October 26, 2024, 1:30 pm | Read time: 6 minutes
Jennie Garth made her mark on the 90s with her role as Kelly Taylor in “Beverly Hills, 90210”: As a teenager of rich parents with flawless looks, she became a real TV character. Some 30 years later, the actress still shines with a flawless appearance – which is partly due to her extremely sporty workouts. FITBOOK fitness editor Janine Riedle summarizes exactly what these look like.
Even though a few years have passed since her most famous role in the series Beverly Hills, 90210, not much has changed for Jennie Garth in terms of her athleticism. Despite the fact that she finds it difficult to train intensely on some days during her menopause. The 52-year-old regularly shares the challenges she faces as a result and how she and her daughter, Lola, organize their workouts on social media. Below, FITBOOK examines Jennie Garth’s workout.
Overview
Menopause makes training difficult for Jennie Garth
The American actress regularly shares videos of herself training on Instagram, giving her fans an insight into her fitness routine. What appears effortless in the actress’s short clips is clearly not the case. “I’ll be completely honest with you. My travel and work schedule, my physical aches and pains, not to mention my menopause, are a daily minefield for me, both physically and mentally,” she describes her challenges in one of the videos.
The hormonal changes, in particular, are giving Jennie Garth a hard time – nevertheless, she tries to get up for her workouts. “I stay motivated by forcing myself to work out. I know I always feel better when I do it,” she explains and notes: “But lately, it feels like my body is fighting me sometimes. I forget that there’s so much going on inside me and so many changes happening that I naturally don’t always feel as good or am able to function the way I’d like to (or expect to).”
The actress relies on full-body workouts
A common thread that runs through Garth’s workout history: Exercises that strengthen the entire body. In consultation with her personal trainer, she incorporates classic exercises such as the chest press, which she transforms into a full-body exercise using weight cuffs and a different starting position.
Chest press with weight cuffs
For this exercise, the actress puts the weight cuffs around her ankles and holds a dumbbell in each hand. She then positions herself backward on a weight bench, just like for the chest press. However, instead of placing her feet firmly on the floor, she raises them so that her upper body and thighs form a 90-degree angle. Her knees are bent. For the starting position, she raises her arms almost straight up.
Now, she begins to perform the classic chest press. This means that as she exhales, she lowers her arms to just before her chest, with her elbows pointing outwards. The torso remains tense. As she inhales, she brings her arms straight up again.
Romanian deadlifts with elevation
Jennie Garth’s workout also has a slightly modified version of the classic Romanian deadlifts. She chooses a triangular elevation, also known as a calf stretch, as the base. This means that the tips of her feet are close to the ground, but the rise means that her heels are further away from the ground. This position automatically tenses the torso for an upright posture. She also wears weight cuffs for this exercise. Once she has positioned herself on the calf stretcher, she picks up a dumbbell and holds it loosely next to her body with her arms stretched out.
Now, she pushes her hips out backward and moves her upper body towards the floor with a straight back. She moves the dumbbells down along her legs. She exhales during this downward movement. She then returns to the starting position as she inhales.
Lunges with arm extension
For this exercise, Garth goes to a barbell bar fixed to the floor on one side and positions herself in front of it in a lunge with the weight cuffs on her ankles. With her right foot in front, she grips the bar with her left hand and raises it to shoulder height.
As she exhales, she lowers her body by bending her knees. At the same time, she stretches her arm and lifts the bar diagonally upwards above her head. As she comes up, she exhales and brings her hand back to shoulder height. She then performs the same movement on the other side, i.e., with her left leg in front and the barbell in her right hand.
Lateral arm lift
To do this, the actress uses a dumbbell and a stable vertical bar to hold on to. First, she stands directly next to the bar, grasps it with her right hand, takes the dumbbell in her left hand, and lowers her body sideways to the left so that her right arm is extended—initially, her left arm with the dumbbell points towards the floor.
As she exhales, she raises her left arm straight up until it is at shoulder height. The torso is tense due to the inclined position. She inhales and lowers the arm again. Then, the exercise will be performed on the other side.
Push-ups with mountain climbers
During Garth’s workout, she also performs normal push-ups with equipment: She wears weight cuffs on her ankles, and she also makes the exercise more difficult by adding a small elevation. The actress gets into a classic plank position, but her palms are on the elevation. As she exhales, she bends her arms and lowers her body towards the floor. As she inhales, she pushes herself up again.
However, the exercise is not finished after a few repetitions: The 52-year-old holds the high plank position and transitions into mountain climbers. This means that she alternately pulls one knee towards her chest. The weight cuffs intensify this exercise.
Squat with weight and balance disk
The American also turns the classic squat, which actually focuses on the thigh muscles, into a full-body exercise. She combines the movement with a kettlebell and a weight plate by holding the weight in front of her chest and positioning herself about shoulder-width apart on a balance board. By trying to keep her balance, she tenses her core. She intensifies this by not only standing on the board but also bending her knees, pushing her buttocks backward, and lowering her upper body – in other words, performing a squat.
"Buffy" star Sarah Michelle Galler (47) keeps fit with this workout
She shows her workouts on social media Singer Lizzo wants to get fitter with this workout
2nd place in the fitness contest The workout that helped Daniela Katzenberger achieve an incredible transformation
Daughter Lola stands by her side
The small selection of exercises from Jennie Garth’s workout shows how intensively the actress trains – despite her menopausal symptoms. One reason that motivates her to keep up the training is her daughter Lola, who often joins her. “It’s so much fun to train with Lola. We push each other, and it’s a great way to start our day together,” says the actress.