When it comes to Jennifer Lopez’s fitness routine, no two workouts are the same.
“I’m always evolving and looking for things that keep me excited and motivated,” she told Us Weekly in 2023. “I’m not afraid to challenge myself.”
Versatile workouts can fend off boredom, and they've got the added benefit of helping you avoid fitness plateaus.
“It’s all about changing it up and keeping your body guessing,” the singer previously told People.
Lopez doesn't mess around when she hits the gym, and all that hard work has won her the admiration of fans and personal trainer, David Kirsch, who describes his client's workouts as "fast paced" and "very intense."
“She’s very focused and high energy,” he told Vogue in 2021.
At 54 years old, it's easy to see why her fans often wonder how she seems to be aging backward. Lucky for us, she's shared a few of her secrets over the years.
Inspired by her toned physique and zest for life? Here are a few of her best tips and tricks.
She dances for fun and for her health
The “Booty” singer knows how to bust a move on stage and off, and all that shaking burns a ton of calories.
“I’ve been dancing a lot over the past two months as I’m gearing up for my album to come out, so that’s taken over as my main fitness routine,” she told PopSugar in 2023.
While talking with People in 2016, the star explained how she gets the most out of her dance workouts.
“It’s no secret that I love dancing, so it doesn’t even feel like exercise to me. I freestyle dance with Tracy Anderson five times a week. We’ll incorporate light weights (3 pounds) for the arms and moves that focus on the butt and thighs and engage the core,” she said.
While preparing for her role as a stripper in the 2019 film “Hustlers,” Lopez trained as a pole dancer. She later told Jimmy Kimmel that the workout is pretty intense and said she had "bruises everywhere."
The actor went on to describe how pole dancing is “much more difficult” than the typical type of dancing she does on stage.
“It’s like acrobatic. It’s different muscle groups. And the things that they do with their legs and everything and go upside down... It’s hard,” she said.
She’s trained with Tracy Anderson for years
Tracy Anderson is known for her highly effective workouts and her massive celebrity client list. The personal trainer has been working with Lopez for years and described her client’s workout mentality during an interview with E! News in 2023.
“If somebody could graduate summa cum laude of physical literacy, it’s her,” Anderson said. “She knows her body so well and she knows what she needs for the many, many projects she does.”
Anderson called Lopez “driven” and “such a hard worker,” adding, “I don’t know anyone that has her work ethic.”
Still, Lopez knows when to tone down her workout routine and when to ramp it up.
“She’s also very soft and gentle with herself in a really beautiful way that you wouldn’t expect,” Anderson said. “She knows her engine really well. She doesn’t over-train if she’s got to light up a stage, which is most of the time.”
While speaking with Us Weekly in 2024, Anderson said she and Lopez enjoy doing a 10-move leg program that emphasizes “the glutes and the cinching of the waist.”
“Moving is part of Jennifer’s core values. She does what she needs to do,” she said.
She’s a fan of full-body circuit training routines
Rather than honing in on one area, Lopez prefers to tone her entire body when she's working out.
“Whenever I work with Jennifer, we always work her full body. She likes high-intensity workouts and keeping the variety up,” her trainer David Kirsch told Allure in 2016.
The trainer said his sweat sessions with Lopez are all about "shaping and toning the curves that God blessed her with" and include a mix of moves.
"We do a lot of circuit training and a lot of compound movements, like crossover lunges and single-leg squats. We do a lot of burpees. We also do a little bit of kickboxing,” he explained.
In March 2024, Lopez shared a video of her circuit-style routine, which featured eight exercises to target her arms, legs and core.
TODAY fitness contributor Stephanie Mansour called it a "great full-body workout" and recommended doing 10 reps of each exercise, starting with stretching, then "repeating the circuit for a total of 3 times.”
She focuses on her core
Wondering how Lopez got her incredible abs? Kirsch shared some of his client’s go-to moves with Allure.
“For her abs and core, we do stability-ball pikes,” he said.
In a separate interview with Us Weekly, the trainer offered up some more tips for achieving Lopez’s abs.
“We’re doing a lot of planks, side planks and we do this medicine ball toss while holding a lunge so we’re monopolizing the room,” he said. “If you look at her core now it’s just so tight and her waist is so narrow, so that works the core and works on chiseling the obliques and giving an overall strong, beautiful middle. And she definitely flaunts that — as she should.”
She’s highly motivated and doesn’t like to skip workouts
It's easy to come up with excuses for skipping the gym, but you won't find Lopez doing that very often.
“Very rarely will I skip my workout,” she told Us Weekly in 2015. “Sometimes, I work too late the night before and I’m like, ‘Ugh, I can’t do this.’ But I tell myself, ‘Just do it. It’s only an hour.’ It’s just talking yourself off the ledge of being a lazy bum.”
