Jennifer Garner Shares Her Workout

The Workout (and Trainer) Jennifer Garner Swears By

Jennifer Garner is looking fit, fabulous and — quite frankly — in kick ass shape, and we want to know her secret! The busy mom of three has always known how to pack a punch when it comes to her fitness, and at 46-years-old she looks just as good as she did in her Elektra and Alias days.

That’s thanks to her workouts with Simone De La Rue, fitness expert and founder of the popular dance class Body By Simone. Here’s what De La Rue shared about her strategy to help Garner stay committed to her fitness routine.

De La Rue’s Workout Routine for Garner

So what does it take to look as good as Garner does? For starters, there’s no substitute for dedication, consistency and hard work. De La Rue tells LIVESTRONG: “When working towards a goal, I recommend working out five-six times a week for one hour. When you are just maintaining, then three-five times per week.”

And you can bet that Garner — along with De La Rue’s other celebrity clients like Reese Witherspoon and Rosie Huntington-Whitely — never get bored with De La Rue’s workouts.”With my method, all the classes are different,” De La Rue says. “Where some other classes are set, we constantly change it up, which keeps you physically and mentally stimulated. It is a solid mix of cardio and strength training.”

Garner regularly updates her social media with videos of her sessions with De La Rue, and she’s right that no two workouts look the same. There are planks, resistance band training, bouncing on mini trampolines, jumping rope and even some silly dancing thrown in.

But it’s not just the vibe of the upbeat cardio, dance and strength workout that keeps Garner coming back for more — it’s the fact it makes her genuinely happy, too. “If you can find a workout that makes you smile, do it,” Garner captioned an Instgram video of her working out with De La Rue.

And part of the fun is a picking a style of cardio that unleash your inner child. “We do the cardio through dance, trampoline or jump rope,” De La Rue says. “Basically 45 minutes of dance cardio with toning tracks using low weight, high rep to create long, lean, sexy dancer muscle. Clients leave my classes feeling invigorated and joyous. Working out can be fun, and then you realize at the end of the class you’ve burned up to 600 calories and that’s just an added bonus.”

Garner is a fan not only of De La Rue’s dance classes and her personal training but of her on-the-go wellness app BBS too. “I am in the cult of Body by Simone,” she told Good Morning America. “I do it religiously: her classes, her app, she, herself (personal sessions), that’s what I do.”

If you’re thinking there’s no way you could jump into a Body By Simone fitness regime and get a body like Garner’s, think again. “There’s an encouraging atmosphere and general sense of fun at my classes,” says De La Rue. “We’re creating a loving environment, so people don’t feel intimidated. People feel comfortable and safe, and that’s really important in fitness. I am selling a feeling and a community and a kick ass workout that really changes your body.”

How De La Rue Approaches Diet and Nutrition

Of course, it’s not just about the workouts. De La Rue is quick to point out that it’s 20 percent exercise, 80 percent diet, saying you won’t see results if you slog away at the gym but your diet doesn’t reflect that.

Although she doesn’t believe in diets, per se, she tells LIVESTRONG how she tries to get her clients — including Garner — to eat. “I encourage my clients to try and eliminate dairy, gluten, sugar, starch and alcohol for a while to give their body a rest and cleanse and detoxify their system. Then I use Paleo guidelines as a way of eating, increasing protein intake to help build muscle and also assist with weight loss.”

The Paleo diet is one made up of only proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s been dubbed the ‘caveman diet,’ as it’s supposed to mimic the diets our our ancestors. It doesn’t limit the amount of food you can eat, but it does forbid foods that aren’t in the categories.

So what does a typical day’s diet look like for De La Rue? “I love eggs for breakfast with avocado and salmon,” she tells LIVESTRONG. “A protein smoothie for mid-morning snack. Chicken breast and salad for lunch, rice cakes with peanut butter for afternoon snack and roasted root vegetables and turkey for dinner.”

But even a celebrity trainer has her vices, and she admits she’ll top off her healthy day’s food with… wait for it: “A piece of chocolate for dessert, because I’m obsessed with chocolate.”

Same, girl, same!