For decades, Jennifer Aniston had a “no pain, no gain” approach to exercise.
“The workouts I used to do were exhausting and painful,” Aniston, 54, tells TODAY.com, noting that she would often injure herself from overexertion. She’s since stopped that cycle and shifted her approach to fitness.
Jennifer Aniston’s workout routine includes functional fitness
Aniston’s lightbulb moment came in 2021, after a friend introduced her to Pvolve, a fitness method that combines resistance training with low-impact exercise. The actor, who quickly became a devotee, is now an advisor for the online platform.
“It’s functional exercise. It’s mindful, it’s small movements,” Aniston explains.
Virtual classes range from five to more than 60 minutes.
Feeling content with shorter workouts is a big deal for Aniston, who used to feel panicky if she didn’t have time to do a long workout. “My mind used to (tell) myself that if I didn’t do 45 minutes to an hour workout, I wasn’t drenched, (it wasn’t enough),” she says.
“I put my body through it … and over time, breaking your body, pushing your body that hard is just diminishing returns,” she reveals. “And as long as I’m going to live, I want to be able to move.”
Though Aniston says she allows herself “that freedom” to take a day off, she offered advice on how to motivate yourself to exercise when you’re not in the mood.
“Just do 10 to 20 minutes, you can do anything for 10 to 20 minutes,” Aniston says. “You start to enjoy it, that’s the other thing. I really do push myself, just at least do that little bit. I’ll immediately feel incredible. You just instantly start to feel those endorphins and that energy. ”
Aniston says that’s one thing that appeals to her about the Pvolve platform, comparing it to a “good salad bar” because you can pick and choose what you’re in the mood for.
Jennifer Aniston’s go-to salad recipe
As for Aniston’s actual salad bar order? The Emmy winner starts with butter lettuce as a base.
“I’m not a romaine fan,” Aniston says. “I love to have some mushrooms. I love sprouts. I love a little tomato. Avocado, Kalamata olives, always some cheese — never gonna give up my cheese. I’ll do sliced parmesan, pecorino … feta … or all of them! Sliced almonds, sunflower seeds.”
Then she’ll add a chopped egg or poached egg on top to complete what she calls a “really hearty salad.”
Aniston’s go-to dressings include oil and vinegar or a vinaigrette, “and if it’s the weekend, some good ole ranch.”
Her lifestyle habits for healthy aging
From an early age, Aniston was conscious about self-care and her health.
“Not so much my parents’ generation. So I would watch their bodies decline,” she says. “If I’m going to be 75, 85 years old, I don’t want to be in a wheelchair. I don’t want want someone to have to lift me up and take me to the bathroom.”
When asked to share her secret to aging well, Aniston says it comes down to clean eating, drinking water, getting enough sleep, meditation and doing the right workouts.
“Mindfulness, mindfulness,” Aniston says. “That’s all it is.”
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