Elena Delle Donne, born on September 5, 1989, plays for the American Basketball team, Washington Mystics. It is a part of Wome's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Elena Delle Donna had a successful career when she was in college, playing for Delaware Draft for 5 years from 2009 to 2013.

She was recruited in the team of the Chicago Sky with the 2nd overall pick of the 2013 WNBA Draft and drove the team to the 2014 WNBA Finals, where they were unfortunately defeated by the Phoenix Mercury. She, later on, moved onto the Washington Mystics and drove them to their initial WNBA Championships in franchise history in 2019. Delle Donne also went out to win two WNBA Most Valuable Player Awards in 2015 and 2019, picked up for six all-star teams, and grew to become the first WNBA player to enter the 50-40-90 club.This basketball star is pretty huge right now because of all her winnings and the attention is past her 6 ft 5-inch frame. Elena Delle Donna, the Chicago Sky forward, is now averaging 21.2 points per game in her latest season, earning her the supreme WNBA MVP title.She is also a first-timer when it comes to the Olympics and her favorite is the 2016 Women's Basketball Team in Olympics. For all her games and tournaments, Elena Delle Donna sure does eats and trains like a champion. However, before we plunge into her diet and lifestyle, here's something about her statistics:

Elena Delle Donne Statistics

Age: 26Hometown: Wilmington, DEEvent: Women’s BasketballTraining Regimen: 3 hours a day, not including exhibition games

Elena Delle Donne Workout Routine

Elena Delle Donna is a dedicated player on the court and even in the gym. She works out hard to achieve all the milestones that she has collected this far. The 6 feet 5 inches player takes quite a high intensity and calorie-burning workout which is specifically called Fit Accelerated at Hockessin Athletic Club along with her mother as a way to spice her fitness routine up. She workouts with kettlebells, rows for an hour on the rowing machine, and all that is done with a big smile on her face.“It’s just nice to change it up,” she said after the class. She also takes a Take It Off health challenge which she says would surely make you wheezing with shaky legs and aching arms in just 45 minutes. The class is a community in itself and people in it encourage each other to push farther and harder. Also, this class includes a lot of smiles and cheers.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaOWy1C4H0cThe caloric burn is definitely a win, but it is truly the community motivation that helps people stay put on this regimen, said Dina Saitis, the personal trainer who is behind Fit Accelerated.“They have friendships. It goes beyond…it’s a community here at [Hockessin Athletic Center], not just in my class, but throughout the whole facility,” Saitis said. “It’s really a family.”The classes also offer a 12-week challenge for you to step out of your comfort zone. Elena Delle Donna takes up multiple classes in a day. Her average hours of working out are 3 hours a day.Dina Saitis is a personal trainer for Elena Delle Donna and usually takes up classes in small groups and one on one training sessions. Her classes accommodate at least 16 people in each session. She makes her clients workout in 8 pairs at different cardio and resistance training sessions. Her main goal is to burn as many calories as a person can with cardio first of all, and then build muscles with resistance training and strength-based workouts.

Elena Delle Donna also follows the same pattern and lifts kettlebells and does deadlifts along with fast paces mountain climbers to melt the fat and burn calories.“When I plan a class I am thinking about hitting everything from your deltoids all the way down to your calves,” Dina said.She further tells her that her style of workout involves one person doing cardio and the other one doing weight training and then the switch.Elena Delle Donna's cardio workouts are done in periods and pauses: working for 20 seconds and then pausing for 10 seconds. The resistance training is constant for one full minute and 50 seconds before she takes a break. Dani Saitis says that there is no need to go crazy the first time you perform a workout. She asks all her clients to do what is best for them and their fitness levels. They can take a rest if they want and push harder when they feel okay.“It allows you to explore those options,” she said.HIIT or high-intensity interval training has been constantly in the top 5 kinds of workouts that have been performed by fitness trainers and professional players all over the world.“It’s all the rage right now,” Saitis said.

