Ella Balinska has quickly established herself as a rising star in the world of action and horror films. With standout roles in the 2019 reboot of Charlie’s Angels and the Netflix series Resident Evil, she’s proven that she’s not just a talented actress but also a physical powerhouse. Last month, Balinska gave her followers a glimpse of her glamorous side, sharing a striking black-and-white photo on Instagram, where she donned a halter dress, simply captioned “Señorita.” Curious about how Ella stays in such incredible shape? Read on to discover five ways she maintains her fitness and see the photos that prove her methods really work.
Balinska shared some of her favorite workouts with Women’s Health. “I’m obsessed with netball,” she said. “I play out [with the] team, the LA Waves. It’s really great. I’m a goal defense. It’s just something I’ve really enjoyed, because it’s something that … When you’re in school, it’s so easy to find things that you love, because you’re doing such wide variety [of activities]. And then it’s almost as if, as you get older, you get better at being paid at things, but not better at doing things you like.”
Balinska tells Women’s Health that she does a lot of martial arts to stay in shape. “I started off doing quite a fair amount of judo, which was actually super useful because it is a defensive martial art, but you learn how to fall before you learn how to fight,” she said. “There’s something that’s quite symbolic about that in the sense that you spend the first half of the year just falling over and getting thrown about the place, just hitting the mat. And in life, it’s almost a great lesson to learn in terms of always picking yourself back up again. [Later] I did a little bit of karate, a little bit of taekwondo. Then, at drama school – I studied at Guildford School of Acting – there was a unit where we did stage combat, which is essentially learning how to fight with weapons safely on screen and stage. I became a little bit obsessed with it. Thankfully, [that was] was a skillset which became very useful in my industry.”
Balinska loves cardio workouts. She explained why in her Women’s Health interview. “When you’re working out, it’s all about breathing. Even if you’re just meditating, it’s about being focused with the breath and connecting your breath and body. [The same thing applies in action roles,] you’ve got to have enough oxygen to be able to do the action, but also scream the line out, take after take after take after take. So a lot of that cardio training was really helpful.“
Balinska tells Women’s Health that she likes to lift weights. “I’ve really been getting into my leg days. [My mum] is one person who really inspired me to get into the gym, because I loved HIIT workouts and I loved spinning but I also wanted to start getting stronger. [My mum] is someone who has consistently, for years, been going to the gym. She’s naturally very strong in arms and back. So I know we get a good pump on arms and on chest and tris and back and bis day.“
Balinska shared her skincare routine with Vogue. “My favourite skincare products are definitely the serum and the cream, they just work hand in hand,” she said. “Both of them work hard – I like to use it as a base when putting on makeup. It doesn’t separate. I used to mix and match and try and make some sort of concoction of all the different vitamins and serums you’re supposed to put on but now it’s all in one bottle which is nice for me especially as I travel so much. I love the stick concealer, I use it to add dimension to my face because our faces have different tones. So I’ll use it to draw a frame on my face, so a little bit around my nose and cheeks, sort of like blush. Especially as I have a slightly darker complexion and if I don’t want to go too rosy one day, I add a little warmth in that area by using concealers. The Radiant Fluid foundation is a godsend. I am wearing shade BF 60 right now as I’m a little tanned.”