Fitness is about so much more than appearance for Jennie Garth. “As we age, we lose bone density, and for me, I want to keep my muscles strong,” Garth tells TODAY.com.
While her time in the gym with longtime trainer Jason Cohen has clearly paid off physique-wise (her workout videos on Instagram could are a lifetime supply of motivation), Garth, 52, says her mindset regarding exercise has become about her posture, strength and looking after her core. It’s a shift she credits to weightlifting and Cohen, who Garth says is “like a brother to me.”
Lifting wasn’t a part of Garth's regimen until Cohen encouraged her to get into it a few years ago. Now, she’s pushing her body to do things she didn’t know it was capable of. Read on to learn more about Garth’s weekly workout routine, her favorite moves and the gym feats she’s aiming to accomplish next.
Stretching is a must
“I need a good stretch session because, you know, it’s hard — your body’s tired,” Garth says.
After warming up, she and Cohen will start her work out with light weights and build up to her heavier ones. When it comes to working with the heavier weights, Garth says, “I usually do like 12 to 15 reps a set.”
Full-body workouts keep her engaged
Garth hits the gym with Cohen three times a week. Each time, Garth does full-body workouts that challenge her core, upper body and legs. “He doesn’t do one or the other,” Garth explains. “So, I’m full body sore the next day, all day, every day of my life.”
Before adopting this workout regimen, Garth "used to hate working out,” she says. “But now I really do look forward to it because I know how good I feel after I do it. It does provide me with something that I really do need in my life.”
“Movement always allows me to reset my mind while taking care of my body. A good workout always clears my head,” Garth wrote on Instagram.
She knows what she likes and what she doesn’t
“I despise cardio with all of me,” Garth says. So, she stays away from the cardio she hates most.
While she avoids most machines like treadmills and StairMasters, she’s willing to go for walks in her neighborhood. On her days off, she likes taking her dogs on long walks through the hilly streets of Los Angeles.
Cohen finds ways to integrate elements of cardio while Garth lifts. “We just move fast through everything and that keeps your heart rate up while you’re doing it,” Garth explains.
Garth says she’s more inclined to stick to her workout goals if she actually likes the process of achieving them.
Her daughter is her gym buddy
Workouts, Garth says, were supposed to be her “me-time.” Now, “it’s my we-time,” she says about the days when her 21-year-old daughter, Lola, joins her at the gym.
In a video Garth posted to Instagram, she and Lola move in tandem while doing weighted walking lunges, tricep dips, cable rows, hammer curls into overheard presses and planks.
Early morning workouts make all the difference
Garth is all about an early morning workout.
“I used to go in the middle of the day, but that just messed everything up,” Garth says. By 5 p.m., Garth says, she simply doesn’t have the energy to exercise.
“I am getting up at 6 a.m. every day, and I drive for about 30 minutes to the gym.” Her commute recently got longer when Cohen moved his gym to another location.
And when being on set and her upcoming clothing line threaten to get in the way of Garth’s exercise routine, she just moves everything up by two hours. “You just have to schedule yourself (to workout) two hours earlier than whenever your first appointment is,” Garth explains.
This way, “you can get there and get home, get showered really quickly and then be on your way.” By 10 a.m. on most days, Garth will have tackled a workout and a load of work-related tasks on her to-do list.
Getting stronger keeps her motivated
When it comes to her next fitness goal, Garth jokes about shocking everyone and entering a fitness competition. While it's not actually on her agenda (for now), Garth says becoming as strong as she can is her primary goal at the moment. “I just want to improve my posture. I want to have my core strength so I don’t get lumpy,” she says.
“I live to the max, so I don’t want to slow down,” adds Garth. “I always say if you’re slower, you’re not growing. So, I don’t have any plan of slowing down.”
Garth’s given a lot of thought to the changes she expects to see in her body as she ages, and she wants to optimize her lifestyle to supplement those changes. “Being afraid,” keeps her going, she admits. “I’ve seen what naturally will happen if you don’t work out and when you don’t really take great care of yourself,” she says. “I’m not interested in that.”
Smoothies are essential to her diet
“I am a smoothie person,” Garth says. “I love to get it all in a smoothie first thing in the morning, right after I’ve worked out.” Protein, she says, is the star of every smoothie she whips up. “My quest for the day is protein and fiber. So I’m just looking for any way to get vegan protein and lots of fiber into my diet.”
Thankfully, her daughter works at a smoothie store, so Garth's caught up on the latest superfoods that’ll keep her feeling her best.
Garth’s favorite add-ins include: plant-based vegan protein powder, MCT oil, coconut oil, hyaluronic acid and maca root powder. “I’ll try anything,” Garth shares.
Aryelle Siclait
Health Reporter/Editor
