the freezing cold in Hyde Park or whatever, I have my favourite pair of running joggers and I always go for a really warm long-sleeve top and a vest that I can zip up. It’s all about thermals, but nothing too heavy because once you get out there you do get quite hot and stuffy. When I do boot camp I just wear a medium impact sports bra and some shorts. I basically wear as little as possible so that I can as much of my body as possible and so I know what I need to work on. It sort of gives me motivation when I see my hips wobbling around!
Grazia Daily: Do you have any favourite pre and post workout foods?
Ellie: My favourite pre-workout food is this protein bar called GoMacro. It’s a peanut butter and chocolate chip one. It’s incredible! They are vegan, and full of good stuff, and sourced sustainably. I love their stuff. For post-workout, I like to shove a load of things in a smoothie like banana, avocado and peanut butter, some protein powder and some soya milk or hazelnut milk, and maybe a bit of spinach or kale. Then I’ll just go and eat something ridiculous like a vegan burger or something!
Grazia Daily: How do you find maintaining a vegan diet?
Ellie: Well I’m vegetarian. I try to be vegan as much as possible. If I had vegan food in front of me all the time there would be no question, I’d be vegan. It’s just a bit hard. I had a vegan chef with me on tour, so it was very easy then. Sometimes I eat the odd thing that isn’t vegan, but I’m a vegan as much as possible.
Grazia Daily: Do you have any favourite cheat day meals or treats?
Ellie: Oh god, every day is a cheat day! If I train super hard, I might allow myself something sweet as I’ve got one hell of a sweet tooth. I love sugar and I love champagne. I’m a very girly girl when it comes to cocktails and stuff. Yeah, if I work out hard I don’t feel as guilty about having some champagne or cocktails.
** Grazia Daily: What tips would you give to busy women who struggle to find time to work out? **
Ellie: When I’ve got no time, I try and do Insanity Workout. Any kind of exercise video is better than nothing isn’t it? I would recommend Insanity though, it doesn’t mess around. It’s amazing! I’ve done it for a couple of years now and it’s so good.
*Ellie is working with Nike on The Nike Women's Race Series. *
*Sign up with your crew to start your journey to the Nike Women’s 10K London finishline. www.nike.com/london *