'80 for Brady' Star Jane Fonda Dishes Her Surprising Secrets to Staying in Shape at 85

'80 for Brady' Star Jane Fonda Dishes Her Surprising Secrets to Staying in Shape at 85
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  • Jane Fonda revealed she still follows her iconic and popular ’80s workout regimen at 85.

  • “It’s still relevant today because it really works,” she said.

  • She shared how she customizes it to work for her today, and why working out is so important to her mental and physical health.


There’s a reason Jane Fonda’s 1982 fitness VHS, Jane Fonda’s Original Workout, sold 17 million copies worldwide, per Vogue. The simple routine stretches and strengthens all the major muscle groups and is customizable to all body types and abilities, which is why Fonda is still faithful to the routine at 85.

“It’s still relevant today because it really works. I'm 85 now and I can’t do the full workout per se, but I do the same moves only slower and with less weight, every day,” the 80 for Brady star recently told Elle UK.

“The fact is that I have stayed in shape, even though I’m 85, by what I do, even if it is slower,” she continued. “I used to be able to do bicep lifts with 10 lbs. and now I do it with five, and I use a lot of resistance bands instead of machines because I don’t want to go to the gym. I have a nice iron banister and I attach my resistance bands to that. But the essential moves and the essential goal is the same: You want to strengthen your core and your back, which is especially important if you’re over 30. You want to be able to carry your grandchildren. And I can still do that.”

The actress admitted that her fitness goals have changed over the years from focusing on her physical appearance to her health and well-being. “Now it has to do with how I feel,” she said. “Also, because I’m old, I know from experience that if you don’t keep using your muscles and joints, you’re going to be in big trouble.”

She made especially sure to get back at it after having a shoulder replacement last year. “As soon as it wasn’t really hurting anymore, I started doing exercises again. The older you get, the more important exercise is—for mental health too,” she added.

Even after her recent cancer diagnosis, for which she underwent chemotherapy, she still maintained her workout schedule, sharing a video of her doing weighted wall squats supported by an exercise ball.

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For her, it’s all about making sure her “final act” is as full and well as it can be. “When you get older, you realize that staying healthy is joyful and critical because age isn’t so much chronology,” she told Glamour last year. “You can be very old at 84, which is my age, but you can also be very young.”

So, no matter your age, if you’re feeling inspired to get moving in a new (old) way, you can still buy (and even download!) Fonda’s original ’80s workout series on Amazon—which means there’s really no excuse not to get moving. Let’s get physical!

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