Thu, 11 August 2016 at 5:00 pm

Julianne Hough Talks Exercise, Cheat Days & More with 'Shape' Mag

Julianne Hough shows off her enviable abs on the September 2016 cover of Shape magazine.

The 27-year-old actress opened up about her shape, working out with friends and more. Check it:

On reminding herself that strong is better than skinny: “I love my shape because I feel strong and fit, and that makes me feel confident. When I look at pictures of myself when I was 19, my body was bangin’, but I was killing myself. I was working out two and a half hours a day and eating the bare minimum to survive. I was so miserable. I wasn’t healthy. To be honest, I looked like a kid. Now I’m embracing the fact that I’m a woman with curves.”

On finding ways to sweat with her friends: “I love going to classes with my girlfriends [actresses Nina Dobrev and Sarah Hyland are two of her closest]. We’ll call each other or send a group text and organize. Sometimes we sign up for Spartan races and have a blast. Last fall we took a girls’ trip to Mexico. I had just finished a dancing tour with my brother, Derek, and was super motivated and working out like crazy. My friends asked me to teach a class one of the days we were on the trip, and I said, ‘One day? I’ll do it every day!’ So rather than drink tequila shots and get crazy, we turned it into a healthy trip. Every morning, we got up and I taught an hourlong mix of Tracy Anderson, Body by Simone, and yoga moves. Then we’d put on our swimsuits and go to the beach or the pool. Don’t get me wrong: We definitely enjoyed cocktails and chips and salsa while we were there, but after our daily workouts we always felt much better about ourselves.”

On dressing for success: “I started designing my athleisure line because I’m a believer in a fit lifestyle. I wanted to make clothes that are cute to work out in and that you can also go about your day in�picking up the kids, going to a meeting, getting groceries, whatever. The line makes you want to be active.”

Julianne is also pictured going to and from the gym on Tuesday (August 9) and Wednesday (August 10) in Los Angeles.