Taraji P. Henson turns 50 on Friday— here's how she's staying so fit

Taraji P. Henson is known for playing strong, fearless characters who don't take no for an answer (think: Cookie Lyons in Empire or Katherine Johnson in Hidden Figures). So it only makes sense that her gym persona isn't too far off from that. And according to her longtime trainer Mike T, that's part of what makes Henson such an incredible client.

“Honestly, Henson is very disciplined in the gym,” he once told InStyle. “She’s the type of person that if you tell her she can’t do something, she’s definitely going to want to do it even harder. Her focus is second to none." He also noted that the actress regularly trains seven days a week when she's not working, and she usually does one-to-two hours of weight training and cardio.

But quarantining has set her back on her fitness goals, Henson said in an Instagram video. To get back on track, she announced that she and a friend would be doing a 30-day fitness challenge together with T ahead of her 50th birthday on 11 September. And, since then, the actress has been undertaking the toughest of workouts.

Both Henson and Mike have been posting their hardcore training sessions on Instagram where Henson can be spotted crushing it on the battle ropes, during intense cardio, on the cable machines, and even during bodyweight exercises. Keep reading to see exactly what she does to amp up her fitness.