Inside Michelle Obama’s ‘military’ workout she swore by as First Lady
Michelle Obama is passionate about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and favors workouts like Pilates and SoulCycle
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Faye JamesSenior Editor
32 minutes agoAug 13, 2026, 6:13 AM GMT+1
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Michelle Obama shared insight into the workout she favored during her time at the White House as First Lady, with the 62-year-old revealing the “military” intensity of the exercise
Michelle sat down with rapper Megan Thee Stallion on her podcast, IMO, on Wednesday, and shared that her go-to workout was Solidcore, a more intensive version of Pilates that involved high-intensity and low-impact resistance training
Michelle’s workout revealed
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“I’ve been doing a lot of Pilates now. I’m just now getting hip to this new Pilates, and I’m like, okay, so I need to go to New York, and I need Solidcore,” Megan said on the show
“It’s a reformer kind of class, but it’s more intense,” Michelle then explained. “You’re on the Megaformer, and let’s say you hold a plank, but you’re gonna hold it for three minutes. And then they’re gonna have you crunch in from the holding position, and small little movements…and you’re sweating your butt off.”
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“When I was doing it, I was First Lady, and it was when the founder of it started it in [Washington] D.C.…it was a military kind of situation,” she added
Solidcore is done on a reformer machine and is inspired by Pilates, with the aim of strengthening muscles and stabilizing joints
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Fitness fiend
Michelle has always loved to work out, and started switching up her routine after leaving the White House in 2017. “She’s been able to do some of the classes that weren’t as convenient when they were in office,” said her longtime personal trainer, Cornell McClellan, to People. “She can do sociable things and get outside. She loves SoulCycle.”
“With [Michelle] and President Obama, we mix it up a lot,” he continued, adding that the couple loved boxing. “We do things with weights, with kettlebells, with bands and tubes and TRXs to keep the body guessing.”
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A balanced lifestyle
As for her diet, Michelle told Women’s Health that moderation was key. “I do love a good burger and fries. French fries are my favorite food in the whole world. If I could, I’d eat them at every meal – but I can’t,” she said
“My whole thing is moderation. If I make good, healthy choices most of the time, then having what I love every once in a while won’t hurt. I have to exercise and eat in a balanced way. If I start ignoring both, I will put on weight.”
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“I am fortunate in that I’m 5′ 11′, so it takes a while for the weight to be seen, but it’ll come,” the mother of two added. “If I didn’t exercise and eat right, I would be heavier, and I have been.”
She explained that sleep was also an integral part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. “For me, getting enough sleep, eating right, and exercising reduce my stress levels. And a really good workout is a great stress buster.”