She makes sure that Elena Delle Donna does not pressurize herself by lifting the weights incorrectly which will cause injury. For her, the form is everything. According to her, people stick to high-intensity workouts more than those exercises which are less strenuous.Exercises help to burn calories and also increase muscle mass which further burns calories throughout the day. It also increases metabolism. However, high-intensity workouts take the whole thing to the next level. The more muscles you have, the more calories you will be burning when you are resting.It will also help burn off the blood sugar and regulates it which helps diabetic patients to control their situation. According to the professional trainer, people who exercise regularly, which means about 150 minutes a week of moves that would induce a sweat whether it’s simple moves like gardening or lifting weights, or walking, can benefit people by avoiding diabetes, and heal those who have it by making them feel better and diminish all other associated problems.Customers can seek the class, Fit Accelerated for free, after which each class costs $20 for a HAC member and $25 for a non-member. For the highest benefits, Saitis advice is to take the class at least twice a week."Recognize that rest is important," Saitis added, "to prevent injuries and help muscles recover." “You can’t just go all out all the time,” she said... “Just pull back. We work with everyone here.”

Elena Delle Donne may look like that she would be can't through all her exercises, however, it is not always the case. It was tough for her when she first joined too. “It kicked my butt,” she said.Besides, Elena Delle Donne is very active throughout the day. She moves as much as it is possible which gives her agility and motivation to workout throughout the day. Her mantra is to keep active even it is with light intensity exercises because it helps keep the blood flowing and metabolism high.Elena Della Donne Beach Workout:Being on vacation is not really being on a holiday when it comes to fitness for her. She does relax a bit but she still takes time for a quick beach workout."We'll get up in the morning, get a quick cup of coffee, and grab a quick workout on the beach," she says. "I think it's just so refreshing to be outside — it rejuvenates you.""You can find exercises to challenge you even if you don't have weights," she adds. "It's just a full-body awareness type of workout."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-cEesiBKhAShe starts with 100 yards dashes in the sand. She loves to work out in the sand because it provides resistance."Obviously, the sand is great for ankle mobility," she says. "And of course, it's so much harder to run in the sand than anywhere else."She says that a beach is a great place to work out because you do not really need a ton of equipment. These moves can also be done totally on your own. All you need to do is wear your sports shoes and move along!A little trick that Elena does:For the 100-yard dash, Elena counts off 100 steps and traces the distance.That's all about Elena Delle Donne's workout routine and strategies, here's more about what she eats to fuel her up after the workouts:

Elena Delle Donne Diet Plan

Elena’s Daily Eating Routine

“Eating healthy is really important to me in managing my Lyme disease,” says Elena, who later became the first state representative for the Lyme Research Alliance. “I try to eat gluten-free as often as possible.”

That normally suggests eggs for breakfast and a salad for lunch, though she tries to be a tad bit more courageous with her supper. “One of my favorite dishes to make for dinner is a pesto chicken with sautéed onions,” she says. Carb courses like mashed sweet potatoes and a vegetable usually supplement that meal.

She loves to snack but it is on the healthier side too most of the time. “I love apples and peanut butter,” she says.

The Delaware native for who Chicago is almost a second home is huge on the delicacies. She recalls, “I love to indulge in Chicago’s deep dish joints and steak houses.”

She also has a favorite RIO food that she loves. She says, “I’ve heard a lot about the feijoada,” a delicious soup, cooked with beans, beef, and pork, Elena says. “It sounds like a unique local dish that I would want to try.”

