The Secret to Jennifer Aniston’s Killer Bod – and It’s Not Yoga (or Pilates)

Jennifer Aniston does cardio?!

For decades, Jennifer Aniston’s been giving us fitness inspiration (long before #fitspo was a hashtag).

She is one of the most influential women in the world when it comes to getting in shape. Just by praising its benefits, the 48-year-old has helped turn cult workouts (think yoga and Pilates) into massive worldwide trends. She’s taken unknown trainers and made them household names, including Mandy Ingber.

Considering she has a black book of experts on speed dial, we were surprised to learn that one of Jen’s favourite workouts involves an exercise machine you’d find at your local YMCA: The elliptical.

Is the elliptical having a comeback?

The elliptical – the most basic of gym equipment – is often overlooked in favour of more intense (and more glamorous) machines, like the stair master, the treadmill or the beloved spin bike. But according to Aniston, it can really give you the results you seek (while also winning major points with your doc for being easy on the joints).

The star swears by intervals and says that by the end of her elliptical session she’s drenched with sweat.

“I do 45 minutes of intervals on my elliptical,” she explains. “I raise the incline, run for two minutes, walk for one, run for two…and I do it for 20 minutes straight until I’m just drenched.”

The mind-body connection

Of course, Jen’s workout doesn’t begin and end with the elliptical. She supplements these sessions with classes at The Class by Taryn Toomey, a “yoga bootcamp,” and sessions with her trainer where she’s “throwing heavy boulders around and pushing medicine balls and wiggling and shaking that big rope thing.”

Despite all her hard work, Jen’s fitness message has always been mental, much more than physical. She’s been very vocal about the emotional health benefits of exercise, saying, “I feel really beautiful when I finish a great workout. Because I’ve taken care of my body, my endorphins are going, my blood is pumping. I’m taking care of the one body I have.”

She’s not the only one who feels that way either. Experts have long praised the mental and emotional benefits of exercise, saying it improves sleep quality and mental performance, increases creativity and fights anxiety and depression.

Jen’s killer body and improved mental health? Meet us at the elliptical.

More fitness news you can use!

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