Katharine McPhee in SELF: 'It feels good to be strong'

"Smash" star Katharine McPhee is gracing the cover of SELF magazine for the March 2012 issue. Inside, she's sexy in swimwear and the girl-next-door in the striped shirt and cutoff jeans. And she tells the magazine:

On her "Smash" fitness routine:

"I do a five-hour dance rehearsal. I feel it in my thighs and calves, but it's so stop-and-go. I miss my real workout ... I love my body when I'm in the best shape I can be in. It feels good to be strong."

On her first experience riding subways in NYC:

"Smash has a set in Brooklyn, and on my first day of work, I said, 'I'm going to be a real New Yorker, get there on my own and not spend $30 on a cab.' But I went the wrong way on the subway, and when I asked for directions, the person in the booth was mean to me. So I ended up crying and in a cab anyway. Now the show sends a van for me."

On her post-work relaxation:

"If I'm not too exhausted, my husband [Nick Cokas] and I go out for a nice neighborhood dinner. Or we do leftovers, maybe lentils and turkey burgers, then Pinkberry for peanut butter yogurt."