Olivia Bowen first became known for being the runner-up on season two of Love Island. She met her eventual husband, Alex Bowen, on the show. They recently welcomed their first child together. In March, Bowen took to the gym to lose the pregnancy weight. She decided to do Pilates, and shared a set of photos on Instagram of herself on a reformer. Bowen captioned the post, “Most recent obsession (again)! Haven’t done reformer Pilates since I was pregnant, feels so good to do it completely able bodied.”
Bowen does a variety of different things to stay in shape. In her Instagram post, she shared some of her favorites. “I’ve been prioritising my health & fitness for the past couple months doing all sorts of workouts, running, HIIT, strength, horse riding… the list goes on lol! I’m the kind of person that definitely needs variety otherwise I zone out & get bored, so been making sure to try a bit of everything! Defo been feeling so much better inside & out.”
Bowen shared her fitness secrets in an interview with Women’s Health. She says that she makes sure to stay consistent with exercise. “I think it can be hard to strike a balance as you also have to be disciplined and just go even when you don’t feel like it. There have been some workouts I’ve really not wanted to go to and I’ve ended up doing a personal best. You have to turn up for yourself. The first step is to literally get there, and then once you’re there, that’s half the battle.”
Bowen likes to workout with her husband, Alex. They shared this video of themselves at the gym on Instagram. According to Better Health, working out with someone else has a lot of benefits. “Exercising with a friend or loved one can make it more fun, and increase your chances of sticking to your exercise plan. Exercising with a friend is a great way to keep you motivated. It’s also a great way to meet new people. It can even save you money.”
Bowen tells Women’s Health that she makes sure to do workouts that she enjoys. “For me, it is about finding something that you really, truly enjoy. That’s why with my training, I tried so much at the start because I didn’t really know what I liked. It’s all well and good focusing on exercise and your health, but you do have to enjoy it to keep going. I tried all sorts to make sure that I found something that actually fed my happiness, rather than just going to exercise.”
As you can see from her recent post, Bowen likes to do Pilates. According to The Cleveland Clinic, Pilates has a lot of benefits. “Pilates is a form of strength training, but it doesn’t look like some of the other strength training exercises you might be familiar with. Pilates focuses more on improving muscle tone than building muscles, but the result is similar: greater stability and endurance. Pilates isn’t going to bulk you up — if anything, it’s designed to cultivate a longer, leaner look. Still, it can lay a strong physical foundation for muscle-building activities — and may even reduce your likelihood of injury.”