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The life of a disc jockey is not conducive to your typical healthy lifestyle. Spending hours in the club means a sporadic sleep schedule, and traveling two to three times per month can make it tough to maintain a steady workout regimen. But celeb-favorite DJ and music video director Vashtie Kola—who has worked with Solange, Drake, and Justin Bieber—finds a couple hours each day to devote to exercise and meditation. At the launch of LG's new Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches, the 35-year-old star shared her healthy-living secrets with SELF, including her go-to cardio routine that you can do anywhere. And, of course, we got her top 10 heart-pumping songs, too.
First of all, Vashtie admits she has a love-hate relationship with exercise (which is something we can totally relate to). “I was always the girl [whose] weight fluctuated five to 20 pounds,” she explained. “But I realized I didn’t want to keep yo-yoing through life.” Now, she considers being fit a part of the job. “I can be more efficient and productive if I’m staying in shape,” she says.
Related: 8 Surprising Things At The Gym That Burn An Insane Amount Of Calories
First thing in the morning, Vashtie jumps out of bed to do cardio for an hour. Lately, her workout of choice is jumping rope. “I went to Tulum, [Mexico], and they didn’t have a gym. So, I started jumping rope there,” she says. And while Vashtie switches up the speed and foot patterns a bit during the hour, it’s a solid steady-state cardio routine. “I get into this meditative state, and I just stare at one spot and literally zone out.” (Inspired? Try this 7-minute cardio interval jump rope workout.)
While she’s jumping rope she keeps her mind occupied with music videos. In fact, every song on her workout soundtrack below is a part of a video playlist. And the visuals are what motivates her to keep sweating. Kanye West’s “Fade” calls to mind Teyana Taylor’s amazing body (“I think of her being in beast mode.”); Madonna’s “Give It 2 Me” is her guilty pleasure (“It’s so positive because she’s like, ‘Why wait for other people to do what you can do right now?’”); and the video from Lady Gaga’s “John Wayne” inspires her to love her body (“She looks great, and I’m at this point where [I think] we all need to love ourselves at every state of our being.”).
Related: The Top 10 Workout Playlists, According To Spotify
But in addition to a challenging daily fitness routine, Vashtie practices transcendental meditation for 20 minutes each day. “For me, I’m only able to go as hard as I do now physically because of meditation,” she says. “I am more mindful and more in touch with my feelings. Most times when we’re drinking too much or eating too much, we don’t realize we’re unhappy or we’re sad. And instead of addressing that feeling, we’re numbing ourselves in ways that we don’t even realize.”
Vashtie admits that she’s a workaholic, and sometimes she stays up until the early hours of the morning. “I am up the latest when I’m at home by myself because I’m cleaning and scrapbooking, and then before I know it, it's four in the morning,” she says. “I have to set timers. My phone will tell me, ‘Go home’ or ‘Get ready for bed.’ Having a gentle reminder is [important] because sometimes I get lost in the moment.” That’s why she’s partnering with LG for the launch of the brand’s smartwatches—the LG Watch Sport and the LG Watch Style. She uses the watch to get subtle reminders to stay on a steady schedule even when she's jetting from city to city and spinning songs in the club.
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