Mexican actress Martha Higareda is spreading some inspiration via her Instagram page. The Altered Carbon star posted a reel of herself wearing a bright bathing suit, sharing a video clip of actor Anthony Hopkins speaking about ego and the importance of humility. “What do you think?” she captioned the post. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Higareda stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don’t miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!
Higareda changes her entire diet around after deciding to become vegan. “I definitely like eating sushi. I think [that] in the whole country, [Los Angeles] is the best place to eat sushi,” she says. “Really, I eat very little sushi because I’m vegan. I think it’s the only way that we can help the planet.”
Higareda loves boxing, which is a great full-body workout. “You’re swinging your arms, moving the muscles of your arms and shoulders, increasing your upper-body strength,” says physical therapist Linda Arslanian, director of rehabilitation services at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s hospital. “And when you’re in the boxer crouch with a wide stance, with your knees slightly bent, you’re strengthening your core muscles, back, and legs.”
Higareda understands the importance of mental as well as physical health. “Change the ‘I have to’ for the ‘I feel blessed by’, for example: ‘I have to exercise’ for ‘I feel blessed because I can exercise’, ‘I have to drop my kids off to school’, for ‘I am blessed because I can take my kids to school’,” she says. “If you change the ‘I have’ by the ‘I feel blessed’ you regain your power in life, you stop being a victim and become the person who decides your destiny.”
Higareda says regular exercise made a significant impact on her happiness and self-esteem. “I want to spend more time with my loved ones, it’s the reason why I exercise, because I want to live life,” she says. “And to my surprise the changes in my body began to show, but above all the changes in my self-esteem. When I saw that 25 minutes a day is an act of self-love, for that reason the woman I will be in the future will thank me.”
Higareda stresses the importance of hard work and motivation. “I know maybe somewhere there’s someone who dreams [of becoming] an actress, musician or whatever,” she says. “I really do believe that if you put your heart into it and visualize it as if it was happening today, you can do it. Even if your family or friends say you’re not going to make it, if you really believe that you’re going to make it or do it somehow, I think it can happen.”