As Kamala Harris gears up for some long nights ahead, there’s one daily habit that’s been powering the Democratic nominee through the presential race: Her morning routine—which has remained unchanged since before she was sworn in as vice president—complete with a 30-minute workout.
Harris told the former NFL star Shannon Sharpe on his podcast Club Shay Shay on Monday that she’s been working 75-hour workweeks (and that is a conservative estimate, as it doesn’t include the weekends) in the run-up to the elections.
“I’m having, I probably estimate, 14 hour, 15 hour days,” Harris said, before adding that she still gets a workout in every single morning— “No matter how little sleep or how much sleep I’ve had.”
“You know?” she alluded to Sharpe’s athletic past. “Mind, body and spirit, right?” To which the Hall of Fame athlete could be heard mm-humming in agreement.
“That’s the only time of my day I really own,” Harris explained. “These days, it’s not unusual for me to be in three or even four cities in one day, rallies with thousands of people, 10,000 people showing up.”
Harris’ workouts of choice: Soul Survivor, cross-training and running
Although Harris didn’t reveal what her current workout routine looks like, she’s consistently spoken out about the importance her the self-care habit to be at her A-game.
Since 2018, she’s dedicated at least half an hour daily to exercise—back then, she told The Cut, her machine of choice was the elliptical (also known as a cross-trainer) or SoulCycle.
“On the weekends Soul Survivor [a longer and more intense SoulCycle class],” she added. “Sometimes I swim if it’s not going to create an issue with my hair.”
A few years later, in We’re Speaking: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris, the then-newly elected vice president echoed that she was still starting the day with a morning workout no matter what—but by then, she had swapped the exercise bike for a treadmill.
“It’s about your mind. I work out every morning. Only half an hour. I get on the treadmill. That’s it. Every morning, I don’t care what time. It gets your blood flowing. It gets your adrenaline flowing.”
She even revealed that she had just returned from a walk with her husband when she got the news that the election had been called for Joe Biden and her.
Another staple: A sit-down breakfast
Eating breakfast is another nonnegotiable for Harris.
“When I was younger, I didn’t think I needed breakfast. I wasn’t a breakfast eater. Now I have breakfast every morning,” she told Sharpe.
The 60-year-old added that she doesn’t do breakfast on the go, instead opting to sit down for a plate full of “protein with a little vegetable.”
“It’s usually a spinach omelet. Very exciting,” she laughed. “And I like chicken and apple sausage and some toast, and then I’m gone.”
