Jennifer Aniston reveals why she doesn't do the same workout twice
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Okay, let's not mince our words people: Jennifer Aniston is hot (always was, always will be) and on the days where we fully CBA to go to the gym, we've Googled 'Jennifer Aniston body' to get us motivated on more than one occasion. Which is fair enough, right? Given that the actress is known for her love of all things health and wellness, getting a sweat on and eating well (she's also Chief Creative Officer at Vital Proteins, a collagen powder brand).
Of course, while there should never be a 'one size fits all' approach when it comes to health, seeing as we're all individual humans, it can still be interesting to learn more about how other people (celebrities included) exercise. It's also important to stress that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, colours and creeds – this article isn't to say WE MUST ALL LOOK LIKE JENNIFER ANISTON WHEN NAKED, but rather a little nosey into a star's lifestyle that you can cherry pick bits from, should it take your fancy.
So, with that in mind, and while in search of inspiration, we set out to uncover as much as we could about how Jennifer Aniston moves her body, the diet she follows and any cool tricks she's shared about fitness along the way...
What is Jennifer Aniston's workout regime?
She works out... a lot
Okay, so unsurprisingly being Jen An involves a lot of hard graft. While promoting her newsroom-based series, The Morning Show, Jennifer previously shared that she tries to exercise at least five times a week. Yes, five!
Jen's yoga and spin teacher of over fifteen years, Mandy Ingber, also once said during an interview with Healthista: "My clients and I make sure we do daily exercise. I aim for seven days a week of training and normally hit five. Diet and exercise is key." It also sounds like Jen is a fan of mixing it up with various classes, which we'll come on to in just a moment...
If five workouts sounds a lot, the NHS recommends doing at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity (wherein you can still talk but not sing), or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity (where talking is replaced fully by panting and the odd word), a week. Aiming to do 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week would hit that quota nicely – so maybe it's not as extreme as it initially sounds.
Retraining her brain
Anyone who was around during the toxic diet culture of the nineties and noughties will emphathise with Jen on this one, as she recently opened up to British Vogue about having to challenge her notion of what a workout actually is.
"I had to retrain my brain," the actor told the magazine of how her attitude towards fitness has "absolutely evolved over the years".
"It used to be pounding, pounding, pounding," Jen said of her former go-to workouts. "You had to get 45 minutes to an hour of cardio; otherwise, you weren’t getting a workout."
The Friends star went on to explain how working out like this became gruelling and monotonous. "Not only do you stress your body, you burn out – who wants to do that at all?" she said, going on to reveal that her new collaboration with fitness brand Pvolve is all about challenging the misconceptions around what a workout should feel like. Which brings us on to...
Pvolve workouts
Taking to Instagram in mid-2023, Jen announced that she's now an ambassador for fitness brand Pvolve.
"I’m officially part of the @pvolve fam," she told her followers, alongside a video of herself getting sweaty during a Pvolve workout. "SO proud to support our female founder and the beyond talented trainers. This is one of my favourite workouts… and I’m so grateful for the team and excited for what’s to come."
So, what actually is Pvolve? "Pvolve is a science-led method that combines low-impact functional fitness with resistance-based equipment to deliver results beyond a traditional workout," the Pvolve website explains, describing functional fitness as: "Exercise that mimics everyday movement and works with the body’s biomechanics. By training muscles to work together, it can sculpt, strengthen, and restore."
Sharing how Pvolve has transformed her attitude towards working out, Jen told British Vogue that after a back injury in 2021 she was encouraged to give Pvolve a go, and traded in her usual cardio-intensive workouts.
"[Pvolve targets muscles that are] usually asleep," she explained, pointing out that she enjoys doing 10 to 20 minutes of Pvolve movements, using everything from the P.band to the Gliders. "I have one in my car," she said of the P.band. "You can put that on and just move if you have a five minute break."
As for the gliders. "You almost feel like you’re dancing," she said, likening the movement to an aerobics class – but way better.
She keeps it fresh
As well as working out (a lot), Jen recently revealed to CR Fashion Book that she doesn't repeat a workout once she's done it – which is all thanks to Pvolve.
"I love it so much!" she said of the innovative workout programme. "Pvolve is a unique approach to fitness that I’m so excited to share with others. It was transformative for me. I leave every workout feeling energised and strong, but not beat up. I encourage people to try it and see it for themselves. Whatever your fitness level, it’s a workout where you can truly start where you are."
To that end, Jen said she constantly mixes up her Pvolve workouts – which gives her something to look forward to when she's heading into her sweat session.
"I’ve been motivated to work out in a way I haven’t been in years," she said of the change she's noticed since taking up Pvolve. "I look forward to the challenging classes and I feel stronger and more comfortable in my body when I’m doing it. It’s different every time, I don’t think I’ve had the same class twice."
Yoga
We also know for a fact (thanks to her mentioning it in interviews and that Vital Proteins advert) that Jennifer is a right bendy Wendy, who loves practicing yoga - not only because it's a brilliant way of keeping your body supple and strong, but for its mental health benefits too.
Speaking about their sessions together, Mandy revealed, "With Jennifer Aniston, I would do 30 minutes of spinning, 40 minutes of yoga, incorporating some of my 'hybrid' yoga poses paired with a toning exercise. We would do some power yoga, vinyasa flow and then some yin yoga stretching, and then finish with the infrared sauna."
