We're all acutely aware of #fitspo thanks to 99 per cent of our Insta feed. But, while we hear and see a lot of what those who fall in this svelte category do every day (flat lays of superfoods, pretty protein drinks, luxe workout gear and acrobatic posing are a plenty), there's not a lot about what they don't do (that aren't obviously opposite - sit on couch every day, eat fries for every meal... you get the idea). So, we asked them - What habits, that might be sabotaging our own fit goals, do you avoid to keep you on track? They answered. Fitspo girls don't:

IMAGE: INSTAGRAM @BASEBODYBABES

1. DO THE SAME WORKOUT EVERYDAY

“I train with Dan Adair at 98 Riley Street Gym three times a week, we do high intensity interval training (HIIT) so a lot of resistance training like lunges, goblin squats, dead lifts and kettlebell swings with 16kg kettle bells. I do supersets of 12 reps in four sets with no break – you work the muscle to exhaustion. On my other days I do cardio because that loses weight. I used to run a lot around Centennial Park but I was getting bad knees from the pavement so now I go to the gym and use the incline on the treadmill. I do intervals,  where I run for one minute for as fast as I can then do a slow jog for another minute. I do that for 45 minutes. I like to sweat. I try and do stuff at home, too, basic situps and stretching and using the Fithoop, which is like a weighted hula hoop – I use it a couple of times a week while I’m watching TV for ten minutes. They have smaller ones, which you spin around the arms – it’s really good for the shoulders.” Bianca Cheah, Fitness Blogger and Founder of Sportluxe

2. IGNORE INSPIRATION FROM OTHERS

“To get motivated, surround yourself with people that inspire you everyday and never stop learning. The more we can learn, the more we can do to help ourselves and others. I am lucky enough to live with one of my biggest inspirations; my husband who teaches me something new everyday that I can use to better myself and help our Base Body Babes. Plus he helps me write my training programs and set my goals, so that really helps me stay on track. Getting results and seeing how you can progress on a training program is such great motivation.” – Felicia Oreb, Personal Trainer and Co-founder of Base Body Babes

3. SKIP MEALS

“I’m never hungry in the morning so I’ll force myself to drink a smoothie with raw eggs, Body Science Antioxidant Powder, chia seeds, fresh young coconut water,  frozen blueberries and lactose-free milk – which just gives it more substance, or it’s too watery. At 10 am I’ll have breakfast- boiled eggs with tomato and avocado and no toast. I’m not coeliac, but I try to avoid gluten when possible to avoid bloating. My diet is very high in protein and vegetables. I’m not a big red meat eater, so chicken and fish are always my top picks. Nuts, C Coconut water are my go-to snacks. Before photo shoots I cut down on sugars and salt, and any white-looking foods – potatoes, white rice and pasta. I’ll only eat brown rice and sweet potato.” Bianca Cheah

4. THINK THEY’RE PERFECT

“It’s funny, the first time we started shooting A Bikini a Day we’d have to shoot so many shots because Devin [Brugman, co-blogger] would be so self-conscious about her midsection and I’d be like ‘You’re crazy!’ Now she doesn’t even think about it and we’re like ‘What were we tripping over?’ If there’s one thing that I’m a little insecure about it’s my legs. I definitely have grown to like them more ever since we’ve had our blog. Our followers have been so kind to us, no one ever says anything mean to bring us down, it’s really rare that they do, so it helps you to understand that you need to love who you are and rock what you’ve got. I feel like it’s kind of a reciprocal relationship between our followers and us; we want to give them confidence and they give us confidence too. It’s just a strange thing that you go through being so concerned about the way that you look.  I think the most important part is to be happy and healthy so that you know that your true self. Your mental state and your positivity is the most important thing, even over your diet and your fitness.” – Natasha Oakley, Co-founder of A Bikini A Day

5. SPEND THEIR LIVES AT THE GYM

“We don’t like to go to the gym and workout. We like to go outside and stuff. We actually have our fitness series up on our website. We do this circuit; so we’ll do a butt workout which is basically just a ten minute exercise on the floor: squats, leg lifts. Then we’ll do a run down to the beach, generally if we’re in LA, we try to do this wherever we are, and then we’ll do a circuit that incorporates abs, arms and a little cardio. Just a little bit of everything. Even just shooting and being at the beach and climbing on rocks, our lifestyle is very active.” Devin Brugman, Co-founder of A Bikini A Day

