Candace Cameron Bure talks toning up, tuning out hate & being a tough mom.

The following interview is sponsored, thanks to DSG family athletic wear by Dick’s Sporting Goods. All experiences and opinions are mine. 

I recently got lucky to rock a totally-fierce, all-blue workout outfit and exercise with Candace Cameron Bure (aka one of my favorite TV-stars-slash-famous-moms) to put Dick’s Sporting Goods’ new line of family athletic wear called DSG to the test. [Spoiler: I’m digging it. Major. Cute, comfy, soft, supportive. They had me at the padded sports bra and high-waisted leggings. I feel confident in it workout out or just running around dropping and/or picking up my kids… hello, I wore it on-air in LA.]

So yeah. A bunch of us gathered at our local Dick’s Sporting Goods, checked out all the new DSG designs and colors, changed into our fresh gear, took a bunch of selfies and hit the floor to test how this new DSG line worked as we werked. While we struggled through push-ups (ok fine — I struggled through push-ups), Candace killed it. Way to motivate, lady.

Aside from being known as darling DJ Tanner from the 80’s hit sitcom Full House and now Fuller House on Netflix, Candace is a married mom of 3, star of multiple Hallmark Channel movies and entrepreneur. Post workout (like, I was still sweating), she and I talked toning up, tuning out hate and what it really means to be a tough mom these days…

WHY DSG FOR YOU?

CCB: Athletic wear is really important to me, because brands come and go, and I tried this on and was like, ‘Oh, this is great… I like it. The quality is good, it feels good, it’s not stretching out and bagging as I’m working out and the patterns and colors are cute. And the fact that you can outfit your little kids from 4 years old with the sizes going up to 2XLs is really great.

I LIKE TO PUT ON WORKOUT WEAR FIRST THING IN THE MORNING, TO MAKE IT MORE LIKELY I’LL GET TO THE GYM. DO YOU HAVE TRICKS LIKE THAT?

CCB: That’s always helpful motivation! But my schedule is so full these days that I have to plan my workout so they’re scheduled in my day. But on those weekend days when I’m don’t necessarily have to workout, it does help to put on the gear….

LET’S TALK WELLNESS — IN TODAY’S CLIMATE OF SO MUCH HOSTILITY & ANIMOSITY, HOW DO YOU STEP AWAY FROM ALL OF IT AND DISENGAGE?

CCB: Sometimes you’ve just got to turn it off! Literally, turn your phone off. Literally, turn your computer off. Don’t read it and choose to enjoy the people around you – at work or at home, be present with people.

DO YOU TAKE SOCIAL MEDIA BREAKS?

I haven’t because it’s [social media] a part of my job now. But, last Christmas, I took a 2- (almost 3-) week break and it was the best thing I ever did. Now, that [choice] will be forever – to take a break Christmas through New Years. It felt so good.

YOUR DAUGHTER NATASHA IS ALSO A PUBLIC FIGURE NOW, AND HER INSTAGRAM IS GREAT. IT’S FUN, YOUNG, FLIRTY BUT ALSO APPROPRIATE, CLASSY AND RESPECTFUL – DID YOU SET SOCIAL MEDIA GROUND RULES?

CCB: Yes! Keep your daughters off social media as long as you can! I monitored all my kids’ social accounts when they were younger and helped them along the way. If ever anything got posted that I wasn’t comfortable with I would make them take it off. I would say, ‘If you don’t take this off, your phone is mine.’ I’m a tough mom – you’re not going to talk me (or my husband) out of it. [Candace’s daughter, Natasha, is newly 21] She’ll still text me to this day and ask, “Is this picture too much? Should I post it or not?” I love that she still asks me for advice, even though she doesn’t have to. She’s noticed [through other girls’ accounts] that you can be perceived one way or another and she’s chosen they way ‘mom’ was hoping she would choose! I’m really proud of her.

1% of DSG PURCHASES IS DONATED TOWARDS ‘SPORTS MATTERS,’ THE DICK’S ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO HELPING YOUTH SPORTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU INTRODUCED YOUR KIDS TO A GIVE-BACK ACTIVITY TO INSTILL VALUE OF COMMUNITY?

CCB: I don’t even know if I can remember that first time – they were little, little, little. It’s always been a part of our lives, it’s something my parents did with me when I was a kid so it was very natural for me to say ‘Hey, we’re going to pack boxes of food today’ or serve at a homeless shelter… I took my kids to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip when they were 6, 7 and 9. This is what we do. It’s been important for me to make giving back a part of their lives from a very early age.

AND THEN CANDACE NAMED ME SMURFETTE (and man did I eat.it.UP! Dare you to watch this vid via my Instagram):

DSG by Dick’s Sporting Goods is a brand-new, low cost option for the whole family – for activities, exercise, practice, rehearsals and the random manual labor us moms deal with on the daily (hi, dishwasher-duty and car wash runs). The colors are bright, the prints are playful, the material is built with anti-microbial tech that wicks sweat and bacteria away (so I don’t stink by noon). The sizes? Super-wide ranges from XS through 2XL for us women (they’ve got mens too — and kids sizes come in XXS for 4 year olds and run all the way up to 2XLs). The fabrics are comfy, the tanks are supportive, the leggings are high-waisted, the sports-bras are padded (major score there, hi). Dick’s Sporting Goods developed this new line over two years, with attention to everything that makes us feel good. The extra perk? 1% of every purchase is donated towards Sports Matters, the Dick’s organization dedicated to saving youth sports across the country.