Kate on her Game

Healthier, happier, and hotter (just take a look!) than ever, Kate Hudson is at a prime spot in life. So what gets the credit for this? Coming to terms with a few lingering issues, making some bold choices, and finding the beauty in her body.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel
Healthier, happier, and hotter (just take a look!) than ever, Kate Hudson is at a prime spot in life. So what gets the credit for this? Coming to terms with a few lingering issues, making some bold choices, and finding the beauty in her body.
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"Ask us to describe Kate Hudson using one word, and it would have to be “sport”. For starters, this mum of two can probably outrun, outdance, out-yoga, and definitely out-throw most amateur athletes. Case in point: As soon as she hit the beach in Malibu, the 35-year-old pulled on a baseball glove and started firing knuckleballs. “Baseball runs in my family,” explained the diehard Yankees fan. “My grandpa owned a team, my pa (stepfather Kurt Russell) and uncle both played pro, and an aunt was a scout. As the only girl growing up in a houseful of boys, I’d have 15 minutes to talk about my dance classes, then the rest of our time was spent on baseball.”

But Kate also happens to be a good – let’s make that great – sport. She’s newly single and excited about it as a fresh phase. And, though a glamorous superstar, Kate was absolutely A-OK with showing up to this cover shoot with hair streaked bright pink in honour of friends and family who are breast-cancer survivors. Plus, while already phenomenally successful as an actress, Kate’s totally up for trying her hand at new ventures, like wine making (she and ex-fiance, now business partner, Matt Bellamy, have their own brand, Hudson Bellamy Wines) and designing her own athletic clothing line, Fabletics. Oh, and that body? It makes everything she sports – especially if it shows off those tight, toned muscles – look amazing.

Here, Kate gives her game plan for staying in that winning mindset.

“I’ve always had
that girlie gene,
but I lived with
boys. So I’d go out
in a party dress
looking pretty
and come back
torn, muddy,
and bruised.”
“I’ve always had that girlie gene, but I lived with boys. So I’d go out in a party dress looking pretty and come back torn, muddy, and bruised.”

Let out the girlie girl

Kate has always competed with the guys in her life. “I was the sister who wanted to keep up,” she says. “I was that bungeejumping, rock-climbing kind of girl. My brothers and I would ski the Double Black Diamond. Now that I look back, I can’t believe I did it.”

Since having her sons, Ryder, 11, and Bingham, 3, Kate has found real satisfaction in being more tame, and, yes, feeling more feminine. “I felt a shift and really don’t have the desire to thrillseek anymore,” she explains.

“The other day, my brother was making fun of me and called me a Gucci skier. He said, ‘You’re wearing all the right clothes and look good skiing, but when you get down the hill, you’re done.’ And I thought, ‘You know what? It was fun while it lasted, but I don’t have to prove myself to you anymore. I’m happy doing what I want to do now’.”

“By nature, I’ve
always been a diveinto-
the-deep-end
person. Literally.
My mum says that
as a kid I used to
jump in the deep
end of the pool
without knowing
how to swim.”
“By nature, I’ve always been a diveinto- the-deep-end person. Literally. My mum says that as a kid I used to jump in the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim.”

Always stare down your fears

Kate is big on paddle boarding. But, there’s a but. “I’m terrified of sharks – I get really scared when I’m in the Pacific,” she says. So what does Kate do? Become immersed in the world of sharks, naturally.

“I like to feed my fears. I’m the one glued to the TV during Shark Week, and I’ve gone on dives to swim near nurse and reef sharks. Murky water, I’m not so good in. But now, as long as I can see them, I’m not as frightened.”

“If you want to know a part of my
family, rent the doc The Battered
Bastards of Baseball. That pretty
much sums us up.”
“If you want to know a part of my family, rent the doc The Battered Bastards of Baseball. That pretty much sums us up.”

Crush a fierce workout

“I’ve been switching up from the softer stuff , like pilates and yoga, to more aggressive activities like TRX and boxing. I really enjoy sweating it out, and it helps clear my mind,” says the long-time exercise lover.

To Kate, staying active is critical to keeping a sane perspective and bringing on a good mood. “It’s not just about trying to look good physically, it’s important to get oxygen to my brain and feel like my blood is really circulating.

“I love skiing, walking, hiking, and especially riding my bike. It makes me feel like I’m a kid again!”

Reclaim real food Diet?

“I hate the idea,” says Kate. “It puts so much pressure on people to lose weight quickly. Getting healthy is not a two-week process; it’s a change of lifestyle.”

And while she could easily have a cook whip up dinner for herself, or order in from the best restaurants, Kate insists on making most of her family’s meals.

“Food is wonderful and amazing, and yummy,” she says. “Taking the time to cook your own and enjoying the process of feeding yourself can change your life.”

Own some chickens

“I have five chickens at my house!” says the amateur farmer. “I gather eggs all day long. My typical breakfast: I start with two four-and-a-half-minute eggs, gluten-free toast, half an avocado, and if I’m really hungry, tomatoes with cottage cheese.”

Never pass up wine

There’s a trick Kate learned to being able to sip without it all going to her hips. “I was at my favourite French restaurant in Paris, and I was eating everything I love,” she recalls. “Steak, fries, lots of wine. Then the dessert came, and I was having strawberries and cream pastries plus the wine.” Then, in the middle of her decadent indulgence, a svelte, sophisticated woman approached her table. “I didn’t even know who she was, but she said, ‘No, darling’.Then she pointed to my glass of wine. ‘This is your piece of cake. That’s how you should be thinking’. And I always try to remember that: Everything in moderation!”

Dance is one of
my favourite
ways to express
myself. But
the very
discipline of it
– continuously
pushing to be
better – is what
I love about it.”
Dance is one of my favourite ways to express myself. But the very discipline of it – continuously pushing to be better – is what I love about it.”

Know your own heart

Passion is a huge motivator for Kate. Recently, she was honoured by People magazine in the US for her important work with the Hawn Foundation – she’s a board member of an education philanthropy founded by her mum, Goldie Hawn – plus other charities she’s involved with.

And then there’s her Fabletics athletic line. In addition to designing clothes that are aff ordable and fit every woman’s body type – thank you, Kate! – she’s created a community that inspires women to set goals and achieve them.

“I go to #fabletics and see all of these girls doing insane poses and read about their objectives, and I’m amazed,” she says. “I always thought I was doing this to give back, but they’re truly the ones giving back to me.”

Find zen – anywhere

Ask Kate the age-old question about the trick to balancing a hectic career and being a mum, and she bursts out laughing. “A balancing act is exactly what it is! One minute, you’re on top of the world, and the next, you’re hit with the flu, and everything goes down from there.”

Her standby for keeping calm is meditation. “My mum did it when I was a kid. She taught me to take time for myself and be alone. Sometimes, it’s just staring at a wall, but if you can really be quiet, that’s when you start to refocus.”

Of course, it isn’t easy with two kids seeking her attention. “Suddenly they’re like, ‘Mum!’ ‘Mum!’ ‘Mum!’ So it can be challenging,” she says, “but that’s life, isn’t it?”

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