With regards to specific moves, Mandy revealed that the Friends star loves balancing poses "like tree, half-moon pose and warrior III". She added, "[Jennifer] does love a good tree. She also likes to plank as well, because plank will work with the abs, or the forearm plank, so any variation on the plank or the forearm plank."
And in return, Jennifer is quoted as saying on Mandy's website, "When I started doing yoga with Mandy, I noticed many things... My legs getting leaner, my arms getting stronger and most importantly, I noticed an inner strength. I feel like I am getting a meditation, a workout and time with my friend, all rolled into one hour."
Classes
Over the years Jennifer has raved about trying everything from barre classes to boxing. "There's something about the mental aspect of boxing — the drills, your brain has to work, you're not just sitting on a bike," she shared during a cover interview with InStyle. "Boxing is a great way to get aggression out. You get a mental release of all this crap you're taking into your ears and eyes every day and have little fantasy moments imagining who you're punching."
She's also previously bigged up the elliptical machine, telling Vogue, "I do 45 mins of intervals on my elliptical. I raise the incline, run for two mins, walk for one, run for two ... and I do it for 20 minutes straight until I'm just drenched." (Not a class, but still, something new to try maybe).
Given that the best form of exercise any of us can ever do is one we enjoy, we're all in favour for mixing it up à la Jen.
What is Jennifer Aniston's diet like?
Supplements
It's widely known that Jennifer loves herself some collagen, namely in the form of a Vital Proteins powder. "I have had a passion for health and wellness for years," she said during a recent product launch. "I know this topic can be overwhelming so through this campaign, I want to show simple ways to incorporate collagen into your daily life. For me, it’s adding it to my morning coffee and replenishing after a workout, but there is truly an option for everyone."
Naturally, as a board member and brand ambassador, it's hardly surprising that Jen bigs up collagen so much, but if she really does use it as much as she says, then it sure looks like it works for her...
Intermittent Fasting
The actress also shared during an interview with the Radio Times that she's a fan of the 16:8 intermittent fasting method, meaning she allows herself an eight-hour window in which to consume food, then sticks to water, black coffee, juices or herbal teas the rest of the time. "I do intermittent fasting, so there’s no food in the morning," she shared. "I noticed a big difference in going without solid food for 16 hours. Fortunately, your sleeping hours are counted as part of the fasting period. You just have to delay breakfast until 10am."
Jennifer added she usually wakes up around 9am, has a green juice (possibly a celery juice), then works out and meditates, before settling down with a coffee. However, while intermittent fasting can be used in conjunction with a weight loss goal, it is not in itself a diet, reminds Dr Clare Morrison, a GP from MedExpress. "It is a mistake to use it as a form of purposeful calorie restriction and if you have ever had - or suspect you may have - an eating disorder, I do not suggest intermittent fasting."
Eating whole foods
As well as fasting, Jennifer makes sure that when it does come to meal times that she opts for non-processed foods and little sugar. To that note, Mandy also said during an interview, "A healthy fit body, like Jennifer Aniston's, or even like mine, is based on healthy choices which are absolutely attainable... A wholesome diet with low sugar and minimal processed food."
Another of Jen's trainers, Leyon Azubuike, co-owner of Gloveworx, told Women's Health that he encourages the actress to go for healthy fats too. "I love avocados, coconut oil, salmon, fish oil... anything that’s a good form of fat is great," he said. For carbs and protein, Leyon added that we all likely need a different intake depending on lifestyle. "For me, I stick to 1.7 grams of carbs and 2 grams of protein per my kilo weight to support muscle-building."
In 2016, Jennifer herself told Yahoo! Food, "It’s pretty clear: eat as much organic fruits and veggies as you can, keep sugar [intake] low, drink tons and tons of water, and get good sleep." Noted.
Eggs
Okay, so we're giving eggs there own little section here because it sounds like they're a real staple for Jen - egg whites in particular. In 2016, Jennifer said during a chat with ELLE, "When I wake up, I have warm lemon water and then I have a shake or avocado and eggs, which is one of my favourites." And later clarified she's most into eggs over easy (fried on both sides).
"I crack them into a bowl and I’ll add a white or two into that and pour it all into the pan to get more protein sans too much yolkage," she said. "I'll have that with avocado toast sprinkled with olive oil, salt and pepper... or oatmeal with egg whites whipped into it right at the end. It kind of gives it this fluffy texture that's delicious."
Staying hydrated
Leyon also said that he's forever extolling the virtues of water to his clients, like Jen. "The common misconception about hydration is that you should wait until you’re thirsty, and then drink until you’re full," he explained. "But if you pound water right before your workout, you’ll just feel heavy and full and sluggish the entire time." Instead, he says it's important to be drinking water consistently throughout the day, including leading up to a workout.
Snacks
On days where she's not sticking to a fully wholesome and healthy diet of protein and veggies, Jennifer is said to love Mexican food (same) and revealed should she ever get a late night craving, she would opt for frozen yoghurt topped with granola. Oh, and she makes a mean 'healthy' carbonara! "[It's] not that bad for you," she said while explaining her recipe to PEOPLE, adding that it consists of one egg, a little cheese, turkey bacon and some pasta water, along with gluten-free pasta, red onion, garlic and some low-fat milk (but no cream, butter or oil).
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