Carrie Underwood Reveals How She Changed Her Workouts After Birth of Second Son, Jacob

When Carrie Underwood started working out religiously, it was mostly to look better. But now that she is the proud mother of two sons, Isaiah and Jacob, she is finding that her reasons for scheduling time for exercising every day has changed, as have her workouts.

"I don't know if it's because of having children, or just being a little older and wiser, but now I work out to be healthy," the 36-year-old told Health. "I want to feel good, and working out makes me feel good."

Underwood has also learned to maximize her time, by doing things that will get quick results, such as the Tabata workouts, which are short bursts of exercise followed by brief rest.

"It's like I could either spend an hour in the gym running on the treadmill, huffing and puffing, or I have a plan and it's lifting weights," Underwood explained. "I lift heavy, and then I rest for a minute. It's a little less flail-y, and less high impact on my body."

Underwood started her own CALIA fashion line, in part to offer clothes that were both functional and fashionable.

"I work out in tights and tank tops most of the time," revealed the singer. "I want things that stay in place. I like thicker waistbands that kind of suck you in a little bit. I like pockets on clothing."

Underwood will release her own lifestyle and fitness book, Find Your Path: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul and Get Strong with the Fit52Life, sharing her own secrets to maintaining a healthy life, even while on the road.

"We've been working on it a long time," Underwood said of the book. "I've done a lot. I've tried a lot. I have a random life. I'm a working mom. I feel like that's a lot of us in a nutshell, and I just kind of wanted to lay it all out –– here's what works for me and hopefully people can get some ideas and implement some of it into their lives. It's all about just trying to be your best and juggle.

"It's the world we live in," she continued. "Everybody's juggling and trying to do it all, so hopefully people get some good ideas and tips and tricks in there. There's recipes and exercises and stories and backstories and why I am the way I am, in the health and fitness portion of my life anyway."

Photo Credit: Getty / Barcroft Media