1Start with mobility exercises
Jen always starts her workouts with mobility exercises, per Azubuike. The stretching and gentle movement primes her bod for her hard-hitting workouts. And hey, the extra flexibility comes in handy out of the gym, too.
2 Get into planking
Alberto Rodriguez/E! Entertainment//Getty Images To challenge her, Jennifer’s trainer Leyon Azubuike told Women’s Health that he has Jen do plank flow, where she starts in a standard plank, then moves to a side plank, then moves to plank with shoulder taps, and so forth.
3Don't take your fitness too seriously
"I went from being a crazy workout girl to sort of saying, 'My body wants a little bit of a break,'" Jen told Women's Health. "So I kind of stay with more simple stuff and taking walks and not being neurotic about working out and eating right. I started to enjoy life a little bit more. The only downside to that is there’s that couple extra pounds and about 4,000 pregnancy rumors, but you know, other than that, it feels great."
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4Stretch your core
"We do a lot of things that stretch the core, so we’ll do things where she’s hanging on a pullup bar, then she pulls her knees up and brings them back down,” Azubuike told Women’s Health.
5Think outside the sit-ups
NBC//Getty Images Jennifer loves doing V-ups and using an ab wheel, Azubuike told Women’s Health. "We’ll use a sit-up to shock the body occasionally, but it’s not a major part of our core regimen,” he said.
6Don't rush your workouts if you have the time
NBC//Getty Images Jen doesn’t pop in and out of the gym—she spends up to an hour and a half working out during each exercise session, Azubuike told Women’s Health.
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7Be flexible with your workouts
Jon Kopaloff//Getty Images Everybody has someplace they need to be, and Jennifer is no exception. Azubuike told Women’s Health that he uses a training technique called "periodization" with Jen, which adjusts things based on her schedule. "Depending on where we are in that cycle dictates the duration and intensity of Jen’s workout," he says.
"If I know Jen isn’t filming anything, it’s a different phase than if I know she has something coming up tomorrow. If she’s going to be walking up to receive an award, I’m not going to destroy her legs in the gym the day before."
8Read up on intermittent fasting
Dave J Hogan//Getty Images "I do intermittent fasting, so no food in the morning," Jennifer told UK outlet Radio Times. "I noticed a big difference in going without solid food for 16 hours."
9Find time to sweat, no excuses
James Devaney//Getty Images Sometimes Jen will work out in the middle of the night when she’s shooting. "She has to respond when I say go," Azubuike told Women’s Health. "If she has a shoot at 3 a.m. and we need to work out before that, let’s go...we respect each other in that regard, so it’s a constant back and forth with mutual respect and understanding."
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10Find your beast mode once in a while
James Devaney//Getty Images Azubuike made it clear to Women’s Health that he doesn’t go easy on his famous client. “She definitely should be commended, because when I get into go-mode, I’m in go-mode,” he said.
11Eat nutrient-rich foods
Marc Piasecki//Getty Images Azubuike told Women's Health that he’s big on his clients (including Jennifer) eating nutrient-rich foods, like mix of healthy carbs, protein, leafy greens, and bright, colorful veggies.
12Get. Some. Sleep.
Alessio Botticelli//Getty Images You won’t find Jen up at the crack of dawn. She told Radio Times that she usually wakes up at 9 a.m.
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13Try resistance bands
Randy Holmes//Getty Images They factor big-time into Jen’s workouts. "We box, we jump rope, we do strength training, we do a lot of work with resistance bands—we’re big on resistance bands," Azubuike told Women’s Health.
14Mix up your workouts
Josh Jacks/Star Max//Getty Images Azubuike told Women’s Health that he’s constantly rotating Jen’s workouts. “It’s always hard, she’s consistently being challenged—I’m a big fan of switching things up, so the body reacts in a positive way and changes,” he said.
15Try boxing
Mike Marsland//Getty Images "It’s the longest workout I’ve actually stayed with consistently other than yoga," Jen told InStyle. “There’s something about the mental aspect of boxing—the drills, your brain has to work, you’re not just sitting on a bike. It’s amazing.”
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16Don't be bullied into weight loss
According to the book, Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of Friends, author Saul Austerlitz said that Jen faced a lot of pressure over her weight and looks during her time on the show. She had to lose thirty pounds if she wanted to stay in Hollywood, he wrote.
Jen previously addressed this in the ‘90s. "The disgusting thing of Hollywood—I wasn't getting lots of jobs 'cause I was too heavy," she told Rolling Stone in 1996, as reported by Harper's Bazaar UK. "I was like, 'What?!'"
17Make exercise a consistent habit
Steve Granitz//Getty Images Making exercise a regular part of your day is clutch. Jennifer told Radio Times that she tries to do five workouts a week.
18Keep pushing through challenging exercises
Steve Granitz//Getty Images Jennifer didn’t love using a jump rope when Azubuike first tried her out on it because she thought it was challenging, her trainer told Women’s Health. But she kept at it. "I just made her keep on doing it, and now she’s great at it,” he said.
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19Have compassion for past relationships
Hating on exes never helped anyone’s mental health. Jen is friendly with both of her ex-husbands. Justin Theroux regularly slides into her Instagram comments and was even spotted at her Friendsgiving dinner this year. Ex-husband Brad Pitt was also spotted at Jen’s 50th birthday party, per People.
20Own your morning
Ida Mae Astute//Getty Images When Jen wakes up, she takes a mindful approach to her day. She told Radio Times that she has a celery juice and meditates before jumping into a workout.
Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.
Jennifer Nied is the fitness editor at Women’s Health and has more than 10 years of experience in health and wellness journalism. She’s always out exploring—sweat-testing workouts and gear, hiking, snowboarding, running, and more—with her husband, daughter, and dog.
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