Jennifer Aniston has been lauded for her enviable physique ever since she found fame in Friends, more than 30 years ago. Since then, the actress, 56, has managed to remain strong and healthy by committing to a regular fitness routine.
But even a dedicated exercise fan such as Jennifer will sometimes struggle to motivate herself to work out. In this exclusive interview, Dani Coleman, her personal trainer for more than four and a half years, has revealed how she gets Jennifer up and running when she’s feeling tired.
“I put on a good playlist,” says Los Angeles-based Dani, who is vice-president of training for the functional fitness method Pvolve. “The pups are usually in the room and they help build that morale,” she adds, referring to Jennifer’s three dogs, Clyde, Lord Chesterfield and Sophie.
“I try to move with her to get her going, and we put on a little bit of pop and rock music. One of the things I love about her is that she’s always humorous and real – she’ll be honest if she is feeling like, ‘Oh my goodness, we have to do this?!’ I meet her where she’s at and try to provide the vibes and the good times to keep it moving.”
The two women met when Jennifer was introduced to Pvolve by a friend in 2021. The organisation, which has studios across the US and in Canada, also offers on-demand workouts and live virtual sessions. Its workouts are based around mobility, stability and strength, using resistance-based equipment.
“We found out during the Covid-19 pandemic that she was a secret streamer online, and then she reached out for personal training sessions and I connected with her,” Dani tells HELLO!.
“She was amazing. I think back to that first session and it was instant laughter, instant hard work. I honestly can’t say enough good things about her; she is the gold standard. The most magical thing about her is that, for [nearly] five years, three times a week, she shows up and hits it.
She is the gold standard… For nearly five years, three times a week, she shows up and hits it.
“We typically train through our three signature formats: strength and sculpt, sculpt and burn, and progressive weight training, and we use resistance equipment and dumbbells in every session.”
The routine, of course, changes depending on Jennifer’s busy schedule. “Sometimes, if she’s a little bit lower on energy and her schedule is really demanding, we’ll do a quicker workout or focus a little bit more on recovery and stretching, versus the hard-hitting exercises.”
But one thing is always a given: core exercises, because Jennifer suffered a back injury in 2021. “We do a lot of core work to help protect her spine,” Dani continues. “I know she’s talked about how one reason she loves Pvolve is because she had a back injury but she can do this workout and not [inflame] those old injuries.”
It was a fear of damaging her own body that initially brought Dani, who grew up in New Jersey, into the world of exercise. After training as a ballet dancer and achieving a degree in dance, she decided to move into fitness to prioritise a healthier relationship with her body.
“When I was dancing professionally, I was used to being told what to do and sometimes swallowing pain,” she says. “I would be hiding injuries and didn’t necessarily have the healthiest relationship with my body. I wanted to better understand how to support myself for my art and I really enjoyed how fitness helps people to live a better, stronger life.”
© InstagramJennifer, who first teamed up with the brand in 2023, feels the same. She is the face of a new campaign with Pvolve called Worth it Every Time, which, with the help of the wellness app Headspace, aims to inspire everyone to get out of bed and into a workout space.
Dani says: “The most beautiful thing about this campaign is that it doesn’t just address the physical components of working out. It also ties into that super-relatable mental component and battle that I think a lot of us go through when it comes to working through that hesitation – and then choosing to show up for yourself.”
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