It doesn’t get much more pop star famous than Ariana Grande, and while you have to admire her on-stage success, it’s her general commitment to health and fitness that has made me a fan.
Many of our younger clients have asked how Ari manages to stay in such good shape with a hugely busy life on tour, so we did some research into interviews and her social media profiles to find out more.
After a few months of research, we can now reveal Ariana Grande's diet and workout routine.
Quick Summary
- Ariana Grande's best workout exercises are reverse lunges, standard planks, glute bridges, walking lunges, skater lunges, and pike planks.
- Grande's vegan diet recommends stir-fried vegetables, oatmeal, pumpkin seeds, almond milk, vegetable salads, avocados, nuts, tofu, rice, and nori.
- Ariana Grande's supplements intake includes plant protein powder, vitamins and minerals.
Her Stats
- Born: June 26, 1993
- Height: 5’0”
- Weight: 105 lbs
Whether you like Ariana Grande’s music or not, there’s no denying that she puts on quite a stage show.
And beyond the energy and endurance, she needs to put on a big show many times a week, Ari has a killer body that is slim and toned.
She has been working with celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak on a workout routine that she can take on the road and even go through at a concert venue with limited equipment.
Let’s take a closer look at her exercise approach.
Ariana Grande’s Training Principles
Ariana Grande’s workout routine is mainly based on the concepts of high-intensity interval training.
Her trainer has spoken about the workout in interviews with Women's Health, and she believes it’s the most effective way to a toned body when you have limited time.
Ariana Grande also seems to focus a lot on core and leg workouts and avoids too much toning exercise for her arms and shoulders.
We’ll see more of the details below.
What that means is a relatively simple combination of bodyweight resistance exercise and daily activity options.
Ariana aims to combine highly intensive workouts with moderate daily activities to keep her body in shape.
And here’s what she does.
Ariana Grande's Workout Routine
Ariana Grande’s workout routine is possibly one of the easiest to adapt for home workouts as it heavily relies on body-weight training and outdoor activities.
Despite not being a traditional exercise machine-based, fully-fledged workout, it really is highly effective for people of all fitness levels.
Let’s start with the tougher workouts
Bodyweight Workouts (3+ Days A Week)
Ariana Grande designs these like circuit training where she has a set of 6 exercises and each of the sets of 30 reps is repeated once before moving onto the next exercise.
How many times she goes through the full circuit depends on her schedule, but looking at her body image, I would guess she does at least three circuits.
And these are the exercises:
- Warm-up run (15 minutes)
- Reverse Lunges: Stand straight with your feet parallel and shoulder-width apart.
From there, take a large step back and bend your forward knee to a 90-degree angle before pushing yourself back up with force to the starting position and repeat 30 to 60 times. - Standard Plank: Get into the standard plank position and set a timer on your phone for 60 seconds. You don’t have to be a hero here to push yourself further.
Remember, there are other exercises to come, and you have to repeat a few circuits as well. - Walking Lunges: Start at one end of a room where you’re able to take 3 to 4 large steps. Take one step forward and bend the forward knee to 90 degrees.
Then push yourself back up, effectively taking a step forward, and then do the same thing with the other leg for 30 to 60 repetitions. - Glute Bridges: Lie down on a yoga mat with your feet flat on the ground, and your knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
Slowly push your pelvis up as high as you can while arching your back and keep your feet and shoulders on the mat. Aim for 60 repetitions. - Skater Lunges: These are similar to the reverse lunges, but instead of putting your back foot on the ground, you keep it in the air and bend your forward leg.
It works your leg muscles more and adds some core stability as well. - Pike Plank: For pike planks, start off with the standard plank and then push your buttocks up to the ceiling while keeping your back and legs perfectly straight.
Head back to the starting point and repeat 30 to 60 times.
Fitness Activities (Daily)
Ariana Grande has a daily step goal of 12,000 - 14,000 steps.
That is a lot, but given her lifestyle and the fact that she spends a lot of time in a dance class performing and practicing new routines, you can see how she gets through that number.
There are also plenty of other opportunities to bring your step count up, like hiking or multiple short runs outdoors or on a treadmill.
The important thing is to stay as active as possible even outside of your designated exercise times.
Weekly Workout Routine
- Monday: Bodyweight workout And 5-mile run
- Tuesday: Long Hike
- Wednesday: Bodyweight workout And 30 minutes elliptical
- Thursday: Dance Exercise
- Friday: Bodyweight workout And 30 minutes rowing or cycling
- Saturday: Bodyweight workout And 5-mile run
- Sunday: Rest
Ariana Grande’s Diet Plan
Ariana Grande is a big fan of Japanese food, and one of the main reasons is the abundant choice of plant-based meals.
Let’s take a closer look.
Vegan Diet
Ariana Grande changed her eating habits back in 2013 when she announced that she had abandoned eating all animal products.
She personally credits this vegan diet decision with having more energy, especially for the busy travel life of pop stars.
She also tends to favor a plant-based Japanese food diet.
And I’ve had feedback from vegan friends that Japanese food does tend to be more widely suitable for a vegan [1].
Macrobiotic Diet
Ariana Grande also takes things one step further by adjusting her meal plans like a macrobiotic Japanese diet.
What does that mean?
Essentially, she aims to break down her meal plans as 50% whole grains like sweet potatoes, brown rice.
About 30% will come from vegetables and fruit, and 20% will come from different types of beans like tempeh, tofu, and adzuki beans.
The goal of this diet is to provide stable blood sugar levels, which is a key part of weight management.
“Too many young girls have eating disorders due to low self-esteem and a distorted body image. I think it’s so important for girls to love themselves and to treat their bodies respectfully.”
- Ariana Grande
Let’s take a look at an average day for Ariana Grande.
Sample Meal Plan
Breakfast
- Oatmeal with almond milk and pumpkin seeds
- Dandelion tea with coconut water for detox
Lunch
- Salad with leafy greens, avocado, olive oil, nuts, and teriyaki sauce
- Occasional juice cleanse
Dinner
- Rice bowl with tofu and nori
- Stir-fried vegetables
One thing you might notice is the complete lack of junk food.
What Supplements Does She Take?
Here are two supplements we saw in several reports about her diet.
1. Plant Protein Powder
For the higher intensity workout routines, Ariana most likely will look for a protein boost to support her recovery times.
One of the more popular ones these days is hemp protein because it contains the full amino acid profile for optimum muscle recovery [2].
2. Vitamins And Minerals
Ariana pays very close attention to her overall health, and while she has mentioned detox days on a regular basis, we think that she will rely on vitamin and mineral supplements, especially when she’s on tour.
Are You Ready To Train Like Ariana Grande?
Ariana Grande certainly has set the bar high for on-stage performances, and that requires considerable fitness levels.
Now, you could still achieve the same toned appearance without a plant-based macrobiotic diet, as long as you fix any diet issues that could be holding you back.
Remember that at least 70% of weight management comes from a lifestyle change around what you eat and not just how you exercise.
References:
- https://vegan.com/food/japanese-food
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20977230/
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