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6 min read<\/p>\n6 min read<\/p>\n
On this season of The Traitors<\/a>, Natalie Anderson had one strategic goal: be the strongest one there. As a Survivor<\/a> champion, former Amazing Race contestant, and CrossFit<\/a> coach, she rolled up to Alan Cumming\u2019s Scottish castle with a suitcase full of conversation-starting outfits, a mental playbook of strategies, and muscles<\/a> to boot. (And let it be known that she\u2019ll be cheering for Love Island<\/a>‘s Rob Rausch and the Traitors in the finale.) <\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to have people constantly reminded that, \u2018Dang, this girl is strong,\u2019\u201d Natalie tells Women\u2019s Health. \u201cEven if it was subconscious, I wanted it to be in the back of peoples\u2019 minds.\u201d Though she was eliminated during the semifinal episode, Natalie says she\u2019s proud of her ability to represent strength on our TV screens, and of her ability to inspire other women to build strength in their own lives. <\/p>\n Throughout the season, her arms and upper body<\/a> (\u201cboulder shoulders,\u201d as she calls them) have not only turned heads within the show, but they\u2019ve also garnered the attention of viewers. But, for Natalie, it\u2019s not just about aesthetics: \u201cWhen I go out on these shows, I want to not only look good\u2014I want to be able to perform anything and everything that comes my way,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n And that\u2019s exactly how she trains\u2014to be able to face anything that\u2019s thrown at her, both on screen and off. <\/p>\n How CrossFit Got Her Hooked on Chasing Strength <\/p>\n Though she swam in high school and played rugby throughout college, Natalie\u2019s fitness renaissance came to her right before her Amazing Race debut in 2012, when the casting producer suggested CrossFit classes<\/a> to train for the show. \u201cI thought I was fit and strong at that time,\u201d she says. \u201cThen I took the class and got wrecked.\u201d<\/p>\n She kept attending CrossFit classes and started growing muscles she didn\u2019t even know she had. The benefits paid off just in time for The Amazing Race. \u201cWe were the strongest team out there as two girls,\u201d says Natalie, who competed with her sister, Nadiya. \u201cAnd that started my love of learning about strength and conditioning.\u201d <\/p>\n Whether she was running through Bangladesh with a massive backpack on The Amazing Race, sprinting up a mountain with an armful of logs in Survivor, or ripping open teddy bears on The Traitors, she says CrossFit has helped her become the strong, fierce competitor she is now. Equal parts to physical strength, though, is the resilience it takes to push past psychologically challenging tasks<\/a> and the strenuous social environment of reality TV.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mental strength and resilience of never quitting has been something I\u2019ve gotten to practice in real life and then test on [shows],\u201d Natalie says. In 2016, she suffered a severe concussion<\/a> that shaped her relationship with mental toughness. \u201cIt was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n Natalie\u2019s pain was so bad that she had to drop out of her physical therapy master\u2019s program to recover. \u201cMovement was a huge component of my healing,\u201d she says. Just 50 minutes of biking<\/a>, walking<\/a>, or jogging<\/a> when she could manage helped her feel more connected to her body, and more like herself again. \u201cI try to look at the things I’ve gone through, [and] find something that I can take away from it,\u201d Natalie says. It was after this experience that she fully dedicated herself to training and coaching CrossFit.<\/p>\n Natalie\u2019s Typical Upper-Body Workout Routine<\/p>\n Over the past season of The Traitors, the internet has been freaking out over Natalie\u2019s jacked arms. Given her CrossFit prowess and dedication to arm day<\/a>, it\u2019s really no surprise that her biceps<\/a> are turning heads.<\/p>\n Natalie\u2019s workout split<\/a> is five days of training with one day of active recovery<\/a> (swimming, biking, or running) and one day of active rest. <\/p>\n \u201cYou want my arms? Lift weight and eat food.