Fitspo Alert! These Post-Workout Photos of Julianne Hough Will *Definitely* Motivate You to Hit the Gym

Come on, who smiles like that after a workout?! Clearly, getting her sweat on is something the actress truly enjoys. “My whole thing is, I’m not doing it necessarily to make my body look good — I’m doing it because I love it and it’s fun,” Julianne previously told  SELF magazine of her motivation to make exercise a priority.

“I feel way better when I’m working out. Once I’ve taken care of myself I can be happy and joyful and do things at my top ability, and I feel like I can give the best version of myself [to other people],” she continued. 

Question is, what does Julianne’s fitness regime look like, exactly? After all, you can’t just slap on some cute athleisure and expect to yield the same physical results as she does. 

Well, for starters, she loves to work out with her hubby, Brooks Laich. “We love to do anything active and adventurous together. We go hiking and biking. We want to go rock climbing together,” Julianne gushed to Us Weekly.

“We really just try to find as much to do as possible to stay active, to move, to get good energy flow. That’s important to us every single day,” she added. Don’t get it twisted, though. She and Brooks, 36, do treat themselves every now and again.

“If Brooks and I are going on vacation or if it’s a weekend celebration of somebody’s birthday, those are usually when I’ll indulge and eat whatever I want,” she expressed. That’s some solid advice right there! Thanks, Julianne.

As for when Julianne is flying solo at the gym? Well, her exercises are pretty darn varied. She does everything from hot yoga to cycling. “Because I’m high-energy, yoga kind of just grounds me. It makes me feel more centered and balanced. And I like hot yoga because it really stretches me out,” she explained to SELF.

Speaking of staying grounded, Julianne does make sure to build some downtime into her routine. Well, her version of “downtime,” anyway. “My favorite thing to do is, like, little five-minute bursts. If I can’t work out, I’ll just find somewhere to do five minutes of something. It’s just about being active,” she noted.

Now, we know what you might be thinking, “Does she take the weekends off?” The answer is yes … and no. It’s all about moderation, right? “On Saturday, I went to the beach and did a beach workout,” Julianne explained to the publication at the time. “I was like, ‘alright, I’ll go try it,’ and it was so hard. Working out on the sand is hard, but it’s also so great.”

Running in the sand on a Saturday? Ummm, no thanks. Then again, have you seen her abs?! It might just be worth it. Circling back to the idea of moderation, though, Julianne does like to relax on Sundays.

As to whether Julianne has a favorite kind of exercise? You bet your butt she does! “Even if I weren’t a dancer, I would love dance cardio,” she gushed. “I love music, I love community, I love people, and I feel like when you’re in a room full of like-minded people who just want to have fun, it goes by so fast!”

“It’s so fun. And with dance cardio, I feel like you’re using muscles in your body that are hard to reach,” she continued. “And you’re actively going into movements [like squats and lunges], and you’re lengthening at the same time, too. I feel like it’s the perfect balance of everything.”

Find a workout buddy. Check! Make sure your routine is varied. Check! Indulge every now and again. Check! When in doubt, dance it out. Check! Between these photos of Julianne and her solid workout advice, we’ve got all the motivation we need to hit the gym.