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It's been over 20 years since Lucy Liu crushed those epic fight scenes in "Charlie's Angels," but the actor is still at the top of her game. In some ways, she even feels like she's more physically fit these days. “I have a better understanding of my body and what I could do,” the 55-year-old previously told .

“I think at the time, I was just like, a giant puppy with giant paws just trying to figure it out. But I think now I have more control of my body and understanding that it’s connected to my mind and before I just thought, ‘OK, physically I have to do this,’ but I wasn’t connecting it to the mental strength — the emotional strength and the physical strength.” Liu is quite fascinated by the link between the mind and body and told she believes mental, spiritual and body health are "directly connected.



" “I think if you can find the ability to connect your body with your mind, it’s the best way to understand yourself and how you can continue to keep yourself healthy,” she said. Over the years, Liu has learned many valuable lessons about staying mentally and physically fit. Curious to find out the secrets to her success? Here's a quick cheat sheet.

Sometimes, the simplest workouts are the most effective ones. Take spinning, for instance. Liu is a SoulCycle devotee and told it "energizes" her in the morning.

“With all of the lines that I have to memorize, it sort of activates my brain. Obviously, it’s not easy to get up, but it’s fun to be in a group of people. We all kind of suffer together,” she said.

Along with spinning and running, Liu also incorporates Pilates into her fitness routine. “Pilates is great for posture. When you first do Pilates, you don’t feel anything and don’t know that anything is happening.

As you continue, it really strengthens from the inside out,” she previously told the . “I like using a reformer (a Pilates exercise machine) more than doing mat work. The counterweight keeps me engaged.

” Per Liu’s trainer, Jared Kaplan, the actor once avoided lifting weights because she was nervous to get “too big.” But the fitness guru told that he encouraged his client to prioritize resistance training while prepping for her role in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” Liu’s weekly workout consisted of one day of Pilates and four days of strength training with a focus on her shoulders and postural muscles.

“Feeling strong and empowered is honestly just more interesting (than aesthetics),” Kaplan said while describing his approach to training. After trying life as a vegan for almost a year, Liu settled on being a vegetarian for one main reason. “I make a lot of things for my son that have cheese and eggs in them, so I eat with him because he loves sharing food,” she previously told , adding that she feels more energetic and less bloated while eating a plant-based diet.

While chatting with in 2016, the star also revealed that she's passionate about eating organic food. "I’ll even pass on something if I don’t think it’s organic. I’m doing that more now because I have a 1-year old son and it’s important for me to feed him things that are fresh.

For him, who’s growing and developing, it’s going to make a big difference. For me, when I don’t eat organic, I just feel tired," she said. Liu told she prefers a mix of Eastern treatments and Western medicine to keep her health in check.

For instance, she often consults with a doctor to do muscle response testing. Per the , manual muscle testing is a “non-invasive assessment tool” that can “evaluate neuromusculoskeletal integrity, and muscular strength." Banning entire food groups can feel so restrictive.

Instead of taking such an extreme approach to her diet, Liu prefers to let herself indulge once in a while. “Give yourself treats occasionally, depending on how much you have exercised. If you cut things out of your diet altogether, you will want those foods more and end up bingeing,” she told the Per , Liu previously told Fitness Magazine she often eats a protein with steamed veggies or salad for dinner.

She also likes to eat healthier versions of her favorite foods. "I also eat veggie pizza or pasta, because when you’re standing all day, it’s a workout, and sometimes you need to carbo-load,” she said. Liu has embraced physically challenging roles throughout her career, and she's not afraid to put in the hard work while training for a film.

During with her “Charlie’s Angels” co-star Drew Barrymore, Liu reflected on the intense physical preparation they underwent for the popular movie. "I remember eight hours a day, training five days a week," she said. While promoting "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," Liu and her co-stars spoke with about their stunts in the film and revealed which star is most likely to nail a stunt on the first try.

Liu pointed to herself and her co-star Zachary Levi said, "Lucy’s pretty darn on top of it." "I’ll take the stunts. I’ll hold the stunts," Liu said.

Liu didn't develop her body confidence overnight, but these days, she's pretty comfortable in her skin. While posing for a the star said her motivation was to show women that "you don’t have to be 20 to wear a bathing suit." “With all the flaws and all the life that a body experiences, it’s still something that you should carry with confidence," she said.

Friends have a wonderful way of cheering you on as you embark on your fitness journey. Liu once told Fitness Magazine that she was part of an inspiring health-focused email chain with her pals. "We’d email saying, ‘I ran today.

’ Or ‘I ate this,’ and we’d share recipes. Then we’d celebrate by going to a show or taking a group Pilates class when each of us reached our goals. We also celebrated mini milestones along the way to keep our motivation up,” she said, per .

Liu drinks plenty of water to stay hydrated, but she also turns to sports drinks from R.W. Knudsen to keep her going after a workout.

“The Recharge has no added sugar because it’s made from grape juice, so it’s like a natural Gatorade. If you feel it’s too sweet, you can actually dilute it with water. I work out a lot, doing hot yoga or spinning, and sometimes water doesn’t cut it, so I need more of a boost.

I like the lemon the most — the others aren’t as refreshing,” she told . 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..

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