\u201d<\/p>\n Two of her training days are dedicated to arm and upper body strength, and incorporate her CrossFit roots and a newer exploration into bodybuilding. Common staples in Natalie’s routine include handstand pushups<\/a>, pull-ups<\/a>, bench press<\/a>, and push press<\/a>. Lately, these are what her arm days look like:<\/p>\n Day 1: CrossFit and hypertrophy<\/p>\n Handstand pushups (6-4 sets of 3-5 reps)Strict press (3 sets of 8-10 reps)Bench press (3 sets of 12-15 reps)Incline close grip (3 sets of 15 reps)<\/p>\n Day 2: Chest and shoulders<\/p>\n Bent over rows (3 sets of 12 reps)Pull-ups and lat pulldowns (3 sets of 10 reps)Machine row (3 sets of 12 reps)Natalie\u2019s Routine While Filming Traitors<\/p>\n Giving up her workout regimen to go on The Traitors wasn\u2019t easy, but just like always, Natalie made do. \u201cI would do a full-on workout in my room every day and just make the best of it,\u201d she says. Every night before going to bed, Natalie would write down her workout plan for the next morning. They usually looked something like this:<\/p>\n 100 pushups200 air squatsTriceps dips on the edge of her bedHandstand pushups<\/p>\n Sometimes, she\u2019d stand in place and march for an hour just to get some full-body movement in. She\u2019d also often add burpees<\/a> into her routine between pushups and squats. \u201cJust getting creative with the workouts and having fun with them in the room helped me maintain strength during the filming process,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n During Survivor season 40, Natalie spent over a month on Extinction Island, a remote island that eliminated contestants could live on for a chance to reenter into the game. If she could come up with a morning routine on a deserted island, Natalie says, she could surely create one in a Scottish castle, too. <\/p>\n Natalie\u2019s Recommended Arm Routine for Beginners<\/p>\n These exercises are more of Natalie\u2019s go-tos for developing strength, hypertrophy<\/a>, and supporting everyday movements\u2014and they’re all beginner-friendly. Plus, they\u2019re all moves you can easily do at your local gym to build a more muscular upper body. (No handstands needed.)<\/p>\n Instructions: Start with 4 sets of 8-10 reps of each exercise with light to medium dumbbells, if you’re just starting out. Once you can easily maintain your technique on each exercise, kick it up a notch and increase the weight<\/a>.<\/p>\n Natalie\u2019s other big tip for muscle growth happens in the kitchen. \u201cYou want my arms? Lift weight and eat food,\u201d she says. Natalie opts for overnight oats<\/a> or a protein brownie before her lift, and follows it up with a protein powder shake right after, and usually a full meal about an hour after that. Eating protein before a lift helps prevent muscle fatigue<\/a> and support muscle growth. <\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \u201cSome people don’t like eating before workouts, but if you train yourself to eat and then train your body will become accustomed to it,\u201d Natalie says. \u201cFind a carb that [makes you] feel like you’re energized and have the energy to train hard.\u201d<\/p>\n Flipping the Narrative<\/p>\n Of course, Natalie’s arms mean more more than an easier time crushing challenges. \u201cWomen on these shows [are] looked at as just sexual,\u201d Natalie says. Though The Traitors\u2019 castle walls are thick, they are not immune to the patriarchal canon. Being strong has helped Natalie feel like she\u2019s rewriting that narrative. \u201cYou’re going to have to show me as strong and fearless. I’m a f\u2014ing beast\u2014and you’re not going to pin me in any other way,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n In over a decade of reality TV work, Natalie says she\u2019s starting to notice a shift in audience attitudes, too. \u201cAs time has gone [on], it’s crazy to see the shift of women embracing and praising my muscles,\u201d she says. Ten, fifteen years ago, she doesn\u2019t think she\u2019d have received the same praise about her strength from viewers and the internet at large. \u201cIt feels so awesome to represent my body type.\u201d She\u2019s also proud to break barriers for Southeast Asian women who are underrepresented in the fitness space.<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n She hopes to inspire others in the same way she\u2019s inspired her young nieces, who are always eager to run up to her, roll up their sleeves, and show her their muscles. \u201cThe positive of that season was to have women be empowered in what they could do with their bodies,\u201d Natalie says. \u201c\u2018Like, if she can do it, I can do it too.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Halle Newman is a freelance journalist and copywriter based in New York City. When she\u2019s not writing, she\u2019s probably strolling through Central Park with a matcha or trying out a new dance class.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"6 min read On this season of The Traitors, Natalie Anderson had one strategic goal: be the strongest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[148901,138012,1977,148900,1107,499,103,61,60,1106,148899],"class_list":{"0":"post-319809","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-collection-arm-workouts","9":"tag-collection-workouts","10":"tag-content-type-how-to-service","11":"tag-contentid-b58cb6bb-05a1-4d0d-96f3-6603bfee9901","12":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","13":"tag-fitness","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-locale-us","18":"tag-shorttitle-natalie-anderson-on-how-she-got-her-arms-so-strong"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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