the evolution of lizzo

The four-time Grammy winner is embracing a new chapter of self-love, body positivity, and personal growth with her fifth studio album, LOVE IN REAL LIFE, on the way. (FYI, it looks nothing like her past chapters.)

- Jessica Herndon

IT'S 11:00 A.M. on a sunny Monday, and Lizzo and I are powering through a circuit-training session in the gym of her mid-century modern Los Angeles home. “Let’s get it!” she hollers, Beyoncé’s Renaissance blasting as she launches into her third set of lateral step-overs and I push through bench dips. The setup flanking us as we train is a bona fide fitness and recovery sanctuary: a Peloton Tread, a StairMaster, a Power Plate whole-body vibration platform, a nonimpact Arc Trainer machine, and an infrared sauna fill one side of the room, while a huge window showcasing greenery frames the other.

As Lizzo, clad in a cropped green nylon hoodie and flare leggings from her shapewear brand, Yitty, attacks step-ups with an overhead press while rapturously singing along to Bey, you’d never know that before today’s workout, she felt run down. Out of sorts. Over it. But instead of letting that stop her, she remembered what inspires her to move—and it has absolutely nothing to do with aesthetics. “I’ve never regretted a workout,” says the 37-year-old, sipping from her water bottle between reps. “After, I always feel better. I work out for mental health first. Exercise is the best mood enhancer.”

Her trainer, Marvin Telp, with whom she’s been working for a little under a year and who is motivating us to put in some serious work today, says he admires her grit. “Even when she’s in a mood,” he says, “she’s focused.”