Shannon Spake, a popular host on FOX Sports known for her auto-racing coverage, takes her fitness seriously. In addition to her career on screen, Spake keeps herself in shape with a variety of exercises, including stair climbing. She’s been vocal about her dedication to fitness, often sharing workout selfies and insights with her followers on social media. Whether she’s squeezing in a workout before work or competing in races, Spake emphasizes the importance of maintaining balance between her career, health, and family. Here’s a closer look at how she stays active, eats healthy, and finds time to compete in races.
Spake’s love of stair running has a lot of benefits. ACE Fitness reports, “Stair climbing exercise can be a strenuous, says Alexandra Lempke, PhD, a clinical assistant professor of applied exercise science and the codirector of the Michigan Performance Research Laboratory at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology in Ann Arbor. When you climb stairs, your heart rate and breathing will increase. ‘Stair climbing for exercise targets the cardiovascular and respiratory systems,’ Dr. Lempke says. It takes a lot of work to move your body mass vertically against gravity.”
Spake shared some of her fitness secrets with Inspire Health Magazine. She says that she works out on a regular basis. “I do stay pretty active. I also do boot camp. Like today, I woke up at 5:30, got my kids up, got them to school, went to my boot camp class, came home, rode my bike for 30 minutes and now I’m going to work.”
Spake tells Inspire Health Magazine that she makes sure to eat healthy. “I kind of look at food as fuel and how that food is going to make me feel. If I go and eat a big plate of pasta or a pizza or whatever at noon, I’m junk for the rest of the day. I feel tired. I feel full. I don’t have the energy that I would if I had a salad with chicken and some salmon, some good stuff. Now don’t get me wrong. I’ll down some ice cream at night, and I love my wine. I’m not perfect when it comes to nutrition, but I do try to eat really healthy on the road because it’s very easy not to. I’ll make sure that I have protein bars or enough fruit around me if there is no alternative.”
Spake tells Inspire Health Magazine that she has balance in her life. “It always comes to balance. Sometimes something will be 100%, and the other things drop a little bit down. But the next day, you bring the one that was down back up to 100%. Sometimes you might have to tell yourself, ‘You know what? I’m not working today, so I’m going to go volunteer at my kids’ school. I’m going to go to lunch with them and maybe pick them up early so we can spend the rest of the afternoon together.”
Spake likes to compete in races. She shared her training process with Inspire Health Magazine. “I’ve trained in freezing temperatures, oppressive heat, rain, snow and everything in between. When traveling for work, treadmills and stationary bikes are my best friends, and I’ve probably consumed more protein bars and electrolyte powders in three years than a normal person will in their entire life. I’ve had a herniated disc, tendinitis of the Achilles, and ear infections. I’ve come to rely on acupuncture, anti-inflammatory medications, foam rollers, and heating pads for daily relief just so I can physically and mentally battle my way through tempo runs and brick workouts that can last up to four hours.”