14 DAY TRIAL // Serena Williams is showing off her toned figure on the cover and inside the pages of the May 2014 issue of Fitness magazine and, if you know anything about the tennis pro, you have to admit that she has every reason to show off.
In the accompanying interview, Serena talks about body image and how difficult it was for her at first to accept that she wasn’t built like other female tennis players, i.e. tall and slender, her diet and how her health problems have influenced it.
She’s speaking out because she wants other women to embrace their figures since, she says, nothing matters as much as health does. Not all of us are shaped the same, but that doesn’t mean that we’re less beautiful because we’re different.
Serena knows what she’s talking about, too. With her muscular arms and generous curves, she stands out regardless if she’s wearing a tennis outfit or a glamorous dress on some red carpet. There was a time, she admits, when she didn’t think standing out from the crowd was a good thing because she lacked the confidence.
“When I was young I thought I should be built more like an athlete – long and lean – not with a womanly figure. But then people my age started coming up to me and saying, ‘I love you because of the way you look.’ That was really motivating,” she tells the publication.
“So I learned to be proud of my curves and embrace my large [breasts]. It’s all about loving who you are and realizing that you’re beautiful,” Serena adds.
Serena says that she likes to stay in shape by mixing it up so, when she’s not training for a tennis match, she’s running or biking, or even dancing. She tried yoga and the elliptical as well but, right now, she sticks to dancing.
She’s also eating healthier than she did before 2011, when doctors found a blood clot in her lungs. It was then that she got to reevaluate everything in her life, from her diet to her priorities. Staying healthy became the most important thing.
“It all started because I didn’t want to bring bad food into the house. I live with my sister, Venus, who has Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease. Before her problems I ate a lot of junk I also found out three years ago that I’m allergic to wheat, so I’m trying to eat a clean diet of natural, raw foods,” she explains.
In the same interview, Serena also talks about the two Serenas in her life: the real one, who is the “class clown,” is nice and funny, and the one on the court, who is mean and angry and would probably knock you down if you crossed her.