Beyonce has a body millions of people wish they had, and the singer revealed it takes a great deal of hard work, a strict diet and a few personal motivators – specifically, wearing a dress she doesn't fit into when she accepts her Academy Award.
In SELF magazine's June issue, the singer revealed the secrets behind her fitness regime that helps keep her going on her 110-date world tour.
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"It's one thing to dance. It's another thing to be able to sing at the same time. I have to be in shape," the 10-time Grammy winner told the mag. "I feel like I'm an athlete on stage."
In addition to hours of dancing, Beyonce will supplement her tour rehearsals with even more time working out.
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"I'm trying to do as much cardio as I can, so if I have a really long day of dancing [in rehearsals], then I'll only run maybe 3 miles. If not, then I'll run 6," she explained.
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The singer might be known for her legendary curves, but she said she's been forced to devote a lot of work to get the arms she's always desired.
"Ever since I was a little girl, my legs have been curvy and pretty muscular, but my arms have always been really skinny. They were so weak, I could barely hold a mic," he told the mag. "But now I can do push-ups! Ten at a time!"
To keep up her intense exercise routine, Beyonce explained that motivation was a key component – and for the "Obsessed" star, it's the hope of Oscar glory. She revealed she keeps a painting at the gym that features an Oscar statue.
"I look at it, and I'm like, 'OK, I have to stay in shape,'" she said.
She also said shopping keeps her motivated – especially when she buys clothes a size too small.
"I buy something too small and then say, 'I have a reason! I need to wear these jeans or this hot dress!'" she continued.
But the ultimate motivator is when a tour costume needs to let out a little.
"[All it takes is to] do a fitting and see that my costume doesn't fit anymore," she said with a laugh. "I know I have to keep things in all the right places!"
Despite all her hard work at the gym, she doesn't ever want to appear like she spends her whole life there.
"To me, it's sexier when it doesn't look like you go to the gym. If you look like you've been spending a lot of time in the gym, then it just looks like you spend a lot of time in the gym," she explained. "So I never want to get to that point where it's not natural. I think it's important to feel like a woman, as well as look like a woman."
Besides one extravagant meal, like pizza or pasta, the singer said she keeps herself on a strict daily diet.
"I have granola or Special K for breakfast. Then I'll have a snack— sliced fruit, or tomatoes and cucumbers with vinaigrette and cayenne pepper. For lunch, I invented a salad, the Sasha salad, which is lettuce, tomato, avocado, jalapenos and chicken breast with oil and vinegar. It's really delicious because it tastes like it's not very good for you," Beyonce told the mag. "Then I'll have a 100-calorie snack, like Oreos or crackers. For dinner, I'll have fish and green vegetables. Then maybe I'll have a Soy Dream 'ice cream' sandwich at the end of the day before I go to sleep."
But even Beyonce slips up every now and then, adding, "There's too much good food out there to never indulge!"
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