In Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, Sarah Michelle Gellar plays one of the villainous Council of elite families hunting two sisters in a deadly ritual game – and her rigorous training regime keeps her action-ready at any moment. The 48-year-old regularly trains at Alo Wellness Club in LA, completing full-body workouts that target all major muscle groups for balanced strength.
The Buffy star focuses mainly on compound moves that engage multiple muscle groups. One workout saw her perform med ball slams – a full-body exercise targeting the core, shoulders and upper back – alongside banded ab rollouts on a Heroboard for her core, and standing cable chest presses with a straight barr.
A session with trainer Tadeusz Gauer included band-assisted pull-ups, Bulgarian split squats, cable kickbacks and Pallof presses to build anti-rotational core stability. In a shorter session to round off the week, she added Heroboard plank variations, moving the board side to side to engage her obliques, lower abs and deep core muscles.
Training with others adds a social element, too. Alongside two or three friends, Gellar has worked through thrusters for her quads, glutes and shoulders; battle ropes to engage her arms, shoulders, back and core; wall sits to build quad endurance; and walking lunges for her quads, hamstrings, glutes and core, while also improving balance and stability. She even rounded sessions off with a quick cryochamber stint. ‘It’s true what they say… girlfriends and exercise are good for your mental health,’ she said.
On another occasion, a joint workout with husband Freddie Prinze Jr, programmed by trainer Stef Armstead, included sled pushes and pulls – full-body moves targeting the glutes, hamstrings, quads, back, biceps and core (Gellar even sat on the sled while Freddie pulled it); resistance band pull-aparts for the upper back and rear delts; incline dumbbell bench presses for the upper chest, shoulders and triceps; and a short cardio burst on the assault bike.
Reformer Pilates adds variety
To mix things up, the actress also incorporates reformer Pilates sessions – sometimes with an EMS twist. ‘Sure, why don’t we do Pilates and EMS at the same time. How bad could it be? Famous last words,’ she wrote.
Under head EMS trainer Darci Bawdon Fistanic’s guidance, she performed movements like short box side sit-ups with a weighted overhead reach, glute bridge holds and crunch variations, all while wearing an EMS suit that delivers controlled electrical impulses to the muscles.
‘Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Pilates session at Alo moves far beyond traditional Pilates, blending reformer training with EMS to significantly increase muscle fibre recruitment and metabolic stress,’ says celebrity trainer and London-based fitness expert Aimee Victoria Long.
‘Research shows EMS can elevate strength gains, but also increases muscle-damage markers like creatine kinase. That means recovery demands are higher, so it’s best suited to advanced clients,’ she explains. ‘Most people wouldn’t tolerate this intensity and are likely to injure themselves, but in the Alo environment – especially training alongside a friend – the challenge, burn and energy would make it incredibly fun and motivating.’
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