Gwyneth Paltrow Shares Her Arm and Core Workout Moves
Gwyneth Paltrow and her trainer Harley Pasternak recently shared some of the Goop founder's go-to workout moves.
Over the holidays newlywed Gwyneth Paltrow stripped down and showed off her age-defying bikini body while vacationing with new husband Brad Falchuk, and all we can say is... WOW. While it's no secret the 46-year-old Academy Award winning actress and Goop founder is a total wellness warrior, there is more to her routine than yoga, juice fasts and funky detox diets. In fact, Paltrow relies on some good old-fashioned exercises to keep her body toned and taut in all the right places — especially her arms and core.
This week on Instagram both Paltrow and her trainer, Harley Pasternak, gave of a glimpse of her workout regiment, and while her exercises may look surprisingly simple, they are pretty darn hardcore. In addition to her exercises, we also rounded up some more of her other wellness wisdom.
Battle Ropes
One of Paltrow's secret workout weapons comes in the form of battle ropes, heavy ropes that can give you a full body workout by torching calories, building lean muscle, and improve both your functional strength and lung capacity. In a photo posted by Pasternak, Paltrow shows off her washboard abs in a black sports bra and matching leggings from her newly launched G. Sport collection, in perfect form to execute the move. With her legs spread apart and slightly bent in a standing squat position she can be seen holding onto one rope in each hand, likely in the midst of doing either alternating or double waves or rope slams.
Side Plank
In another photo posted by Paltrow, modeling another outfit from the luxe athletic wear collection, the actress demonstrates a seriously impressive side plank. This exercise, similar to a basic plank, is great for strengthening your internal and external oblique's and internal core muscles. To execute, support your upper body by resting one forearm on the ground, extending your legs out and stacking them on top of one another. Hold the position for at least 20 seconds on each side of the body.
Tracy Anderson Method
In addition to working out with Pasternak, Paltrow also trains with Tracy Anderson and is a huge fan of her method, a dance-inspired workout that tones and shapes the body. The actress has been going to Anderson's classes for years, and is even a partner in her company.
In the last few years, Paltrow has relaxed her approach to fitness, admitting to The Edit in 2017 that she can't work out for a few hours, six days a week like she used to. "I used to exercise for two hours a day… An hour of cardio and an hour of weights. But there's just no time anymore. I'm getting old, my back hurts! It's depressing," she sighed to The Edit. "Some days, the gym gives me this rush of energy and I feel amazing, but then my body's like, 'F— you.'"
Eating Clean
It's no secret that Paltrow eats super clean, recently telling Shape that she sticks to "good proteins and lots of vegetables and not too much grain or sugar, and nothing baked." She also fuels up in the morning with a smoothie, revealing on the Goop Podcast that her go-to recipe includes almond milk, coconut oil, vanilla mushroom protein powder and Moon Juice Beauty Dust — a powdered blend of goji, rehmannia (a plant-derived herb, popular in Traditional Chinese Medicine), schisandra (a potent 'superberry'), pearl and stevia. Her lunches are typically "light on carbs" and if she is going to indulge, she usually waits until dinner.
Indulging...Sometimes
However, she doesn't adhere to a super strict diet all of the time. In fact, during a recent interview with the Financial Times, Paltrow scarfed down a club sandwich, tomato soup and French fries. "It sort of goes in phases," she told the journalist when asked if she was dieting. "Right now I don't know what I'm going for. I eat whatever I want and then I clean up my act for 10 days. French fries are my favorite food. And I love alcohol. So it's a balance. I'm a real person who wants to eat delicious stuff."
Cleansing
She does do her fair share of cleanses, admitting to Porter that she once did one for seven weeks "and it was awful." Her go-to yearly cleanse, published on Goop, lasts for six days and forbids caffeine, alcohol, dairy, gluten, corn, nightshades, soy, refined sugar, shellfish, white rice and eggs. She is often the guinea pig for cleanses featured on her website, recently touting a Goat's Milk Cleanse that involves just milk from a goat and herbs, which supposedly works to rid the body of parasites.
Drinking Salt Water
Most people swim in salt water, but Paltrow drinks it. "I drink so much water and always have, but I'm always dehydrated," she told Elle. "I've been doing research about mineralizing water and adding Himalayan sea salt to it to help with absorption. It doesn't taste amazing, but it really mineralizes the water and makes a big difference."
While proponents of drinking salt water claim it can help cleanse your stomach, intestines and colon, repairing the damage your diet has caused to your digestive tract cells, there is no scientific evidence to back them up. Furthermore, negative side effects can include diarrhea and subsequent dehydration. That being said, before you follow in Paltrow's footsteps, you should consult your physician first.
Supplements
Paltrow is all about taking supplements to get the goodness your body needs. "I've always experimented with supplements. And I believe the combination of toxic load, the modern environment, and nutritional deficiency makes our bodies more vulnerable to breaking down," she told Women's Health.
"The idea is to boost a (most of the time) nutrient-dense diet with high-quality supplements. We're low in so many nutrients. Even if we're careful about going organic and nontoxic, because we've degraded our soil, the nutritional value of the food we do eat, however healthy, is less than it was 100 years ago." The lifestyle guru has even formulated her own line of vitamins, neatly packaged in daily doses.
While maintaining a lifestyle like Gwyneth Paltrow is totally doable, you are going to need a whole lot of discipline as well as a devout dedication to wellness to succeed!