Before Jennifer Garner reprised her role as Elektra in a cameo appearance in "Deadpool & Wolverine," the star stepped up her already intense workout routine. "As this impossible dream became reality, my bestie and OG stunt double @shaunaduggins and I amped up our training, led by @bethjnicely at @thelimitfit: 1x/day, plus whatever homework she assigned for a second workout," the actor recently shared on Instagram. Garner's workouts involved boxing three times a week and "lots and lots of" time on her Peloton bike.
"We had #SuperHeroSummer over here, twirling sais in the backyard and laughing at our sore old bodies," the 52-year-old captioned a video of herself training for the role. While speaking with last year, Garner's personal trainer Beth Nicely said her client is now doing "harder and more difficult things than she did 20 years ago." “It’s cool to train her in this part of her life and to see how someone who is 51 is so badass and stronger than she’s ever been.
That’s really inspiring as a trainer, as a woman. She’s the real deal,” she said. Just how committed is Garner to her exercise routine? And what does she do to stay in shape? We're outlining everything you need to know about her inspiring approach to fitness.
Garner hasn't just played a badass on camera. She's also committed to her workout routine in real life. “(She) likes to work really hard, she’s very, very strong,” Nicely previously told .
“I consider her a professional athlete in what she’s capable of physically. We both love to dance, we both love to work hard, I think it’s a good combination.” While talking about her morning routine with last year, Garner revealed that she likes to start her day by working out.
“We need it in our bodies, but we need it in our brains. Your brain needs it!” she said. Barrymore wasn’t exactly eager to work up a sweat first thing in the morning, but Garner encouraged her by offering up the following advice.
“You find something that actually makes you feel joyful while you’re doing it or it won’t work,” she said. It’s a message the actor also reiterated when she spoke about her morning routine with revealing that she loves doing Body by Simone cardio workouts, which involve dancing and moves on the trampoline. “(The workouts) just make me happy! Even if I can only do it for 20 minutes, I make sure I’m sweating by the end, and that’s a victory.
I don’t judge myself,” she said. Garner also she has a few tricks for dragging herself out of bed for early morning workouts. “I have buddies that I’m accountable to and I have coffee ready to go,” she said.
“That’s what it is. It doesn’t feel good if you’ve told your friends you’ll work out with them, and then they all work out without you or they miss it because you don’t show up. Those things don’t feel good.
So it’s like a hack to make yourself accountable to someone that you say you’re going to work out with.” One of Garner's favorite workouts might just make you jump for joy. Per Nicely, the actor typically does box jumping workouts with a plyo-box for “We started with an 18-inch box and she was like, ‘Whoa, okay, my heart rate is up, this is a new thing!’ she told .
“And now she’s jumped on a 36-inch box. We think of it as an adult jungle gym in a way, we do a lot of box jumping and agility and coordination training while holding heavy weights on boxes.” While explaining the benefits of plyometrics (aka jump) training, Nicely told the workouts "develop strength, coordination, and cardiovascular stamina simultaneously.
” “A lot of people worry about the impact on their joints and fear that it is dangerous to jump as they age,” Nicely said. “As a NASM-certified trainer and corrective exercise specialist, I can assure you that jumping is essential to bone health. Bones need to be stressed with impact to build density, which makes you less likely to break a bone or develop osteoporosis.
” A busy schedule doesn’t stop Garner from squeezing in a sweat session while traveling. “I will use a hotel gym or I will do one of The Limit on-demand videos that you can use without any weights or without anything, just to get my heart rate going,” she previously . “I also really like the Peloton app.
I’m not a runner, but if I’m listening to one of the outdoor running things on the app where they’re talking you through the run and you’re running, say, in intervals and you get a break every now and then or you slow down every now and then, it makes the time go more quickly. And so I use that a lot when I’m traveling.” When she was preparing for her role in the film “Peppermint,” Garner underwent intense training that consisted of weight training, dance cardio, boxing, artillery sessions with Navy SEALs and stunt work, per “It was the greatest fun.
Plus, no working mom is ever going to say to her kids, ‘Pardon me while I do my second workout,’ so the fact that it was my job allowed me to really indulge in that experience,” she told the publication. To sculpt Garner’s arms for the role, personal trainer Simone De La Rue instructed her client to lift heavier weights (typically 15 pounds). “We also did a lot of bodyweight work, and supplemented with my custom resistance bands,” she told , adding that she prioritized triceps extensions and dips.
Whenever she's out and about, Garner likes to bring a snack with her to fend off cravings. Nuts are one of her go-tos. “It’s supposed to be a healthy snack,” she previously told .
“And I have gone through spells of traveling a lot and I’m always panicked that I’ll get on a plane and I won’t have something healthy to eat and I’ll find myself knee-deep in my neighbor’s rigatoni after I finish my own. So I guess I panic that I don’t have anything and I keep adding to the bag without ever taking out.” Garner also told that popcorn is another one of her favorite snacks after dinner.
Per Nicely, fitness is a lifestyle for Garner rather than a fad. “She’s so consistent with her workouts and sometimes it doesn’t equal an hour,” she told “She’s a mom of three, she runs businesses, she’s an actress and she has a very busy schedule. So whatever amount of time I’ve got with her, we go hard.
” Garner would much rather eat a balanced diet on a regular basis to stay health than do a crash diet. “I dieted for so long in the middle of doing (the TV show) ‘Alias’ and being a superhero, that there’s something in me that can’t do anything that extreme," she previously told . The actor declared that she's typically "good 80% of the time" with her diet, but has some foods she can't resist.
"I’ve found out that I cannot pass up pizza without having some. I just can’t! My kids have a lot of pizza. I can’t go to a kids birthday party without having a slice," she said.
Garner may not be a fan of extreme diets, but she's not opposed to experimenting with safe diets once in a while. For instance, she told she had been following the Be Well by Kelly diet in 2018. "I was getting ready for a movie where I had to look a certain way.
I actually have really liked the diet, so I've stuck on it," she said. A supportive pair of sneakers can help you get the most out of your workout and protect your feet. Over the years, Garner has tried many brands, but she previously that she's "devoted" to Brooks sneakers, specifically the Ghost and Glycerin models.
“Sometimes I have little dalliances with other brands ...
but for working out, for HIIT, I’ve been running some, so for running, it’s Brooks for me all the way," she said. For breakfast, Garner typically has a or whole fat yogurt, nuts and berries, as she told Snacks often consist of an apple and peanut butter. For lunch, she likes to have a salad with arugula, fresh veggies (often from her own garden), cheese and nuts.
Garner described her typical dinner as "mom food," like roast chicken, potatoes or rice and a salad. Chrissy Callahan covers a range of topics for TODAY.com, including fashion, beauty, pop culture and food.
In her free time, she enjoys traveling, watching bad reality TV and consuming copious amounts of cookie dough..
