Alexa Chung is known for her effortlessly chic fashion and beauty style—and that includes her gym selfies. Chung, 40, shared a picture of herself wearing black leggings and a gray “Drink Alexa” sweatshirt, her hair pulled back into an updo. Chung is refreshingly honest and funny about what makes her tick when it comes to diet, fitness, and wellness—here’s how the model, writer, and fashion designer lives her best life (spoiler alert—she REALLY doesn’t like yoga or running). Read on to find out more.
Chung finds yoga a little slow for her liking, and prefers Pilates. “Especially in New York—there’s an amazing teacher called Amy at Flatiron Pilates,” she told Vogue. “Her class is less like reformer, it’s more traditional, but it’s somehow amazing. You don’t feel like you’ve done anything, and then suddenly, you’ve got a six-pack!”
Chung developed a new appreciation for cooking during the pandemic lockdowns. “I’ve never been one for cooking. This is something I was sort of previously ashamed of but actually I realize it’s because I was just literally too busy and so cooking for me was the thing that’s always taken a back burner (pardon the pun),” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “BUT it transpires I CAN read instructions from a book and make something. On Sunday I made roast lamb with celeriac dauphinoise because I can’t eat potatoes right now. Some long boring story about eliminating things vs psoriasis.”
Chung swears by acupuncture sessions when she’s in London. “I see Meghan Markle’s fave, Ross J Barr,” she told Vogue. “He’s just delightful. I started seeing him last year when I was quite stressed. Poor Ross, he must be collecting the tears of the whole of London. We need to bottle him into some kind of pill! I’ve got endometriosis really boringly and so I see him for maintaining that. His Healing Patches are great. I felt like my post-summer brain wasn’t at full capacity, so the other day he Frankenstein-ed me and put needles in my head. The next day, I swear to God, I had too many ideas.”
Chung is not into running, at all. “I’m not a jogger at all… I hate too much effort, but I do quite like exercises when you are stretching and doing the odd squat,” she told Net-a-Porter. “I’ve been working out with some girlfriends via Zoom every other day, and it’s not super-difficult, as it’s a mat and resistance workout. I definitely sleep better when I exercise. I joined a gym [before lockdown], but I only made it a maximum of twice a week; however, I love that they do small group classes with no more than three people being trained at one time.”
Chung winds down at night with luxurious baths. “I love having a bath,” she told Net-a-Porter. “Usually with magnesium salts and lots of different oils, especially lavender oil or the Susanne Kaufmann Oil Bath for the Senses with all the herbs in it. My evening regimen is as simple as my morning routine – I clean my skin, use a serum and then a cream.”