When Jennifer Aniston spilled beans on her fitness evolution: ‘I’m in better shape now than I was in my twenties’

Hollywood has always been somewhat cross and uncomfortable with women ageing, but Jennifer Aniston isn’t paying any heed to that. In fact, she’s one step ahead of Hollywood’s double standards: instead of bothering with a big speech or anything, she just flipped the script in a way that felt radical and pretty straightforward.

Rachel Green, aka Jen Aniston, has always been the poster child for effortless beauty and fitness, right? However, her USP is always leaving a little room for some surprise. That’s what she did in a British Vogue interview back in 2023: she surprised everyone by spilling the tea about her changing body and fitness evolution. Turns out, she feels stronger, healthier, and more centered in her 50s than she ever did in her 20s.

She said it outright: “I’m in better shape than I was in my 20s.” That line hit home for a lot of people. And it wasn’t just about fitness. It was about how her whole idea of health and wellness has changed, something a whole generation is figuring out as they age.

Jennifer Aniston: A fitness icon redefining age and wellness

If you look at Aniston’s career, she’s always been a fitness icon. From her ‘Friends’ era in the ‘90s to her latest projects, she’s inspired tons of people. But her approach now is nothing like the old days of punishing, high-intensity workouts. Back then, she was pounding away at cardio for nearly an hour, convinced that was the only way to get fit.

“It used to be pounding, pounding, pounding. You had to get 45 minutes to an hour of cardio; otherwise, you weren’t getting a workout,” she said in the interview, adding, “Not only do you stress your body, you burn out – who wants to do that at all?”

She admitted that it wasn’t healthy; she’d burn out, sometimes get injured, and honestly, nobody wants that kind of monotony.

However, everything shifted after she hurt her back in 2021. A friend introduced her to Pvolve, a functional fitness method with resistance-based equipment. That injury forced her to rethink not just how she moved, but why she was even doing it. Instead of pushing herself to extremes, she started focusing on low-impact, functional movement. The Pvolve method is all about precise, controlled exercises that hit muscles most people forget about.

This was a game-changer for her. She stopped chasing intensity and started caring more about recovery and feeling good for the long haul. Sometimes her workouts are just 10 or 20 minutes with a P.band.

“I have one in my car,” Aniston shared during the interview, adding, “You can put that on and just move if you have a five minute break.” Gliders are another favorite; “You almost feel like you’re dancing,” she quipped.

Per Aniston, that equipment and those methods levelled up from her aerobics-style dancing days in her twenties, when she might go to a “class for an hour with a tonne of people and injure myself because the teacher’s not paying attention to the students – just watching their own beautiful physique”, she added jokingly.

That was not all. Aniston revealed how she was not interested in compliments that come with a catch. She hated those “you look great for your age” comments. She said that those words drove her nuts. “I don’t even understand what it means,” she said, discussing Hollywood’s backhanded compliments. Jen was firm about not having it at all. Per her, she felt better in her mind, body, and spirit now than she did decades ago. And that certainly was a win for her.

Jennifer Aniston: Where she stands in her 50s

Now, in her late 50s, Jen’s routine is all about working with her body, not against it. She told Vogue that she does strength training, low-impact resistance exercises, yoga, and lots of short, effective sessions. She’s ditched the long, draining workouts and focuses on quality and consistency. That’s pretty much where wellness culture is heading: sustainability over intensity.

She’s also big on daily movement, staying hydrated, sleeping well, and eating whole foods. Nothing fancy, just simple habits that keep her feeling good. At 57, she’s proof that you don’t have to go hard to stay strong — you just have to keep showing up.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”