How Angelina Jolie works out to stay in action hero shape
Angelina Jolie has starred in action-packed films like "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" for over a decade and to stay in action-movie shape, the actress changes up her workouts quite a bit.
Jolie's personal trainer, Gunnar Peterson, told Pop Workouts that Jolie does circuit training, a combination of strength and cardio, for her workouts. She performs two to three sets of 10-15 repetitions of about 10 exercises per workout using light weights.
Jolie trains different muscle groups with each circuit workout.
For example, she may train legs, back, and arms on Monday, and do shoulder, chest, and abdominal exercises on Tuesday.
In terms of cardio, Jolie typically performs high-intensity interval training or spends 15 minutes on two to three different cardio machines.
Her personal trainer says that "he gets more intensity out of his clients when he has them do three different machines for 15 minutes, rather than the same machine for the same 45 minutes." He says it makes a lot of effort feel less exhausting.
Although the length of her workout could be a bit of a time commitment, her training style provides a lot of variety.
When she's preparing for a certain role, Jolie will sometimes change up her fitness routine
Peterson said that while Jolie was preparing for her role as a secret agent in "Salt," he incorporated fight sequences into her workout.
"We got her learning a combination of Muay Thai and Krav Magha very early on. We would then pick the moves she was best at and combine them into a sequence," Peterson told SELF.
Her trainer said she did this workout three or four times per week for about two hours per session.
For her role as Lara Croft, Jolie told NY Rock that she trained for over two months before and during filming to embrace the iconic role and to be able to pull off some of her own stunts.
"I learned all these different skills. They put up a boxing bag and a bunch of power bars in my living room for like eight months," she told NY Rock. "There was also bungee ballet, diving, and weapons training and kickboxing, and everything from yoga to soccer and rowing. And I learned how to sword fight."
But, she doesn't like every workout
She's not a huge fan of yoga, but she told USA Today that she had to do yoga to prepare for her role in "Maleficent." The role required her to be in flight.
"It's not something I do easily because I'm not a still person," she said. "But I was forced to do yoga because (to fly) you have to have your core strength to be able to hold yourself."
