Image Source: Getty / Kevin Winter [1]
Like a lot of us, Jennifer Aniston's workout routine [2] looks a little different as of late. "Workouts change all the time," she tells POPSUGAR. And for the 53-year-old actor, it was a busy travel and work schedule that disrupted things. A recent film shoot took Aniston from Hawaii to Paris, a three-month trip that "sounds really beautiful, and it was," she acknowledges. "But it was [also] a lot of hard work and it was a lot of hours."
Throw the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic into the mix and you have a very stressful trip on your hands. "We were dodging Omicron like Donkey Kong," Aniston quips, recalling the stress of waking up every day, taking a COVID-19 test [3], and wondering, "Did I make it today?" A positive test would mean at least 10 days of quarantine, she says, "and the whole production [would be] sacrificed."
"I don't think I really understood the amount of stress [4] we were enduring during those three months," Aniston reflects.
Understandably, Aniston's workout routine took a backseat. "I wasn't working out like I normally do," she says. She tried jumping right back into her workout routine when she got back home, but ended up injuring her back [5]. Now, she says she's "slowly getting back into it."
Right now, "I'm really focusing on Pilates," Aniston says, a workout that's definitely having a moment among celebrities [7], with its combination of low-impact strengthening and stretching. Aniston says she's also focusing on sleeping more and eating healthy, including the new Vital Proteins & Jennifer Aniston Protein and Collagen Bars [8] she helped create in her role as chief creative officer of the brand. Aniston describes the bar as "a perfect little nibble before I start a workout."
Given Aniston's busy schedule, it makes sense that her favorite workouts involve bodyweight or minimal-equipment moves. When it comes to working her core [9], Aniston is all about Russian twists [10], bicycle crunches [11], and planks [12]. That last one? Also one of her favorite arm exercises. "I love a three-minute plank," Aniston says. (Which, woof.) For Aniston, it's all about squeezing in movement when she can. "I always have five- to eight-pound weights in my trailer [or] in my hotel rooms if I'm away. And if I'm watching television or winding down, reading emails, [I] just use my weights."
For mental health, Aniston relies on two main practices right now: acknowledging her stress and anxiety, and meditation. "I really, really give a lot of credit to morning meditation [13]," she says. "Don't just mindlessly wake up. Wake up, take a moment. Don't look at your phone." That last one is something Aniston's been really practicing lately. "I'm having mindful mornings," she says. It's a time to "observe my thoughts, so I actually know what I'm doing and I understand my focus for the day."
Pilates, sleep, healthy eating, and meditation? We're definitely down to channel Aniston's realistic, balanced routine for wellness. (We'll leave the three-minute planks to her.)
Image Source: Cass Bird [14]