Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Erin Heatherton Shares Her Fitness Routine (Jealousy Alert: Her Hot Drummer Boyfriend Cooks Her a Healthy Dinner Every Night)
Fitbit just tapped supermodels Erin Heatherton and Hilary Rhoda to kick off the first of three celebrity challenges. The idea is to pit two athletic dynamos in various industries against each other to see who can log the most activity in a single week, all to benefit the American Heart Association. First up, these two hot-steppers will see who can out-step one another by Friday:
"When I got the call to do this challenge, I had just ordered a Fitbit, like, an hour before," laughs Heatherton, above left. "It was the most motivational thing [to work out] that I've ever had."
For a swimsuit and lingerie model, working out is not optional, and there's no off season, even in the dead of winter. "I have to look good all year," she explains, "But it's really for me. Since I was young I was an athlete and I always like to feel good in my skin. I respect my body a lot."
Her workouts of choice:
"My favorite workout is Ballet Beautiful. I played basketball and did track and kind of hard-on-your-body sports my whole life that aren't really geared toward being elegant and long," she told us. "I get really bored if I'm doing the same thing, or something that's not challenging my mind, and ballet taught me so many things, helped me on set with how to hold myself—I can't say enough about how it's inspired me."
"I have a SoulCycle right near my house, so I make my boyfriend go with me. You feel so amazing afterward. I also love to run. I do yoga and Ballet Beautiful, mostly—Ballet Beautiful four to six times a week, and then three to six times a week I do 30 minutes of cardio and yoga. I love incline walking—I put the incline up all the way and go to 3.0, and that's really great to get your butt and hamstrings and make sure that you're not pounding your knees. It's a great ab workout too. And then when I'm warm I do 30 minutes of yoga."
Now to be fair to Heatherton's competition, we thought we should mention that Hilary Rhoda is no slouch, either. "Hilary is, you know, fierce competition," said Heatherton. I told her that I have worked out behind Rhoda at Tracy Anderson Method (true story), and I'm frightened for her. "I'm frightened too. She is the workout queen," Heatherton said. So if you want to give Heatherton a little extra help in the competition (for a good cause, of course), "There's a place on the website where you can donate money [to the cause] and every dollar gives me 10 steps," she says. (And if you're really feeling generous, go vote for Heatherton as Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Rookie of the Year while you're at it!)
Her diet strategy:
"Focus on what you should eat and be excited to eat healthy things because it's filling your body with beauty and energy. I eat for my hair, my skin, my nails...if you eat well, it shows everywhere," she said. "I do have a gluten allergy and a dairy allergy, but, you know, when in Italy...sometimes stuff happens."
"My boyfriend cooks me fish every night. He'll go to the Chelsea Market, get a whole fish, cook it...he's Australian, so he grew up eating really fresh, simple food. So he'll cook it and grill some vegetables. He's the man."
Her thoughts about body image:
When I asked Heatherton if she ever sees a body part she wishes were tighter, smaller, thinner, or perkier, she told me, "Never. I think that's where my confidence and my inner strength comes from. I read this Daoist book about how to practice looking at yourself in the mirror and never saying anything bad about yourself. I really practice that. I don't dislike anything about my body. I really love my body, and I'm not looking to look like something that is maybe Pixar-perfect. I just like to be the best me I can be."
A few more things Heatherton loves:
—Canada Goose jackets (for the bitter cold in downtown NYC, where she lives)
—Ling skin care in NYC (she loves the Ginseng Moisture Therapy Mask and gets facials with Carol)
—Cold-pressed organic juice (like the Skin Trip from Liquiteria)
