Why Serena Williams Will Forever Be #BodyGoals

Despite win after win after win at the top level of tennis, Serena Williams is often still looked over. She is the greatest of all time in tennis and continues to rack up major points with her body and overall look even after her horrible pregnancy and delivery.

‘I had a really tough delivery, and I had to have multiple surgeries and almost didn’t make it, to be honest,’ Williams said in an interview with ESPN.

‘I remember I couldn’t even walk to my mailbox, so it’s definitely not normal for me to be in a Wimbledon final. So I’m taking everything as it is and just enjoying every moment.’

So how does she and did she get back in shape?

Williams is not a big fan of working out in the gym. She admits to following a strenuous workout plan only to maintain a healthy body and keep herself free of injury during tennis season.

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Mackie Shilstone, Serena’s trainer for the last ten years, close pal and wedding officiator, created an effective diet and workout plan focused on improving her endurance, flexibility, and muscle functionality.

Serena starts with a 10-minute warm-up session with some form of cardio exercise. She usually goes for Zumba but running, cycling and swimming are other options, too.

She then goes straight into some strength-training exercises. Here is her routine:

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1. Arm workout

3.5 to 4 minutes of each of the following exercises

• Fitness ball transfer
• Rolling knee tucks
• Resistance band knee extensions
• Plank rows

2. Hips/Thigh/Butt workout

3-5 sets of 8-12 reps of each of the following exercises

• Barbell pause squat…
• Barbell front squat
• Barbell box squat

3. Core and leg workouts

3 sets of 8-12 reps of each of the following exercises

• Bicycle crunch
• Leg crunch: horizontal followed by vertical
• Pillar holds
• Dumbbell walking lunges
• Dumbbell step-ups

Serena’s diet

Except during break periods, Serena follows a raw AND vegan diet especially during tennis season. On a post at EcoWatch, Serena decided to go on a raw and vegan diet to support her sister, the also tennis-titan Venus Williams.

Venus was diagnosed in 2011 with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an auto-immune condition where the person suffers from dry eyes, mouth and throat.