Gabrielle Reece Says Husband Laird Hamilton Keeps Her 'Inspired and Motivated' to Stay Fit

Gabby Reece And Laird Hamilton Fuel With Sambazon
Photo: Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Sambazon

Former pro volleyball player Gabrielle Reece and her husband, surfer Laird Hamilton, are both superstar athletes — but they rarely work out together.

“We joke that the only time we really work out together is in the pool because you can’t talk because you’re underwater,” Reece, 46, told PEOPLE while at Sambazon’s “Train Like a Warrior” event in Malibu on Wednesday. “We do the pool and sauna and icing together, but our other training we do separate. I feel if you’re married and live together, you need to create your own spaces.”

But they do encourage each other to try new workouts and stick with their six-day-a-week fitness routines.

“I bounce training ideas off of him,” says Reece. “That back-and-forth has helped both of us keep that energy going. It’s so hard to do it on your own and stay motivated and inspired.”

For both Reece and Hamilton, Monday, Wednesday and Friday are their “land” workout days. That means circuit training for Reece, while Hamilton, 52, includes 20 to 30 minutes of deep breathing exercises. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, they both do pool workouts.

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Reece — who created a team-based circuit training workout called HIGHX — enjoys circuits for their efficiency.

“I like to get it done, and I like to maximize my time,” she says. “I don’t want to sit in the gym. It’s continuous movement, try to recover very little, but do things that make sense for functional movement. I’m not really interested in machines as much anymore — I either use my body weight or dumbbells or free weights.”

And while her goal is to work out six days a week, she doesn’t mind when life gets in the way.

“In a perfect world I try to get it done — it feels good to me — but sometimes my schedule is crazy with my kids or work,” she says.

Sometimes she can only squeeze in a few minutes, and that’s OK, too. “You don’t have to kill yourself over long periods of time. Just smart, short, consistent routines.”

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