In 2023, the star told Us Weekly physical activity is a "motivating factor" in her life and said she prefers to work out "first thing in the morning."
She loves working out with a partner
During her relationship with baseball legend Alex Rodriguez, Lopez regularly worked out with her partner.
In 2017, the couple took People behind the scenes of a TruFusion workout, which Rodriguez described as the “best workout I’ve ever had in my entire life.” The athlete went on to explain that the workout combines hot yoga with elements of Barry's Bootcamp.
The couple announced their breakup in 2021, but while they were preparing for their wedding, they embarked on several fitness and nutrition challenges together. In 2019, the duo gave up carbs and sugar for 10 days and encouraged TODAY's Hoda Kotb to follow their lead.
She believes exercise can help everyone be ‘the best version of ourselves’
Lopez called fitness a "very important part of my life” while talking with Us Weekly in 2023.
“I think there’s a positive correlation between exercise and mental health. When you find a good balance through determination and focus, we’re naturally pushing to be the best version of ourselves,” she said.
The star reiterated that message in a separate interview with PopSugar.
“Working out is a choice that I make every day, and I feel that it unlocks the best version of myself,” she said. “I’ve had to perform at a high level for many years, so it’s important to find the right balance to go harder and to get better without compromising things that are important to me.”
She avoids processed foods
Lopez relies on a mix of healthy foods to sustain her active lifestyle.
“I have her eating very clean because she needs really good fuel for all the things that she’s doing,” Anderson told People in 2016. “It’s all organic and it’s all very well thought out, with the balance of very high quality proteins and a lot of nutrient-dense food.”
The trainer also noted that Lopez avoids packaged foods.
“Everything is fresh,” she said. “There’s nothing processed — just (protein powder) in a shake if we do a protein shake one day.”
While sharing her daily diet with People in 2016, Lopez explained that she tends to pack nutritious snacks to munch on while she's out and about.
“Being constantly on the go, I always like to have healthier snack options like fruits or vegetables with me,” she said.
In the same interview, the singer shared a look at her daily diet. At the time, breakfast often consisted of a fruit and yogurt smoothie. Salads were a go-to for lunch and dinner often included grilled chicken breast with vegetables.
She still splurges on her favorite foods — in moderation
Lopez has a very disciplined food regimen, but she lets herself deviate from her diet once in a while.
“I don’t deprive myself,” she told People in 2015. “But I’ve learned the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.”
While talking about her client’s dedication to fitness, Anderson told People Lopez is a “very balanced person” who believes in indulging once in a while.
“That’s one of the reasons why the workout is important, and it’s so consistent — so we don’t do any kind of extreme dieting,” she said.
She loves being physically strong
At the end of her tour in 2018, Lopez took to Instagram to share a photo of herself flexing her muscles alongside a caption about her fitness journey.
"Feeling like superwoman after the show tonight! When I started this run I thought omg 15 shows in 27 days that’s a lot... but I made a promise to myself that instead of letting it wear me down I would be even stronger at the end of it...I will work out and be in the best shape of my life," she wrote.
Lopez acknowledged that she had moments of fatigue and had to get creative about squeezing in her workouts while she was on the road, but said it was all worth it in the end.
"(I) am having so many emotions but mostly just feeling strong, happy and grateful!!!" she wrote.
She prioritizes sleep
When you don’t pencil in time to catch some ZZZ’s, you rarely have the energy to work out to your fullest potential. That’s one of the many reasons Lopez makes sleep a priority.
“Get seven to nine hours of sleep, like carve it out,” she told TODAY’s Willie Geist in 2018. “Now the other hours of the day? I’m going full speed. I’m full speed on the rest. But when I lay down I’m like ‘okay, I need my rest.’ And when I don’t get it, something’s gonna suffer. You know, like it will and I’ve learned that.”
Lopez also opened up about the toll lack of sleep can have on your wellbeing.
”I’ve hit the wall,” she said. “I’ve had the nervous breakdown where I freeze up from doing too much and not getting sleep. So that’s super important to me. I can’t do that now that I have kids. I can’t have the freeze up.”
She lives a very ‘clean’ life
Lopez is human like the rest of us (even if her body is basically out of this world), and she doesn’t always work out as much or eat as well as she’d like to. But she makes it a goal to “live clean,” as she told Geist in 2018.
“I don’t eat perfect. I eat well, I try to eat well. Like when people eat super clean, that’s not me, you know? But I try to regulate myself and live healthy, but also enjoy myself,” she said.
As part of that goal, Lopez said she avoids caffeine and alcohol, instead opting for water as her primary form of hydration.
“Incorporating hydration into my day is a top priority for me as it helps me perform my best. For me, hydration is key to keep me going and have energy to do everything I am asking my body to do,” she told PopSugar in 2023.
