Venus Williams is sharing a great hamstring workout video with her 2 million Instagram followers. Williams, 43, posted a video of herself wearing a pink two-piece workout outfit, encouraging fans to sign up for the exercises. “Looking for a way to level up your fitness? Here is Part 2 of strengthening and stretching your hamstrings for a better workout🔥 I want to help you not only improve your fitness, but also learn some of the fundamentals of tennis👀🎾 Link in bio for the full video!” she captioned the video. Here’s how Williams stays fit, healthy, and on top of her game.
Williams does lots of cardio as part of her training. “My daily routine, all my life, has been all about workouts,” she told Glamour. “I wake up, go play tennis for a few hours, then I go to the gym, and I do a few muscle groups. I do cardio, ride the bike, run, do plyometrics or a field workout where I’m just sprinting on the field, or interval training, so there’s a lot of different options. I try to stay longer than two hours because that’s when I start to get tired. Not really longer than two hours, but I can be there for two and a half. There’s so many things you can do.”
Williams started exploring a plant-based diet after being diagnosed with autoimmune disorder Sjögren’s syndrome in 2011. “I’ve stuck to a plant-based diet for over a decade now and have never felt better,” she told The Beet. “It gives me the energy to perform my best throughout the day and keeps me feeling at the top of my game because I make healthier choices all around. Now, ten years later, I have finally discovered a healthy balance. I still eat mostly plant-based foods like vegetables and plant-based protein, but I’m not always perfect. It’s important to treat yourself from time to time!”
Williams enjoys veggie burgers with plenty of seasoning. “Whenever I cook, I aim for something quick yet tasty because I’m so tired at the end of the day, so I don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen!” she told The Beet. “But I do like to experiment with different plant-based foods. Sometimes I cook a veggie or lentil burger and season the patty with pink sea salt and garlic powder – two seasonings I can’t live without. Or I throw whatever I have from the fridge on top of the burger such as lettuce, onions, and tomatoes, and pair my meal with a Happy Viking protein shake. I love to have the chocolate flavor at night because it tastes like dessert.”
Williams considers gym time to be as important as court time for her training. “It’s my job to be healthy, so it’s something that’s always in the forefront for me,” she told PEOPLE. “I’ve been doing this for quite a while, so it’s easy to be in a routine of what I need to eat and what I need to do to perform at my best level… If it’s two weeks out, it’s a different routine than the day or two days before. Two weeks out I’m training as hard as I can, and then the day before it’s all about just easing your way into the match. I usually do an equal amount of time on the court and time in the gym. Half the battle is in the gym.”
Williams advises anyone getting into fitness to start slow. “You have to build up to working out all day,” she told Glamour. “I think you start realistically. If you begin with 20 minutes, that’s a start. When that starts to feel easier, you build up on it. The way to avoid injury is to warm up, cool down, and not to go from 0 to 100 right away on your first start. Being injured is not fun. It just leads to more setbacks. Don’t expect yourself to be perfect; don’t expect yourself to work out seven days a week for the rest of your life. Make realistic goals, just keep reevaluating, and be consistent.”