Kelsea Ballerini’s Trainer Says ‘Killer Abs’ Are ‘Made in the Kitchen’ and More Fitness Secrets

Kelsea Ballerini’s trainer, Erin Oprea, unveiled her biggest tips for getting into shape this summer.

“Those toned legs are an art piece, and I’m super proud of my clients. They have worked their butts out and I love to make that beautiful v on top of the legs, give you all the pretty lines,” Oprea exclusively told Us Weekly at CMA Fest for Fitness at the Fest, presented by Celsusis and her athletic clothing line, Erin Oprea Basics.

Oprea noted that she has instructions “lined out every day” on her Pretty Muscles app, adding, “A lot of people you see just go heavy in one direction. I like different angles. So we can get that good V on top of the knee.”

After gushing that Ballerini, 30, has “legs for days,” Oprea added, “I mean, come on. Hot legs, everybody likes a good pair of hot legs.”

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When it comes to getting killer abs, Oprea said they are “truly made in the kitchen.”

“We can say all we want about, ‘Oh we’ll just do this move. It’s gonna get you abs.’ If you really want to lean your abs down, there is no question, up your protein. Don’t overdo the starches — I didn’t say cut them out,” Oprea said. “And then do strength training. Strength training all together is gonna burn more calories than doing abs.”

Oprea noted that everyone has abs, but there’s a layer of fat on top. She explained, “In order to see those beautiful abs, you gotta burn that layer of fat on top.”

While she has crossed paths with people who declare they want to work out their abs every day, Oprea said it’s “not the way it works.”

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“You can try all day long, but if you have a layer of fat on top, doing abs burns the least amount of calories, it’s not gonna burn that much,” she said. “But you have to do them. So when you lean out, they’re like, ‘Bam, hello. Here we are out the play.’”

For exercises, Oprea recommended doing an ab wheel or planks in different variations. As for targeting arms, Oprea endorsed pull-ups, push-ups and dips.

“If you do those three things — I mean, granted, pick up some weights too, I love some good strength training — but those are my three favorite things to really tone my arms,” she said.

Oprea, whose first celebrity client was Lee Ann Womack’s daughter, said word of mouth kept spreading about her training abilities, which led her to work with more stars, including Carrie Underwood.

“The biggest thing with artists, I feel like is you have to teach them how to be able to maneuver on stage and dance around and not get winded,” she said. “So the best part of that is have ’em run on the treadmill, singing … or do jumping stuff singing. And if you have ’em do that, then they learn how to control their breathing while moving around. So when they’re dancing, it makes it easier.”

With reporting by Jeremy Parsons