Grammy Award winner Ciara doesn’t just write hits. The fierce singer hits all the right notes with her intense focus, strict work ethic, and powerful boxing moves! At age 14, Ciara already knew that she wanted to be a star. “I knew I wanted to be an entertainer, but I needed a plan to do it,” she confesses. While other kids her age were playing with toys, Ciara was planning her destiny. “I created a goal sheet, which meant writing down three career goals. My first was to get discovered. My second was to sell three to four million records. And my third goal was to have longevity,” she told Shape magazine.
From there, she didn’t just dream and wait. Ciara went on auditions, joined talent shows, and did whatever it took to get closer to the opportunity she was looking for. Three weeks after putting her goal out to the universe, she got into her first singing group and her career took off from there. “Success begins with self-belief. Once you’ve got that, then you have to envision what you want to achieve,” she declares. “There’s a video of me at my high school graduation, and when I was asked where I thought I’d be in a year, I said, ‘I see myself having a number-one record.’ A year later, Goodies was number one and sold five million copies.”
Today, 29-year-old Ciara wrapped up her tour for her sixth studio album “Jackie,” celebrated her son Future’s first birthday, and modeled as the face of designer Roberto Cavalli for fall/winter 2015. “Four years ago, I wrote down that I wanted to be the face of a fashion campaign and, this fall, I’ll be the new face for designer Roberto Cavalli. I truly believe that if you put your goals in writing, speak them out loud, and work for them, they will happen,” Ciara recalls. In the campaign, Ciara resembles a queen draped in rich jewel-toned satin. The kingdom she rules over is more surreal than it is tangible — composed of warm sand and cool turquoise walls. As one of Hollywood’s consistently best-dressed songstresses, she is a perfect fit as the face of this iconic label.
Ciara applies the same level of discipline that helped propel her into stardom to her diet and workout regimen. Ciara trains with celebrity fitness trainer Gunnar Peterson five days a week, powering through an hour-long plyometric circuit that always includes boxing elements. “What’s amazing is that you’re getting three-in-one training: It’s hitting your muscles; it’s a cardiovascular workout; and it’s a mental exercise. You have to be super focused when you’re boxing. After I’ve done a few rounds, I feel as if I can conquer the world,” she says.
In tune with her body: “I’ve learned that the difference between being good and being great is the effort you put in. You can’t just wake up in the morning and be a winner; you have to work for it,” says Ciara.
When it comes to exercise, Ciara doesn’t slack off. After her son was born, she gained 60 pounds, but as soon as the doctor said she could exercise again, she hit the treadmill the very next day. “Once I got back into it, I worked out two or three times daily. I would go to Gunnar first for my one-hour training session, then I’d have two more cardio sessions later in the day,” she points out. “That, along with a really clean eating plan, was how I lost 60 pounds in four months. It was a very intense program, and I was extremely focused on it.”
She sticks to a high-nutrition low-carb diet made up of five to eight meals per day. She believes that while discipline is important, you should never deprive yourself. “I have three tricks for sticking to my diet. First, I give myself a break. When I’m on a strict eating regimen, at some point I have to have french fries, a cheeseburger, and some pizza,” she admits. “I also believe that drinking tons of water and flushing your system is crucial for training,” she adds. “Finally, I have a mantra, ‘The food isn’t going anywhere.’ You know those days when you think you have to have that plate of pasta right now? When I’m trying to be good, I take a minute to ask myself, ‘Do you really need to eat all this crazy stuff? It will still be around if you really want it later,’” she says.
These straightforward, non-sugar-coated rules all played vital roles in Ciara’s success. Whether she was trying to get discovered or lose weight, hard work and discipline have always been Ciara’s power tools. “I’ve learned that the difference between being good and being great is the effort you put in. You can’t just wake up in the morning and be a winner; you have to work for it,” she concludes.
When you have your eyes fixed on the prize, nothing is impossible, indeed.
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Post me a note at mylenedayrit@gmail.com or mylene@goldsgym.com.ph. Photos courtesy of Shape magazine