For her, the pre-game meal is pretty basic. Some good protein from eggs and bacon and a good carb source. She likes to fuel and refuel herself with whole carb sources. She explains,"My wife, Amanda, makes me breakfast on home game days. (It's) usually eggs, pancakes, and bacon. I like to snack throughout the day, as well. My go-to for that would be apples with peanut butter. Usually an hour before the game, I have half a bagel with peanut butter. I try to keep it light the few hours before a game but then after the game, I'll refuel with pasta and a protein."https://www.instagram.com/p/B_YRKMpHmKH/She says that she gives nutrients of huge importance in her life. For her, every meal should be packed with nutrients to fuel her for the games. "Definitely a lot of protein and good carbs, so foods like chicken, brown rice, sweet potato, etc. Whatever the meal is, it has to be packed with nutrients to fuel me for my game. For dinner, one of my favorite dishes is chicken with sautéed onions, mashed sweet potatoes, and veggies."She is constantly traveling so it gets a bit hard for her to stick to her healthy eating habits all the time. But, she still manages to eat healthily most of the time not because it is important for her career, but for her health too. She explains, "It's a struggle because your schedule is so packed that you just want to turn to what's quickest and most convenient. However, I always remind myself that my diet is important not only for my basketball career but also for my health in managing my Lyme disease. So it's really important to try and stay true to my nutrition plan. At this point, I'm used to playing in different cities, so I've found my go-to spots in each city where I know I'll be able to find a great meal."While she does take supplements it is only because she has Lyme disease so whatever she takes is related to that. She says, "I have to take lots of medicine/supplements for my Lyme disease, so most of what I take is centered around that. The supplements help with joint and muscle inflammation and then other supplements to support my immune system."She also has a piece of advice for young athletes who want to be in the professional world of sports. She says that one must experiment and see what works out the best for them. While it is necessary to be strict with yourself, give yourself a break once a while. Rest is important too. "It's obviously a large part of what allows your body to be in peak form to compete at a professional level. I would just recommend making sure you do your research and find out what works best for your body because it's different for everyone. The key is having a well-rounded nutrition plan that includes a little bit of everything. Also know that no one is perfect, so you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. It's OK to indulge now and then or have cheat meals, just focus on getting back on track afterward."

For her, she also loves to indulge once in a while, especially after her game. She explains, "Hmm, my favorite cheat meal would have to be dessert. I have quite a sweet tooth for cake and ice cream. I also love to snack on popcorn. Movie theater-style popcorn is the best."https://www.instagram.com/p/B_kdFkml2Tt/She also makes use of a certain app to stay on her diet. For her, it was really helpful t stay on track with an app. She explains her experience saying, "It makes it way easier to eat while I'm on the road. In the offseason, I follow a modified Keto diet, so being able to enter my dietary restrictions and instantly being provided options of meals I can order at different restaurants saves me so much time."She particularly talks of the app called, UDish which is not just an app but a community of healthy people who share common goals. She reviews, "It's always a great feeling to have a community of people surrounding you as you try to reach your goals. HowUDish gives users just that. Whether you're looking for great restaurants in a new area, sharing healthy alternatives on how to make your favorite restaurant dishes, or sharing your nutrition tips, you are engaged with a community that shares and supports a similar goal. And...of course, saving money when you eat at select restaurants with Sponsored Dishes is a bonus, ha!"However, she does say that there is no shortcut to being healthy and it might take some effort on your part. For example, she takes food with her so she does not have to eat out. She tries to make healthier choices even when she is out! Elena says, "I wish there was a secret! I try to make the right choice the easy one. I need things I can eat quickly in the car so I try to keep healthy snacks in easy reach. Otherwise, if there are cookies I’ll eat them. But if there are apples, nuts, or yogurt I’ll make healthier choices."

However, by default, many of her favorite snacking options are pretty healthy. In her words, her favorite foods are, "Apples! And Gouda. My wife Amanda and I both love cheese."However, having a helpful partner does help a lot too. She works out and manages to eat healthily all because of her wife who follows the same approach when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. "We always support each other. Amanda has really great taste in music and puts together my workout playlists. There are days when I’ll ride my bike while she runs and we push each other a little bit," she says.But a little trick that she tells her fan is to keep it moving even at a single small opportunity. So she gets going whenever she has a chance to. "Get your body moving —anything counts. Even when it’s not basketball season, I go outside, walk our dogs Wrigley and Rasta, or go for a bike ride, go to the park —it’s not always a set workout," she explains.For her, “Demand Excellence” is a mantra. She says, "It started my rookie year. I wanted something to live by. I have it on a wristband I wear all the time. In life, we’re never going to find perfection, but if we try to demand excellence in everything we do, we’re going to be better people."

But now, she is totally a Delaware girl who takes care of her health well and shows it off in the court. In fact, she has admitted to it herself. She says, "Gosh, that’s hard. Probably that I’m a Blue Hen through and through. Loving Grotto’s Pizza. And I still have a Delaware driver’s license. Other First Staters get it when I say that no one can find my birthday on it!"That's all about Elena Delle Donne's workout routine and diet plan to slay in the court. If you want to get inspired, now is the best time to be.