After a tough exercise class, many people find themselves crawling toward the nearest source of food and hoovering up anything in sight.
But imagine doing that exhausting exercise class two, three or four more times in one day. That’s what your favorite teachers and trainers do to help keep you motivated. Not only do they have to show you proper moves, but they also sweat (and even suffer) alongside you to inspire you to give it everything you’ve got, just like they do.
Of course, it takes a lot of food to fuel all of that activity. HuffPost Lifestyle asked master trainers from five major gyms and boutique exercise studios what they eat to make sure they’re bringing their A-game to work.
There were a lot of similarities among all six of the trainers, including an emphasis on whole foods, protein and healthy fats from nuts, fish and olive oil. And while they mostly eat a nutrient-dense diet, they’re also very comfortable treating themselves to alcohol, chocolate and (gasp!) baked goods and sweet treats.
Adam Friedman
Fitness Institute Expert at Gold's Gym, Los Angeles
On a typical day, Friedman trains six clients for sessions of 60 to 90 minutes at a time. After his workday is over, he launches into his own 90-minute exercise program that includes kettlebell swing snatches, Bulgarian split squats and other tough, exotic-sounding exercises that few people have heard of, but should probably Google later.
It’s a jam-packed, highly active workday, which is why Friedman stops to eat no fewer than seven meals. All are 100 percent organic and include high-quality proteins like grass-finished meat, wild-caught fish and lots of fat to help stabilize his blood sugar.
Breakfast: Friedman wakes up at 5:45 a.m. to meditate and sip hot water with organic lemon juice and matcha green tea for its antioxidant properties. Then for breakfast, it’s two whole eggs and six egg whites cooked in grass-fed butter, along with two cups of spinach and one medium yam. His nutritional supplements include fish oils, a multivitamin, zinc, CoQ10 and a probiotic.
Morning snacks: One apple with one teaspoon of organic sunflower seed butter. A few hours later, Friedman eats a second morning snack of organic coconut yogurt mixed with one scoop of grass-fed whey protein powder, some sprouted walnuts and two teaspoons of organic cacao nibs.
Lunch: Homemade turkey meatloaf, a half-cup of roasted vegetables and one medium yam.
Afternoon snack: Like the morning, this snack is broken up in two: The first is one cup of homemade chia seed pudding, and the second is another serving of his organic coconut yogurt mixture from earlier in the day.
Dinner: Wild-caught salmon with romaine lettuce and two teaspoons of sprouted hummus.
Charlee Atkins
Senior Instructor at SoulCycle, New York City
This body was brought to you by chocolate chip muffins. No, seriously. While Atkins eats a lot of good-for-you whole foods like oatmeal, fish, quinoa and yogurt, a chocolate chip muffin from Whole Foods is also a vital part of her pre-class routine. Coffee also helps pump up her energy, and after it’s all over she goes out to eat at a restaurant in New York City's NoLiTa neighborhood, where she might get a little “wastey-face” and then come home wanting snacks (trainers, they're just like us!).
Can we hang with you after class, please?
Breakfast: To start her day, Atkins loads up on carbs like old-fashioned oatmeal, into which she throws things like cinnamons, raisins, granola, agave and almond milk. She also makes sure to drink two to three glasses of water and one cup of yerba matte.
Morning Snacks: One iced coffee about 45 minutes before her first class. Then this is where the chocolate chip muffin comes in: Atkins will eat half of it about 30 minutes before class so that the sugar rush peaks right as the session starts. To recover, it’s SmartWater for the electrolytes.
Then she’ll eat a second morning snack before her second class of the day: another iced coffee for energy, then either about half a Quest protein bar or Greek yogurt (Fage, 2 percent), two hard boiled eggs or watermelon and cantaloupe. Then it's time for the second half of that chocolate chip muffin from earlier in the day.
Lunch: For lunch, Atkins has two go-to moves: an egg sandwich or avocado toast with a fried egg on top. She buys either from The Elk on Charles Street. The protein part of the lunch is crucial for recovery, she says.
Afternoon snack: Either fresh fruit, yogurt and granola or some cashews.
Dinner: Atkins isn’t a fan of cooking and loves going out to eat. A typical dinner for her is rice or quinoa, fish or beans and potatoes or yams. She also loves sweet treats, but only takes a few bites of dessert.
Evening Snack: She can explain it best: "If I choose to go out for drinks with friends and get a little wastey-face (but not too wastey-face) and come home and want snacky-poos, I’ll opt for more fruit or yogurt.”
Akin Akman
Senior Instructor at SoulCycle, New York City
Not only had Akman taught five SoulCycle classes (four of those back-to-back!) on the day we caught up with him, but the superman also completed a bootcamp class and a boxing session for his own fitness. We don’t know how he does it all, but his diet, which is high in protein and fat, gives us a clue.
