Ciara's Next Step

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For someone who rocketed into the public eye at age 19, cycled (somewhat contentiously) through a number of record labels, and went through a very public, scandalous break-up with rapper Future, Ciara is remarkably joyful. Levelheaded. Optimistic. Projecting some serious serene goddess vibes. But don’t get it twisted. While she’s earned it, she’s not content to sit back and relax.

‘Every day’s a blur,’ she says. ‘There’s so much happening when you have two kids and work.’ Right now, the 33-year-old spends most of her days in Bellevue, Washington, where she and her hottie Super Bowl-champ husband, Russell Wilson, live with her four-year-old son and their 18-month-old daughter. She splits time between family days at the Seattle Seahawks’ training camp and basking in the success of Level Up and Freak Me, two singles off her new album (their videos launched a pair of viral dance challenges on Instagram). She’s also been deep in tour-prep mode.

And then there was her recent post-baby fitness routine: up to three workouts a day. ‘It was kind of like, wake up in the morning, breastfeed, eat a small meal, go train, come back in, breastfeed, eat another meal, go train, then come back, have another meal, and then a third training session at night,’ she says, adding carefully: ‘It was a good challenge, one I set for myself, not for anyone else. Taking care of myself makes me feel really good. And I want to keep it sexy too, you know.’