Carrie Underwood loves listening to boy bands and rock groups when she works out. I know this because I’m doing burpees alongside the country star as “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys plays in the background — part of a playlist curated for Underwood by her longtime personal trainer, Eve Overland, who’s instructing us to jump up, down, and up again. I’m breathless between reps. Underwood, meanwhile, seamlessly bounces from her yoga mat while singing along to Nick Carter.
Underwood may still be best known for her Grammy award-winning music career, but her love for fitness isn’t far behind. A quick Google search for Underwood’s workout secrets reveals pages of exercises inspired by the Cry Pretty singer (and her famous legs), while videos show her working out in a mobile gym trailer. That passion could be why, unlike other celebrity-backed athleisure brands that have crowded the space over the last few years, CALIA, the athletic apparel line Underwood launched with Dick’s Sporting Goods in 2015, has been so successful.
According to Dick’s, CALIA is the store’s third highest-selling women’s brand, after Nike and Under Armour. While much of it has to do with the fact that Underwood is the brand’s most influential model — she frequently shares photos of herself in her gear with her 9 million Instagram followers — Underwood and her co-lead designer, Alycia Scott, believe CALIA’s success primarily has to do with the clothing’s inclusive fit and style.
“Our fit works on so many different body shapes,” says Scott during a presentation of the latest collection in Aspen. “And if your clothes don’t fit and feel good, you’re not going to wear them.”
