Heavy/HGTV HGTV's Christina Hall
Before heading to Mexico for a getaway with her husband, HGTV‘s Christina Hall started lifting weights to try to “build some muscle tone” for the trip, revealing on social media that Josh Hall — whom she married in early 2022, per People — “prefers some curves.”
The mom of three has been vocal about her efforts to get healthier in recent months, battling the side effects of an autoimmune disorder and digestive issues with supplements, clean eating, and cleanses. But working out has not been part of her strategy because she’s had a rocky history with exercise, she recently shared in a series of Instagram Stories.
Hall, who rose to fame on HGTV’s “Flip or Flop,” said workouts and stress have contributed to her “looking really skinny” in the past, but hopes that by slowly building muscle tone with 15-minute workouts might help.
Christina Hall Says She Was Once ‘Highly Addicted’ to Working Out
Christina and Josh both posted seaside photos on March 31, 2023, from a trip to Los Cabos, Mexico. In a joint Instagram Live on February 2, viewed by Heavy, Christina said Cabo San Lucas is one of their favorite destinations because there’s a direct “two-hour plane flight” from Orange County, California.
“Nothing like some chips and salsa, some sun, a couple Mexican beers,” Josh added.
But before heading on their latest vacation, Christina revealed she was starting to workout in preparation and explained her up-and-down history with working out. On March 23, she posted a mirror selfie in her Instagram Stories from an exercise room, standing in front of a rack of dumbells.
“8 days till a tropical vacation with my hubby,” she wrote. “Gotta build some muscle tone.”
Adding a link to a YouTube video, she wrote, “Current 15 min booty workout. So good 💪🏼”
The mom of three, who shares 12-year-old Taylor and seven-year-old Brayden with ex-husband and fellow HGTV star Tarek El Moussa, and three-year-old Hudson with ex-husband Ant Anstead, then posted two videos from her home workout space, talking about her approach to exercise.
“I just kinda wanted to talk about working out, which I haven’t really talked about in a while,” she began.
“So, for like, many years, I was highly addicted to working out because I had really bad anxiety and my self-medicating was going for really hard, long jogs,” Christina explained. “And then I just kind of got too skinny and didn’t have a butt or anything.”
“So then I started doing Pilates in, like, 2019,” she continued. “But Pilates really, really kicked my butt where, I guess because of autoimmune, would feel like I was knocked on my ass for days and got flu-like symptoms. So, basically, I stopped working out besides walking. And then when I get stressed I kind of, like, wither away, so I’m just left looking, like, really skinny.”
The time period Christina referred to was particularly eventful year for her. She married her second husband, TV personality Ant Anstead in December 2018 and then gave birth to Hudson in September 2019, per People. The couple announced their split a year later and their divorce was finalized in June 2021.
Christina Hall Details New Workout Strategy Before 40th Birthday
Christina and Josh, a former police officer and real estate broker, first met in the spring of 2021 in Nashville, where she bought a farmhouse that’s frequently featured on her HGTV show “Christina in the Country.” In his recent Instagram post, Josh included a photo of the pair two years prior, in March 2021.
In her Instagram videos on March 23, Christina revealed that one of her motivations for working out again is that Josh would prefer her to have more curves.
“My husband would prefer … Josh, like, prefers some curves over, like, stick figures,” she laughed. “So, I’ve been trying to get back in the gym, not only for him but also for myself because I know it’s good for me and, like, I honestly need muscle tone. It’s a whole thing.”
“So, I’m back to trying to work out and I’m starting really small,” she continued. “I’m just doing, like, two mile walks and then I’m doing like 15 minute workouts, because otherwise I don’t want to, like, overdo it and then not workout at all again.”
Christina, who turns 40 in July, continued, “So I’m just doing a 15 minute workout a day focused on lower body or upper body, and I’m like day four into it so woo-hoo! Hopefully I can keep doing it. Especially as you enter your 40s, ladies, it’s important to have muscle tone. Otherwise it’s like gravity takes hold. So, I’m excited. Working out, feeling good, feeling healthy, feeling strong.”
Christina has periodically shared her strategies for staying fit and healthy in the past. In January 2023, according to Life&Style, the HGTV star shared her “Saturday morning routine” in an Instagram video, captioning it by writing, “Peloton 30 mins. Red light therapy 12 mins. Sauna 20 mins. Cold plunge (three) mins.”
But in their February 2 Instagram Live, Josh said he doesn’t follow most of her health regimens, from working out to eating clean.
“This girl is always on a health kick,” Josh said. “She takes care of herself very well. You should see the two of us trying to eat together. It’s very impossible. I eat like a college kid, I’ll never stop. It’s just how I am.”
“Guys, it’s super not fair because, like, he literally eats whatever he wants and doesn’t gain weight,” Christina chimed in.
“Let’s not say that I don’t gain weight,” Josh said. “I’ve definitely got a little belly on me. But the way I eat, I should be rolled down the hallway or something.”
As far as working out, Josh said, “I get plenty of exercise everyday chasing three kids around, so that’s about my exercise for now. I don’t think any gym can replicate that.”