Canadian ice dancer Tessa Virtue is giving fans a peek at what her training routine looks like these days. Virtue, 34, shared a video of herself wearing green leggings and a white shirt, doing an intense strength workout at the gym. “I feel strong when… I try new workout exercises. I lift weights. I push my body to its limits. @torriebfit says ‘5 more, I know you can do this!’ Loved this bent-over row using a towel – I found it engaged such different muscles in my back! Also, been doing a ton of band work to strengthen my glutes. What makes you feel strong?” she captioned the post. Here’s how Virtue is living her best life in retirement.
Virtue is thrilled to work out for herself, instead of as part of competition training. “I’m not spending 11 hours a day training. That’s not my purpose anymore,” she told ELLE Canada. “I feel liberated that I can train and work out just because it feels good. It’s not for function. Just in the last few weeks, that’s hit me. I’ll be in the middle of a spin class and it’s as if I’m looking at myself from the outside and I see this weight being lifted. It’s realizing that I am finally stepping out from under all that pressure.”
Virtue says there are a few specific things that make her feel good in her own skin. “Moving. Working out. Sometimes it’s just stretching or doing a bit of yoga, whatever it is, just moving my body has been really good,” she told Fashion Magazine. “And then also positive messages. It sounds crazy but just accepting whatever state my body is in today, in this moment, just acknowledging it and thanking it. [Thinking], ‘I’m grateful and this is what I’m working with and it’s good enough.'”
Virtue makes sure to get enough sleep every night for optimum health and wellness. “I’m still stuck in that athlete mindset of needing eight hours a night, at least,” she told Beauty Geek. “What I miss are those mandatory naps that were part of our daily disciplined routine! I’m probably sleeping much less now because I’m on the go – and every day is different. That more than anything has contributed to a sense of, depending on the day, either unease or complete liberation.”
Virtue has been studying for her MBA since retiring from competitive skating. “I have been incredibly fortunate to dive into the corporate realm in a unique way for the last decade, but I want to develop a greater understanding from a macro level and earn some credibility as I venture forth in the next phase of my career. I am keen to better understand how to use my platform by earning my stripes!
Virtue doesn’t do much when it comes to her beauty regimen when she’s not on the ice. “I’ve always been of the less-is-more mindset when it comes to skincare,” she told Beauty Geek. “That’s thanks to my mom. She always told me to touch my face as little as possible. So I’m pretty simple with micellar water and moisturizer. I make sure that I get all my makeup off at night so my skin can breathe, and if I’m traveling, I don’t really put anything on my face.”