Fitness influencer and writer Erin Oprea is sharing a thrilling discovery with her fans and followers: castor oil can lessen the appearance of stretch marks, even ones that are decades old. Oprea posted a video of herself wearing dark green joggers and a matching sports bra, saying she’s been rubbing castor oil on her belly twice a day and can’t believe the results. “I’m in complete shock! I still have some loose skin but I even feel like that has gotten better too. I’m not sure how this actually works but man has it! Has anyone else been using castor oil? If so for what?” she captioned the post. Here’s how Oprea is thriving at 46, and her best fitness tips and advice.
Oprea trained Maren Morris in preparation for her 2022 Stagecoach festival performance and summer tour, and says she encouraged the singer to play plenty of tennis. “I encourage clients to do their cardio outside of me,” she told E! News. “Sports are always the best way because when you’re chasing a ball, you’re not thinking about cardio. She’s been doing her cardio as well as lots of fun weight training. And she’s been kicking ass and we’ve done all the exercises that made her legs pop back out post baby.”
Oprea takes in on average 2100 calories a day, making sure to pick good, nutritious foods to fuel her workouts. A typical day of food is coffee and a protein bar for breakfast, eggs and a low carb wrap for lunch, and turkey salad for dinner. She also walks throughout the day. “I usually fit in 20,000 to 25,000 steps each day,” she told Women’s Health. “I’ve also always been big on stretching and foam rolling, and I always use my Theragun.”
Oprea’s favorite leg exercises are lunges and squats. “There are so many variations of my squat into lunges that I like,” she told E! News. “We’ve been playing a fun sumo squat game that I love. It is a sumo squat and you do 10 tiny jumps staying low. You hold for 10 seconds in the down position. Then you do nine tiny downs and you hold low for 10 seconds. Then you do eight jumps and hold low for 10 seconds. Everyone hates me coming in and then they love me when they are leaving. They get on stage or they take their photos and they’re like, ‘Okay, I don’t hate her that much today.'”
Oprea sees fitness as something she gets to do, not something she has to do. “I look at fitness in a different way than a lot of people,” she told City Lifestyle. “I don’t have a goal like to lose weight or anything. Fitness makes me feel good. I look at it as a gift to be able to workout. Think of all the people that would kill to workout but cant. I just changed my mindset. It’s not an option- it’s a gift. Get out there and do it. And it 100% changes my mood if I’m cranky or mad. And then when I start, I feel five million times better and I think ‘Why didn’t I want to do this?'”
Oprea says cutting down on starches helped reduce inflammation that was causing her pain. At 46 she has never felt better. “My energy levels are high—and everything is great. I’ve even rediscovered my love of rollerblading!” she told Women’s Health. “I want other women to realize that if you want it badly enough, you can do it. And at *any* age. People are quick to find excuses and then they don’t get results. Is it easy? No. But is it worth it? Absolutely.”