One thing Sports Illustrated‘s Swimsuit Issue models will tell you is that they work hard to look that good. Sure, they may be genetically blessed, whether at a size two or, like this year’s cover girl, a size 14, but the couple of months leading up to the shoot are, quite literally, crunch time.
This I learned earlier this week when I chatted with about a dozen of them on the red carpet at the magazine’s launch party in New York City. And while I’d already gleaned plenty about their fitness routines and nutrition habits through StyleCaster’s Food and Fitness Diary series (see: Nina Agdal and Ashley Graham), I wanted to know what kind of clothes they wore while sweating it out. Were they devout Lululemon fans? Categorically opposed to anything longer than a crop top?
As it turns out, however, they aren’t all strutting around Equinox in sports bras and spandex shorts (though that does make for a better #gymselfie)—in fact, more girls extolled the virtues of the baggy men’s tee than you might expect from a crew for whom a strategically-placed hand is a valid substitute for a bikini top.
Click through the slideshow to read about eight of their favorite workout outfits—because hey, even if you can’t get their abs, at least you can crib their workout style—and pick up the issue on newsstands now.
Barbara Palvin
"A big shirt and training pants. [Just a sports bra?] Hell no—I do crunches! When I go to the gym I sweat. I don't take pictures. I'm literally dripping."
Photo:
James Macari/Sports Illustrated
Hannah Ferguson
"I wear two sports bras to, you know…support. And then yoga pants or jogging pants and a t-shirt. I don't get cute in the gym at all. I actually just like a t-shirt that's been cut off like a guy's, you know? With holes down the side. Love that. I make them. I'll take t-shirts and just cut them up."
Photo:
James Macari/Sports Illustrated
Kelly Rohrbach
"I wear leggings—like, regular leggings—and a t-shirt. I love Under Armour. I'm a big Under Armour fan. Their stuff fits really well and comes in the best colors."
Photo:
Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated
Hailey Clauson
"I like bright colors, like lime green and bright yellow. I box, so I have bright yellow boxing shoes. I like Adidas a lot—I'm a big fan."
Photo:
James Macari/Sports Illustrated
Emily DiDonato
"I wear a lot of Lululemon—I love Lululemon, Nike, Adidas. I like long sleeves with high-waisted spandex—it makes me feel comfortable. I don't want anything hanging out or anything. I get so cold, 'cause you're sweating, and I like to be covered up. I'm not into the sports bra thing. I don't have the abs for it. Well, not 365 days a year. Before this shoot, yes, but now, not so much."
Photo:
James Macari/Sports Illustrated
Caroline Wozniacki
"I love to wear three-quarter tights and then just a t-shirt or a tank top—something that looks beautiful but is comfortable at the same time. Adidas for Stella McCartney, that's what I wear at all times."
Photo:
Frederic Pinet/Sports Illustrated
Robyn Lawley
"Three-quarter length tights—black Lululemons. Or Lululemon has longer ones that I can kickbox in and get marked up and stuff like that. And then an old, baggy, men's gross t-shirt. I am the least sexy girl in the gym. I'm sure these girls look much cuter than me. I'm like: the older, the softer, the better."
Photo:
Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated
Rose Bertram
"I have a lot of stuff from Puma, and I like Nike too. I try to work out four or five times a week—cardio and weights, but not very heavy weights, just light ones."
Photo:
Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated
