Jane Fonda, 86, shares exactly what her current workout routine looks like
No, you don’t need to adjust your dial—that is indeed Oscar-winning actress and exercise video icon Jane Fonda back in leg warmers and a leotard.
'It was surreal,' Fonda tells WH US of slipping into Spandex for her latest project—a four-part series of workouts for Supernatural, Meta Quest’s virtual reality (VR) fitness platform.
Fonda, who starred in nearly two dozen VHS workout tapes throughout the 80s and 90s, collaborated with Supernatural’s Head of Fitness, Leanne Pedante, to choreograph four new routines for the platform—featuring cardio, boxing, and stretching workouts—that hearken back to her retro videos, but with plenty of updates for today’s movers.
Fonda even enlisted the help of friend Ludacris (and his hit songs) for one session. 'The first time I met him was on an airplane flying from Atlanta to New York,' Fonda recalls. 'I was excited he was flying commercial, and not on a private jet, so I introduced myself, and we've been friends ever since.' (For his part, Ludacris called the workout a 'full-circle moment,' as his mum used to exercise with Jane Fonda tapes when he was a kid.)
While it’s been decades since Fonda donned a headband and stepped into a studio to record a workout, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been breaking a sweat all these years. In fact, exercising is a key part of her daily routine, but while it used to be all about looking a certain way, Fonda says it’s now all about feeling a certain way.
'When you're younger, working out is a choice,' she says. 'When you're older, working out is an absolute necessity. It makes all the difference in the world whether you'll be able to get in and out of a car, carry your own luggage, play with your grandkids, have a life. If you don't keep moving when you're over 50, you're going to lose your life.'
Another thing that’s changed as Fonda’s gotten older (she turns 87 on December 21!): the intensity of her workouts. 'The mantra becomes slower. It's kind of like sex—slower,' she says with a laugh. 'It still gets the job done.'
To that end, Fonda exercises daily with trainer Malin Svensson, who specialises in clients over the age of 50. They focus on strength training with weights, alternating days of upper body and lower body work. Squats are one of Fonda’s “go-tos.” She says, 'keeping your quads and your hips strong is really, really important.' Fonda also aims to get in a daily cardio session, whether it’s walking outdoors or exercising indoors on a treadmill or bike.
For the Grace and Frankie star, working out is less about having a long life and more about having one worth living. 'I don't credit exercise with longevity—I credit exercise with having a good life,' Fonda says. 'You can live long and be unable to move very well or remain independent. My independence and my ability to still have a good time, which is different from longevity, comes from exercising.' All these years later, Fonda still knows what to say to move and inspire us.
Jane Fonda’s four-part Supernatural series—”Flow with Jane Fonda,” “Box with Jane Fonda & Ludacris”, “Jane Fonda: Stretching,” and “Jane Fonda: Team Workout”—will be available on Meta Quest on December 25.
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