Gina Rodriguez credits her father for teaching her how to box since he’s a former boxing referee. Though she’s upped her game and over the last year she’s been practicing Muay Thai and even visited Thailand with her boyfriend, Joe where they trained with champions.
“I’m the strongest I’ve ever been,” says Gina, 33 to Shape Magazine. “Doing Muay Thai taught me so much about my body. Now I view it as an engine that keeps me active and healthy.” Muay Thai, also known as Thai boxing is a combat sport of Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. To do this sport you have to build up your strength and stamina. “What I like best about it is the sense of inner strength it gives me. Knowing I can protect myself is a powerful feeling,” she says.
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When she was in Thailand, she trained for about 2.5 hours a day and she got really strong. Then when she got back to filming Jane the Virgin, she was only able to workout during weekends and as a result, her body changed quickly. “I couldn’t fit into certain clothes, and I was a little curvier. Before, I would have beaten myself up. But my boyfriend gave me some great advice. He said, ‘Don’t be angry with your body—it changed because your routine shifted.’ And that was like a gift. As an actress, there are so many pressures to look a certain way and fit into a sample size. But I’ve got to embrace the fact that when I’m shooting Jane, I can’t work out as much. My body is going to look different, and that’s okay. I’m not willing to wring the joy from my life to kill myself in the gym.”
Now she’s filming a movie in Mexico so she’s able to workout four to six times a week, so she’s doing weight training, Muay Thai, boxing, running, and yoga. “It’s empowering to see the shift in my body. That feeling of strength is amazing. I can even do pull-ups now!” Check out those legs!