Jennifer Garner has always been in insanely good shape, but over the past year we can't stop admiring her beautifully sculpted arms in particular. At 46, she looks just as good as she did in her days as Elektra and Sidney Bristow in the TV series “Alias – the Agent”. If you're curious about how the mom-of-three got those incredibly toned upper arms, we've got all the details on her upper body and arm workouts.
Toned upper arms at almost 50 - it's possible!
In her latest film, Jennifer Garner plays a wife and mother who becomes a badass vigilante after her husband and child are murdered by members of a drug cartel. In the film, Jen's character, Rylie North, resorts to vigilantism and disappears for five years to train. Jennifer herself only had three months to get into top shape and look like an action star. And she turned to celebrity trainer Simone de la Rue, founder of Body By Simone, to get her there.
De La Rue said she previously met with the director of “Peppermint” and discussed in detail what she wanted Jennifer to look like. They particularly focused on the arms and upper body and did a lot of exercises for the upper arms. This included triceps exercises with dumbbells and thera bands as well as triceps dips. Garner also did overhead presses with resistance bands to train the biceps, deltoid muscle and chest.
Jennifer trained with De la Rue for one to two hours, six days a week for three months. “Dumbbells,Functional Training, trampoline, dance cardio, exercise bands… it was all there. It was very extensive training,” says Jennifer. But in addition to the sessions, which Jenni describes as "tough," she went boxing, learned Krav Maga techniques and trained with the stunt team.
Back in September, the mother of three posted an Instagram video of the two of them working out together, and it's intense, to say the least. In the short video, Garner performs several seemingly simple but effective steps. To tone her arms, she does a series ofExercises with resistance bandssuch as bicep curls, front and side raises and shoulder presses.
While Garner and De la Rue make it all look very easy, you can bet that their arms hurt a lot after the workout. They also use 6-7 kg dumbbells,a Bosu balland resistance bands to perform abdominal exercises and compound movements. On Instagram, the actress also revealed her recipe for “transforming a mother of three back into an action lady”: “one hour of bodybysimone training, 1.5 hours of stunt team training , 50 cups of coffee and three minutes of cryotherapy.” Cryotherapy is commonly used by athletes. This involves whole-body cold therapy. During the treatment you stand in oneCryosauna for two to three minutesat around -1 to -50 degrees Celsius. It is primarily used for muscle regeneration and to relieve chronic pain and inflammation.
If you want to get toned upper arms like Jennifer Garner, then do this upper body workout from De la Rue, which includes the same exercises Jennifer did.
It's important to include a variety of movements to ensure you're building multiple muscle groups from all angles. This reduces the risk of injury and prevents muscle cramps.
Beginners should do the training once a week as part of a three-day training program. If you're more advanced, do this twice a week as part of a six-day routine. Make sure you train the lower body on the other days.
If you want to get the same results from Garner's hardcore workout program, check out her Instagram - and it might be enough to motivate you to order fitness bands/resistance bands ASAP!
Jennifer Garner's workout plan for toned upper arms
1) Do push-ups on a wall
Do at least 10 repetitions, ideally up to 40
Muscles worked: chest, upper arms, triceps, core
Exercise description:
Stand in front of a wall with your feet hip-width apart and your toes about 12 to 2 feet from the wall. Place your hands flat on the wall, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Bend both arms and tense your whole body firmly - push your upper body forward until your head almost touches the wall. Then push yourself away from the wall until you are standing straight again.
2) Bicep curls with an exercise band
Do at least 20 repetitions, ideally up to 60
Muscles used: biceps, upper arms
Exercise description:
Wrap both ends of the fitness band around your hands and stand in the middle of the band. The arms should be bent at the elbows and the back should be slightly arched. Hold your hands with the palms facing up.
Exhale and bend your forearm upwards to the maximum, keeping your elbows close to your body. Inhale and slowly lower your forearms back to the starting position.
3) Bring the band to your chest
Do: at least 10 reps per side, ideally up to 30
Target area: chest, shoulders
Exercise description:
Attach the band to the wall at chest height. Stand in front of the wall with your back to the band and grab one end of the band with each hand.
Step forward with one leg to create tension. Bring your arms together in front, palms facing inward and elbows slightly bent.
Open your left arm to the side while holding your right arm firmly - don't let it sway! Bring your left arm back and repeat with the other arm.
4) Raise your arms forward
Do at least 10 repetitions, ideally up to 30
Target area: shoulders, back
Exercise description:
Stand in the middle of the band with your arms in front of your thighs. Hold one end of the band in each hand with your palms facing your legs. Keep your arms straight and raise them to shoulder height. Take a short break and slowly lower your arms. This exercise should be carried out in a controlled manner.
5) Pull the band towards you and rotate your upper body
Do at least 10 reps per side, ideally up to 20
Muscles worked: Middle back, obliques
Exercise description:
Attach a band at shoulder height. Take both ends of the band in your right hand and stand in front of the wall. Take a step back with your left leg and pull your right elbow toward you. Hold the position briefly! Then, as you exhale, rotate your shoulders to the right, moving only your torso and keeping your lower body forward. Back to the start. This is a repeat.
6) Dumbbell bent over row
Do at least 10 repetitions, ideally up to 30
Target areas: Middle back, biceps, lat muscles
Exercise description:
Place your legs hip-width apart, bend your knees slightly and bend your upper body forward. Take the dumbbells in your hands, preferably 1 to 2 kg, with your arms stretched out towards the floor, the palms facing your knees. Now lift your elbows up and out so that they form a right angle. Let your arms lower again. This is a repeat.
What diet or nutrition does Simone De la Rue recommend?
Of course, it's not just about the training. De La Rue points out that it's 20 percent exercise and 80 percent diet. You won't see results from hitting the gym, but your diet doesn't reflect this.
Although the celebrity fitness trainer doesn't believe in diets, she tries to teach her clients - including Garner - about healthy eating. “I encourage my clients to eliminate dairy, gluten, sugar, starches and alcohol from their diet, at least for a short time, to give their body a break and start its self-cleaning and self-healing processes. For this reason, I see the Paleo diet as a way to increase protein intake, build muscle and also shed some pounds.”
DiePaleo dietconsists only of proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables. It is also known as the Stone Age diet because it is intended to imitate the diet of our ancestors. No kilocalories are counted. You should simply avoid the forbidden foods.
What does a typical meal look like for De La Rue? “I love eggs for breakfast with avocado and salmon”. Then a protein smoothie as a mid-morning snack. Chicken breast and salad for lunch, rice biscuits with peanut butter for an afternoon snack, and roasted root vegetables and turkey breast for dinner.”
On Instagram, Jennifer Garner also gives her fans an insight into her healthy eating habits. She also recently posted recipes for beet chips and kale chips. She and her three children have their own farm in Los Angeles where they grow their own food. She enjoys involving her children in the farm-to-table process, such as harvesting the honey from her seven hives.
Although her training regimen may seem intense to some, Garner, as a mother of three, shows that it is possible to achieve action star results with consistency, persistence and patience. This is the true recipe for every successful fitness routine.
