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Fitness Tips from Instagram Influencers
Three Instagram fitness influencers share their health and wellness routines and how a well-fitting sports bra makes all the difference.
By Tessa Trudeau
As any woman knows, bras can be tricky. They often seem to be on one end of the fit spectrum: either too restrictive and uncomfortable or comfy but not supportive enough. Nike, however, has found the sports bra sweet spot. Their selection, including the popular Nike Flyknit Indy, never compromises style or security, no matter your size, shape or exercise intensity.
Three women with different body types and wellness routines, but whose lives revolve around fitness, tell us why Nike's bras are an integral part of their workout wardrobe, what they do to stay in shape and how they foster body positivity.
Danielle Gray
Instagram: @daniellegrayfit
What is your current fitness routine like?
My current fitness routine consists of gymnastics one or two times a week. I have a pole in my apartment, so I'll do pole [dancing] whenever I can fit it in, and then I'll usually do a HIIT [high-intensity interval training] workout wherever I can fit it in as well. The most important thing to me is to stay active.
What type of clothing do you like to work out in?
Since I'm a gymnast, the clothing I work out in has to keep me covered as I tumble and flip, so I typically wear a sports bra—sometimes two, a tank top or some kind of compression shirt—and then leggings or shorts.
What's the most important feature for you in a sports bra?
Support, support, support! As a petite gal with a larger bust and a smaller waist, it is so hard to find bras that actually fit, hold the girls in and provide enough compression and support. I usually have to wear two bras when I work out to get the lift and support needed for my high-impact training.
What do you love about the Nike Flyknit Indy bra?
This bra provides lightweight, virtually seamless compression, coverage and support. Plus, it's cute!
What do you carry in your gym bag?
Ankle weights, a yoga strap, resistance bands, a jump rope, my gymnastics grips for bars, my pole grip aids and my adjustable tripod that can grip onto almost any surface so I can film my workouts for social content.
What is the best piece of health advice you've been given?
You can't compare your chapter 1 to someone else's chapter 20. It doesn't matter where you're starting, just start. You'll already be ahead of those not taking any action.
Do you have any advice for working out when you just don't feel like it?
Do not let yourself negotiate with your brain. When you say go, you go. Schedule it, make it real and commit.
How do you keep a body-positive mindset?
By practicing gratitude. I totally fall victim to comparing myself on social media and spiraling into negative self-talk or depression. It's real. When I catch myself comparing or feeling less than or inferior, I close my eyes and bring myself back to moments when I was overwhelmed with gratitude. It is impossible to feel negativity or stress in a state of gratitude. It takes practice, and I'm still working on it.
Alex Michael May
Instagram: @alexmichaelmay
What is your current fitness routine like?
Currently I'm in a state of exploration—trying new things to see what feels good and having so much fun in the process. I love pushing my body, listening to it, moving it out of love, and currently that looks like spin, hiking, stretching, checking out new and different classes and a major goal of mine for this year—to run my first race!
What type of clothing do you like to work out in?
High-waisted leggings and a sports bra—that's for sure my go-to. Sometimes I'll throw a jacket or sweatshirt over it, but I'm really just a leggings-and-sports-bra kind of girl.
What's the most important feature for you in a sports bra?
For me, a sports bra really needs to be just like a best friend: supportive. It needs to be highly functional. It needs to have the right amount of coverage. It's really about the engineering; it has to pass that bounce test where you jump up and down and things are under control, so to speak.
What do you love about the Nike Indy Plus bra?
I love this bra because it has adjustable straps, it has removable cups and it's really functional.
What do you carry in your gym bag?
My gym bag always has to have sunscreen in it and definitely dry shampoo.
What is the best piece of health advice you've been given?
You can't punish your body into submission, you can only love it to wholeness. I think doing things out of love is so much more powerful than doing them out of fear. If you love your body and want to see it well, whole and strong, then you treat it that way! That looks different for everyone, but it all involves a level of presence and awareness—of being in and listening to our bodies.
Do you have any advice for working out when you just don't feel like it?
I try to remember that I inevitably feel better once I do. I try to just move in some small way—that might be a walk around the block or even stretching in my living room. It could be putting on a song and dancing around—anything to get the energy flowing. Usually at the end, I'll be ready to go work out, and if not, I honor that too and am still able to get in a little movement regardless.
How do you keep a body-positive mindset?
By focusing on gratitude for my body and focusing on what I love rather than what I don't. It also helps to identify beauty and strength in those around you. I feel like when I challenge myself to name beauty around me, it helps uplift me too. I also watch the negative self-talk in my head and gently course-correct as needed. I am focused on showing my body love and kindness, and when that's too hard, even a mindset of body neutrality can help. We may not love every part of ourselves—that's called being human. But we can choose to actively not impose self-hatred and instead remain neutral if we can't always shift to a place of love. Gratitude for our bodies is key, and I try to focus on that as well.
Remi Ishizuka
Instagram: @rrayyme
What is your current fitness routine like?
I wake up every day at 5am to get my workout done in the morning. Currently I'm loving a mix of strength training and high-intensity cardio days where I get my blood pumping and sweat like no other! I've stuck to a 6am workout routine since the beginning of this year, and I am so proud of myself because not only am I starting the day with more energy, but I feel so much stronger and healthier.
What type of clothing do you like to work out in?
I typically work out in a sports bra and high-waisted leggings. I don't like wearing a tank top or a jacket just because I sweat a lot.
What's the most important feature for you in a sports bra?
It has to feel comfortable and it has to be easy to put on. And I want it to feel really supportive.
What do you love about the Nike Flyknit Indy bra?
You can adjust the straps from the front, and that makes the back completely seamless, so when you're doing crunches on your back or in shavasana in yoga you don't feel anything. It honestly feels like second skin; it doesn't even feel like I have anything on.
What do you carry in your gym bag?
Extra hair ties, headphones, a towel and something to cleanse my face with after I work out.
What is the best piece of health advice you've been given?
Everybody is different, so what works for someone may not work for you. Honor your bioindividuality—one workout or eating plan will not work for everyone, and you have to experiment and learn what your body responds to best by trying different things.
Do you have any advice for working out when you just don't feel like it?
Honestly, I just look back on the progress I've made. I've come this far, and I don't want to regress, so I'll just go out and do it. There is no excuse—if I just don't feel like it, well, too bad—I do it anyway! I think about how strong I've gotten, and that inspires me to get dressed and get out the door.
How do you keep a body-positive mindset?
Focusing on doing what makes me happy and doing some sort of self-care every single day. As long as I'm sweating and moving and doing things that make me happy, I'm going to feel good from the inside out.