6. DWELL ON THE NEGATIVE

“My life changed when I had a life-altering rock-bottom situation in 2010, which put me on this path I’m on now. I ended up in hospital with a host of health issues and was incredibly unwell and unhappy. Along with a bunch of physical problems, I was also battling depression, an eating disorder, anxiety and panic attacks. It was a very challenging time. But even though it was the darkest and hardest time of my life, something incredibly meaningful came out of it. I realised I had to get myself on track and I knew I was the only one who could do it. So from there, I decided to take responsibility for my own health and happiness, and I consciously began taking steps to get well and bring joy back into my life.” – Melissa Ambrosini, Wellness Author

7. WASTE THEIR MORNINGS

“I wake up and always do my meditation first. I walk on an Ayurvedic mat for a few minutes; it has little stimulating spikes and wakes up the body. Then I [drink] some hot water, sometimes with lemon. Then I do a bit of breathing and a twenty minute meditation. If I have time I will do at least an hour of yoga. It’s too hard to travel with a yoga mat so [when I travel] I use those yoga gloves and feet things that have little grips on them. Yogietoes has them. I don’t run anymore, I used to do a lot of strenuous exercise and I’ve just realised what is best for my body. I go for walks and I am naturally active. I like snowboarding, surfboarding, just doing stuff I love.” Ashley Hart, Model and Yogi

8. FOCUS ON OUTER BEAUTY

“I feel most beautiful are when I’m on holiday when I’ve forgotten to look in the mirror because I’m so happy and relaxed and just enjoying the atmosphere and company all around me.  I also feel amazing when I’ve been looking after myself from the inside out, meditating and nourishing my body with delicious things from Orchard Street and juices from Cali Press- or after an awe-inspiring yoga class. I feel invigorated, connected and so alive.” – Sarina Zoe, Makeup Artist and Yogi

9. ABANDON REST DAYS

“I’ve had to teach myself to just spend time on the couch. To relax, I like to just go home. It’s so funny for me because when I am away from home for a long period of time I can’t wait to get home, but if I am home for too long I think, what can I do? I just go home and catch up on TV shows or watch movies I haven’t seen before. I literally live next door to my gym so I wake up every morning and the billboard for my gym is the first thing I see, so I might do that. My job isn’t very consistent – I am one place one week, I am here and there and travelling. When I am home I really enjoy getting into a routine.” – Hailey Baldwin, Model

10. OVER-EXERCISE OR STRESS ABOUT MISSING A WORKOUT

“I used to compulsively exercise. Twice a day and it never did me any favours. As a nutritionist in practice, I can see that many women are over-exercising and it’s not doing them any good.  I’ve started to notice that forms of exercise like yoga, Pilates and weight training offer much more effective results. I began yoga about two years ago. My mum’s actually a yoga teacher and my sister is studying to be one so I  it’s in the family. I do flow yoga and Pilates and we also have a trainer who comes to our house every few days (the downstairs level of our house is a gym which is very convenient!)” – Jessica Sepel, Nutritionist and Health Blogger

11. GET CAUGHT UP IN COMPARISONS

“I believe it’s important to always embrace who you are and not try to be like someone else. Don’t compare yourself. These are the things that I dealt with, always comparing myself to someone else and always wanting to be like them, trying to change everything about myself. On social media I’m open about it, I like to be myself and I’m not afraid to show my flaws and my mistakes.” – Emily Skye, Fitness Entrepreneur

Comment (3)

  1. April 5, 2017
    Tara

    Is it good for you to drink raw eggs like Bianca?? I don’t know if I could force myself to drink that!

    1. December 27, 2017
      Contributor

      It’s a good source of protein!

  2. April 5, 2017
    Ana

    Love Jessica Sepel’s advice – I just took my first pilates class and I am sore in places I didn’t even know could be sore!! Such an effective workout