For Eva Longoria, working out is ingrained in her daily routine.
The multifaceted star looks at fitness and moving her body as her “meditation, my ‘me hour,’ my self-care,” she tells TODAY.com.
Longoria, 49, is constantly on the go, from starring in and executive producing her new Apple TV+ dramedy “Land of Women,” to directing, running her multiple companies, including tequila company Casa Del Sol, advocacy work and taking care of her 6-year-old son, Santiago.
Despite her busy schedule, the “Desperate Housewives” star dedicates 30 minutes to an hour — sometimes more — to working out.
And when it comes to her diet, she says she doesn’t live by any “hard or fast rules of restrictions,” though she does gravitate towards healthier foods.
Ahead, Longoria shares a look at how she stays in shape on and off set.
Longoria established her healthy habits long ago
Longoria says that her approach to diet and fitness “really hasn’t” throughout her life.
“I’ve always been an exerciser,” Longoria says. “It gives me energy,” she says. “I don’t really do it for vain reasons, I do it for my mental health.”
Her love for fitness goes way back, she says, “I was an aerobics instructor in college, I was a trainer. My degree is in kinesiology, so it’s just been part of my lifestyle. It’s not something that I do, it’s part of my life.”
As for her diet, she says that when she’s on vacation, “I’m on vacation. (But) when I have to prepare for something, I prepare for something.”
“I don’t think I live by any hard and fast rules of restriction. I think it’s just moderation and just common sense,” she says. “I’m lucky that I gravitate to healthy things. I love fish and vegetables. I love chicken and vegetables. I love beef and vegetables.”
As a Mexican American, she says, she not a big bread person. “I didn’t grow up with bread. I’m Mexican. We grew up with tortillas,” she says. “The Mexican diet, in its origins, is pretty healthy.”
The “Flamin’ Hot” director also shares that she does not have a sweet tooth.
“I don’t like desserts and sweets,” she says. “I don’t like sweet things. Dessert comes and people go, ‘Oh, I have to have dessert.’ I’m like, eh, pass.”
However, Longoria says she is a big wine lover.
She finds that she opts for healthier meals when she's on set
With her wellness routine an every day non-negotiable, Longoria rarely strays from it. She does say, however, that she eats better when she is on a set.
“Yeah, I actually eat better and healthier because you have a caterer that’s really making everything for you,” she says. “When I’m not on a set, you’re left to your own devices. So sometimes people think that's the opposite, ‘Oh, when I’m on a set, I eat so much.’ I think it’s easier because you have somebody there and you go, ‘Can I have a bowl of avocado and Turkey?’”
Her favorite work outs test her strength and her endurance
Strength training and trampoline cardio are Longoria’s go-to workouts.
“Strength training, weights and bounce,” Longoria says of her routine. “I either do strength training or I bounce.”
She says she either does 30 minutes of rebounding, the trampoline workouts, or she lifsts weights for an hour.
Back in 2022, she told Women's Health that she began rebounding in 2020 when stuck at home during the pandemic. She tried The Ness, a New York trampoline studio, which offered classes on-demand, and has done it ever since. (Goldie Hawn is also a fan of the trampoline workouts.)
Longoria also shared with the magazine that she likes using heavy weights and doing squats on a weight rack with at least one 25-pound plate on each end. She uses 50-pound plates on her hips when she does hip thrusts.
And even when she’s traveling and doesn’t have time to do a full session, she told the magazine she’ll go for a walk or stretch. “I need to do something.”
