Hannah Bower is showing her followers how to build muscle. In a new social media post the influencer and self-love advocate shows off her amazingly strong body during a glute workout, demonstrating Bulgarian split squats. “3 different ways to do BSS! Each way is still challenging and death itself,” she writes in the post. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
“I often get asked what my diet looks like. I’ve expressed in some posts that I’m not a big fan of dieting nor super clean eating,” Hannah revealed in a post, explaining that she has “been down the road of dieting” and allowing herself just one “cheat meal” a week “and I was absolutely miserable and nowhere near the shape I am now. We always want what we can’t have. So when you diet and restrict yourself of certain foods, you’re going to become obsessed with when your next meal is and those foods you can’t have! This causes you to binge eat and feel guilty. Living life like this isn’t enjoyable!” she added.
“I live a healthy lifestyle, when I crave a donut I have one, when I crave junk food I’ll have it. And I don’t think twice about it nor feel guilty. I enjoy what I eat, all the time,” Hannah says. “I find that over time you will crave less junk food, and crave healthier food. When you crave something it will take less to satisfy that craving, and you won’t be over obsessing about your diet. Life is to be enjoyed! Not playing mind games about should you have a donut or not have a donut.”
Hannah revealed her “6 healthy mindset approaches I have towards exercise!” in an Instagram post. “You’ll see a lot of toxic advice on socials around this, and a lot of extreme perspectives (hello 75 hard and No Days Off, earning your food etc). Balance is a spectrum that looks a bit different on everyone bc everyone’s walk of life is different.” She then revealed some principles she follows:
- Exercise is a celebration on what I can do rather than a punishment of what I don’t like about myself
- I choose exercises based on what I love rather than what “burns the most”
- If I miss a few days or even weeks, I don’t stress then swing to extremes to “makeup”
- I rest when I’m sick. I honor my bodies needs.
- I genuinely enjoy the style of training I do
- I workout for health rather than “earning” my food.
Hannah takes a rest day on Sunday, explaining “it’s ok to just rest,” in an Instagram post. “You don’t always have to do IT ALL. Many of you work so hard during the week, give yourself permission to chill and just be if your mind and soul needs it. 🫶🏽k? Happy Sunday to all my friends. You’ll catch me reading,” she wrote.
In her recent video, Hannah offers tips on one of the most effective exercises, Bulgarian split squats. “Don’t stress too much if this feels too complicated for you because regardless of which way you do the exercise, your glutes, quads and hamstrings + some core will still be working. The slight form adjustment just places a bit *more emphasis* on said muscle group,” she says. “The reason it targets a different muscle group is that muscle group is going through a larger range of motion and getting more lengthening/stretch, so the overall tension is greater = more muscle damage = more growth.”
👉🏽A more vertical torso: will target more quads
👉🏽A hinged hip: will target more glutes
👉🏽A small rock: will target back quad and psoas/hipflexor