"I believe in consuming everything in moderation with the exception of no fried foods,” said Akman. And as for all the other exercises classes he takes in addition to teaching his own, Akman says he does it all for us, the students.
"Although I teach so many classes a day, I like to train outside of my classes by taking Barry's Bootcamp classes, working out with my friend and trainer Andy Speer at Soho Strength Lab, and mixing it up with other types of workouts,” he said. "I like to stay at the top of my game so that I can push my students to become stronger, faster athletes themselves."
Breakfast: After his 6:30 a.m. bootcamp class, Akman goes for a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich.
Morning Snack: After his first set of SoulCycle classes, he drinks coconut water for its potassium and low natural sugar content.
Lunch: After his third SoulCycle class, Akman eats a grilled chicken sandwich and a side salad.
Afternoon snack: Then it’s time for boxing with his friend and trainer Eric Rakofsky. Afterward, he eats an acai bowl with almond butter and bananas. Akman calls this his “favorite snack” and eats it almost daily.
Dinner: After his final set of SoulCycle classes at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., he goes all out with Japanese food: salmon teriyaki, rice, miso soup and sushi.
Caroline Ficksman
DavidBartonGym Century City Training Manager, Los Angeles
Ficksman was on her day off when she caught up with us, which means the LA-based trainer hadn't taught any classes or done any one-on-one training. Instead, she focused on her own fitness: working on her shoulders with high rep, low-weight resistance exercise. Here’s what she ate:
Breakfast: Three hard boiled egg whites, one yolk and a quarter of an avocado.
Morning snack: A banana almond butter macro bar. She loves them because they’re vegan, have no soy and use brown rice syrup and coconut sugar for sweeteners. She also eats three dates right before her shoulder workout to give her a little bit more energy to “kill” her lift. To recover, she drinks a protein shake.
Lunch: Ficksman eats a salad with either a Sweet Earth veggie burger or chicken on top.
Snack: Raw almonds.
Dinner: Baked salmon with salsa, grilled asparagus and some baked sweet potato.
Joey Gonzalez
CEO of Barry's Bootcamp, West Hollywood
Like Ficksman, Gonzalez was also having an “off-day,” explaining that he simply took a Barry’s Bootcamp class as a student but modified it by skipping the treadmill portion and spending the entire hour-long class on the floor doing resistance exercises with weights. Uhh... sounds like an on-day to mere mortals, sir, but you do you.
Gonzalez started his day at 5:30 a.m. with Francesca, his four-month old daughter. His job in the wee hours of the morning is solely to play with her. Then he left for a full day of meetings, the bootcamp class and on-site visits to see a new studio expansion in West Hollywood and his own under-construction home. Gonzalez fully admits that if it weren’t for his husband Jonathan Rollo, founder and chef of a healthy salad chain, he wouldn’t eat as well as he normally does.
"Today was an ill-planned day and I ate purely out of convenience,” says Gonzalez. "Having a husband who brings home healthy meals from his restaurant, Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop, is my saving grace."
Breakfast: Coffee, water and an egg white and turkey bacon sandwich on an English muffin from Greenleaf.
Lunch: Salad with quinoa, almonds, chicken, arugula and kale.
Afternoon Snack: A Simply PB Protein shake from Barry’s Fuel Bar
Dinner: Salad with chicken, tomatoes, carrots, peppers and onions.
Holly Rilinger
Master Flywheel Instructor, New York City
The day Rilinger provided HuffPost Lifestyle with her food diary, she taught two Flywheel spin classes back to back and a high-intensity interval training class (that’s HIIT to you) and then took another HIIT class as a student.
The full day of activity leaves her feeling “invigorated but exhausted” by the end. To help fuel her fire, Rilinger focuses mostly on unprocessed, natural foods that help keep her strong and powerful.
Breakfast: Coffee with almond milk and blackberries — emphasis on the coffee.
“I don’t like eating too much before my spin classes and NEED my coffee,” she wrote.
Morning snack: A green smoothie with hemp protein, almond butter and almond milk mixed in. Then a small chicken salad from The Juice Shop in New York City for “quick and easy” fuel after teaching those first two classes.
Lunch: A big piece of grilled chicken with broccoli, chickpeas, cabbage and sweet potato. At this point, she’s also taught her HIIT class and she’s famished.
Afternoon snack: Grilled vegetables and another protein shake.
Dinner: Grilled skirt steak, spinach, brussels sprouts and two tequilas with soda. “Tequila is just about all I drink,” Rilinger says.
Evening snack: For something sweet to end her day, Rilinger indulges in dark chocolate and chamomile tea or coconut ice cream.
The lesson from these elite exercise instructors? Food plays an important role in both fueling you and helping you recover after a workout. Don't skip meals on days you work out, and make sure you have a healthy snack to nosh on, like eggs or nuts, after you're done sweating it out.
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