Carrie Underwood No Longer Works Out 'to Be a Certain Size'

It's no secret that Carrie Underwood takes her workouts seriously. Now the singer is opening up about what gets her moving and how her motivations have changed over the years in a new interview with People.

"I feel like earlier in my career I was working out more to be a certain size or fit into a certain aesthetic that I thought I wanted to be," she told People. (Psst: Underwood won American Idol when she was just 22 years old.) "And now I feel like I work out more to be strong and to have energy and longevity."

Being a of mom of two kids plays a role in her new mentality. She wants to be able keep up with her sons for many years to come, Underwood told the magazine.

"It really is playing the long game, right?" she continued. "I've worked out a whole lot and been frustrated because it wasn't the results that I wanted. I feel like now at this point in my life, you really do learn that it is a lifestyle, it's balance. It is overall taking care of yourself."

Working out also helps Underwood perform at her best. "It's surprisingly physical being on stage — there's a lot of cardio," she explained. "I'm running around in heels and I honestly write songs that I don't give myself time to breathe." Have you heard her belt out one of her hits lately?

So just how does the "Before He Cheats" singer approach fitness? Under the guidance of her longtime personal trainer Eve Overland, Underwood typically runs on the treadmill, lifts weights, and does exercises with resistance bands, she told People.

"Working out and staying healthy is just a way of life for Carrie," Overland previously told Shape. "Carrie understands that staying strong, mobile, and conditioned is so important in all aspects of her life, on and off the stage. Working out is self care and her me time."

As for the nuts and bolts of a typical Underwood workout, most include upper- and lower-body exercises, according to Overland. They work with opposing muscle groups (think: chest and back or quads and hamstrings), which has "contributed to her amazing strength as well as sculpted physique," added her trainer.

While she's often pressed for time between being a mom and touring on the road, Underwood finds time to sweat it out when she can. "My current fitness plan is working in working out whenever I can," Underwood told Shape in 2021. "The most important thing is to move. If you do that, and you give what you have, your day will be better for it."

Curious what it's really like to work out like the Grammy award winner? Find out what happened when Shape's own social media director joined Underwood for a full-body workout she'll never forget.