Carrie Underwood On The One Thing That Boosts Her Mental Health

Carrie Underwood knows that exercising helps her mental health “so much” ― and that she’s better to be around after a work out, as well.

“My husband has said on many occasions, ‘You’re just better in your day when you work out. You’re healthier. You’re in a better mood.’ I’m like, ‘I know!’” the country star told HuffPost at an event for her activewear clothing line, Calia, on Tuesday in the Hamptons. 

“I feel like I’m better with my kids. I’m more patient. I’ve gotten out some pent-up energy. I feel like I’ve accomplished something, which is important to me,” she added. “There’s no negatives that come out of working out for me: I know that I will live longer. This machine will last longer because of how I’ve treated it.”

“It’s one of those things I do for me. I don’t have time to get massages all the time or facials all the time. We don’t really go on long vacations to crazy places,” Underwood said. “But if I can get 30 minutes to an hour in the mornings five days a week … That’s all I need.” 

The “Southbound” singer told HuffPost that she likes to “switch it up” between doing weights at the gym, running, going for walks and hikes, or just burning some calories by playing with her kids. 

One thing she avoids? Weight machines. 

“I’ll do cable machines, but I feel like so many machines and gyms are not meant for somebody who’s five foot three. They’re meant for six foot tall dudes,” she said. 

Underwood’s one gym necessity is what she calls her “angry” music. She mostly prefers hard rock, but will switch it up with ’90s pop music if she’s working out with a friend. 

“I keep things pretty simple. Like dumbbells or that BOSU ball you can do a thousand things with,” Underwood said. “I just don’t want to be complicated in any part of my life.”

The same is true when she’s designing her clothing line, as the 36-year-old again said she likes to “keep things pretty easy” when it comes to her personal style. 

“I don’t want to be uncomfortable. I feel like I’ve been there and I’ve worn things that are uncomfortable and … I don’t have space for that in my life anymore.” 

Her activewear line is so comfortable that Underwood, who recently wrapped up the U.K. leg of her “Cry Pretty” tour, joked she’d even wear something from it to meet Meghan Markle (who is fan of working out, after all). 

Then she had another idea: “We should send her some” of the new line, the singer joked. 

When Underwood isn’t onstage or hanging with her family, she also takes time to focus on self care, whether that means a massage, a manicure or binging “The Bachelorette.”

“After the kids go to bed at night,” Underwood says she unwinds with “a glass of wine or a TV show that’s a guilty pleasure.” 

For now, the singer has a good chunk of the summer to decompress before her tour resumes in the fall. She’s got a few projects to wrap but, but mostly, she said, she’s looking forward to being with loved ones.

“We are going to go spend time with my husband’s family later on this summer,” she said. “We’re sneaking in a few days … This is kind of what we’re good at.