Gabi Butler’s triple flips are hard to copy, but you *can* steal her ab workouts

February 11, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC

Watch Netflix’s hit docu-series Cheer and you’ll quickly see that the Navarro College cheerleading team practices pretty much all the time. That’s how you win national titles, after all. But what you don’t see on screen is that Navarro star Gabi Butler—a longtime cheerlebrity who now hosts her own clinics while flying and tumbling in Miami’s Top Gun squad—takes her cheerleader workout routine beyond the mat.

When Butler is at home or at the gym, she always does a 10-minute core series consisting of one-minute sets of 10 different exercises: crunches, leg lifts, plank hip dips, and more. (Here’s a similar ab session led by star trainer Charlee Atkins.) She’s also a fan of the core workouts in P90X, an at-home fitness program. Abs aside, Butler loves getting a full-body workout at a boutique fitness class. “I love hot kickboxing. It’s in a hot room, and the whole time you’re going hard on a punching bag. 10/10, highly recommend it,” she says. You can also catch her sweating it out at SoulCycle.

No matter which type of workout she does—be it cheer, kickboxing, or spin—Butler always refuels with her go-to protein shake. “It’s one scoop of vegan protein powder, a whole banana, honey, cinnamon, vanilla, almond butter, and almond milk,” she says. “It will change your life. It’s healthy and tastes like a milkshake. I drink it when I’m done with workouts because it’s such a good recovery drink.” Protein shakes are dietitian-approved, too: Drinking one in the morning not only kick-starts your digestion for the day, but also helps stabilize blood sugar levels to keep you feeling full and ready to take on your cheerleader workout.

See? Getting on Butler’s level is easier than you think. Now BRB—booking a kickboxing class and making a delicious honey-banana shake ASAP. (Put me on the mat, Monica!)

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If you want more protein in your life, look to these protein bar choices:

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Author Tehrene Firman | Well and Good
Selected by CWC