Iciss Tillis, Jackson Lewis, New York

Iciss Tillis, a former professional basketball player, is an associate in the Manhattan office of Jackson Lewis. Her law practice focuses on representing employers in workplace matters, including preventive advice and counseling.

How often during the week do you work out? Three days a week.

At what time during the day or evening do you work out? Usually in the mornings.

What’s your go-to routine? I am on the bike or treadmill for 10 minutes, I stretch for 10 minutes. I do upper bodywork for 10 minutes. I do lower body work like squats and leg press for 30 minutes, then I do an abdominal routine, then a final stretch.

How long does it take? About one hour to one hour and 15 minutes.

Why do you like this routine? When I go to the gym I like to use free weights, but mostly I like this routine because it’s specific. I don’t vary my workout. I do the same workout each time.

How long have you been exercising regularly? I played basketball for Duke then professionally for the WNBA. Exercising at a high level regularly was normal for me. However, In 2011, I retired from the WNBA and took an eight-year full-stop break from playing basketball and even exercising. I was in mourning. I was out of sight out of mind. I did not watch any games. I had to put aside my life as a basketball player in order to move on. In April 2019, I started working out again at the gym.

In what ways have you changed your routine over the months or years? When I was playing in the WNBA, we trained at camp two times a day. And we were usually in the gym working out all day. Every day. When I played in Europe, we were in the gym twice a day, and when we were in Asia, we were in the gym three to four times a day. Now I go to the gym three days a week, and I am working up to going four days a week.

How do you get convince yourself to work out when you don’t want to? I have my ‘Get Krumped’ playlist that helps me in the morning workout.