{"id":781180,"date":"2026-09-24T15:16:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/781180\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T15:16:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:16:22","slug":"jennifer-aniston-on-strength-training-building-muscle-and-fitness-in-her-50s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/781180\/","title":{"rendered":"Jennifer Aniston on Strength Training, Building Muscle, and Fitness in Her 50s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated5 min read<\/p>\n

After years of prioritizing cardio, Jennifer Aniston says strength training has become a much bigger part of her fitness routine. In this exclusive interview with Good Housekeeping, the actress opened up about what changed as she entered her 50s, including why she started approaching exercise differently and what she wishes she had known about building muscle years ago. <\/p>\n

Jennifer also shared with us what her workouts look like now, how she makes them work when she\u2019s short on time, and why she believes staying strong is so important as women get older.<\/p>\n

Why Jennifer started strength training<\/p>\n

For years, Jennifer says she had a very specific idea of what exercise was supposed to look like. Weight training came with a fear of \u201cbulking up,\u201d while cardio felt like the safer choice if the goal was to stay lean.<\/p>\n

That perspective began to change as she got older and started noticing changes in her body. Jennifer says she went through menopause earlier, as her mother had, but at the time, she didn’t have much information about what was happening to her body and how it might impact her.<\/p>\n

She was told to add weights, but says it didn’t immediately make sense to her. Eventually, she began working out with Pvolve<\/a>, a method she says goes beyond the larger muscle groups and targets smaller, stabilizing muscles throughout the body. \u201cThe strength that I never felt before,\u201d she says, was one of the biggest differences she noticed.<\/p>\n

Jennifer says she also began to feel like her body was becoming more efficient at burning fat. Looking back, she wishes she had understood the importance of strength training much earlier.<\/p>\n

That shift is particularly relevant as women age. Muscle mass and strength naturally decline over time, making resistance training an important tool for maintaining strength. It can also support bone health, balance, mobility, and more. \u201cIf I had known about that in my 20s and 30s,\u201d she says, \u201cbut especially in our 40s and 50s, it\u2019s very important because everything decreases and we have to understand how to combat that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most importantly, Jennifer has found that strength training doesn’t have to feel like something to dread. She rarely does the exact same workout twice, and that variety keeps her engaged.<\/p>\n

\"Elle<\/p>\n

Kayla Oaddams\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

What Jennifer wishes she knew sooner about building muscle<\/p>\n

If Jennifer could go back and tell her younger self one thing about strength training, it would be to listen to the trainers who tried to convince her that lifting wouldn\u2019t automatically make her bulky.<\/p>\n

She also learned that the beginning stages of lifting weights can feel different from what you might expect. When you first start challenging muscles that haven\u2019t been trained that way before, Jennifer says, there can be an adjustment period, but her advice is essentially to give it time. \u201cPush through that period in the beginning,\u201d she adds, explaining that the body needs time to adjust as muscles mature and adapt to a new type of training.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an important distinction for women who may have spent years avoiding weights because they\u2019re worried about getting \u201cbigger.\u201d Building muscle is a gradual process, and lifting weights doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll suddenly develop a bodybuilder\u2019s physique. How much muscle someone gains depends on factors including training, nutrition, genetics, hormones, and the amount and type of resistance training they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Her larger point is one that many women may find reassuring: You don’t have to have everything figured out before you begin. Your body can adapt to being challenged, and getting stronger is a process.<\/p>\n

Jennifer\u2019s workout routine now<\/p>\n

These days, Jennifer\u2019s goal isn\u2019t to spend hours exercising. If she can get in four workouts during the week, she considers that a great week. \u201cFour is a sweet spot for me,\u201d she says. Her workouts are typically about 40 to 50 minutes and focus on the full body. She likes working the whole body<\/a> rather than splitting her workouts into individual muscle groups.<\/p>\n

But when her schedule gets busy, she doesn’t automatically skip the workout. Sometimes, she and her trainer, Dani Coleman<\/a>, make the time they have work. \u201cIf I tell Dani I have only 20 minutes, she will work me very hard in 20 minutes, and I feel awesome,\u201d Jennifer says. That\u2019s a significant departure from the all-or-nothing mentality she once associated with exercise. She remembers feeling trapped by the idea that she needed to spend 45 minutes doing cardio simply because that was what she thought a workout was supposed to be. \u201cHow boring is that?\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Instead, Jennifer has learned that an effective workout doesn\u2019t necessarily need to take an hour. \u201cYou can get an efficient workout in even 10 minutes,\u201d she explains. On days she isn\u2019t strength training, she walks and tries to incorporate other forms of movement. She\u2019ll add Pilates or yoga when she can, giving her some variety and activities she can do on her own. Her overall philosophy is simple: She tries to do something physical most days.<\/p>\n

For consistency, that flexibility can be useful. A 20-minute workout that actually happens is ultimately more valuable than an hour-long workout that keeps getting pushed off because it feels impossible to fit into the day. And now, she\u2019s pulling back the curtain even further with a step-by-step video<\/a> of her exact total-body strength training routine in Pvolve\u2019s new Movement Longevity Report.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"JenniferThe one area Jennifer says women over 50 should strengthen<\/p>\n

If Jennifer could recommend one area to focus on, she\u2019d choose the core. \u201cThe most important thing to keep strong is our core,\u201d she says. \u201cOur core is the center of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

She describes the core as the body\u2019s center of gravity and says she especially likes exercises that let her work her core along with her arms and legs. One movement she likes uses the P3 Trainer<\/a>, a special resistance band with multiple attachments, which she says lets her work all three areas together.<\/p>\n

From a fitness perspective, that focus makes sense. Core strength isn’t just about having visible abdominal muscles. The muscles of the trunk help stabilize the body and transfer force between the upper and lower body, supporting everything from lifting and carrying to walking and maintaining balance.<\/p>\n

For Jennifer, though, the bigger takeaway is about feeling strong from the inside out. And that’s perhaps the biggest change in her approach to fitness. After years of believing that more cardio and lighter weights were the way to stay lean, she’s found that strength training has given her something she hadn’t experienced before: a stronger, more capable body\u2014and a workout routine she actually enjoys.<\/p>\n