Jennifer Aniston explains why she had to 'retrain' her brain to shift her attitude towards working out

We have appreciated Jennifer Aniston many times for her memorable performances in movies and sitcoms over the years. Meanwhile, we have also been in awe of how she has aged like fine wine, seemingly remaining frozen in time or having gotten her hands on some source of eternal youth. But the secret is a lot more accessible—and real—than a magical fountain of youth. Speaking to PEOPLE, Aniston revealed that she had to evolve and change the way she thought about fitness and working out. 

She shared that over the years, her thoughts on the matter have evolved and “come down to simplicity.” The 54-year-old said: "It's just calories in, calories out, nutrition, what are you feeding your body? Don't eat crap. You've got to get the right amount of sleep. You've got to drink tons and tons and tons of water. You also have to give yourself the 20% of fun and gluttony and have a good time and indulge. For me, I couldn't do that saintly, never go off the rails or deviate from the plan of perfect wellness because I like to enjoy myself."

Aniston admitted that there are days when she doesn't feel like exercising. On such days, she said, "I don’t... 100%. But I like to take care of myself because watching our parents’ or different generations’ bodies just break and fail them because they didn't feed and strengthen them."

"How many times have you heard about older people falling and breaking a hip? Because they have no balance, they have no core, their muscle mass is zilch. And that decreases as we get older. So you have to keep it up. But by also doing something that you’re not dreading or intimidated by," she added.

The star is all praise for Pvolve, an exercise regimen involving functional movement and resistance-based equipment to strengthen the body through streaming and in-person classes. She was introduced to the program in 2021 after suffering a back injury.

"I like to find something that really works and then share it with my girlfriends," Aniston said. "If I had known about it 20 years ago when I was breaking my body, to begin with, we would've saved so much pain."

Pvolve changed her perspective on working out and how she could work out without having complete burnout. She was so pleased with the results that she contacted Pvolve founder Rachel Katzman and now offers guidance to the company, advising them on marketing, product and programming strategy. "I just want more people to know about it because I think it's so good," the actress said. "Especially as we get into our lovely older periods, we have to keep it exciting. And we have to be kinder to our bodies."

Aniston is aware of the several workout regimens at Pvolve. "Our minds used to think, we have to hurt; no pain, no gain. It has to be an hour of a workout. You have to work out three times a day. With this, you can start gentle," she explained. "My girlfriend transformed her entire body, and it just had such a beautiful snowball effect in so many positive areas of her life."

Her friend inspired her to join the regimen. "It was so user-friendly, you just start in little tiny chunks, tiny steps," Aniston explained. "And then next thing you know, you've done four 20-minute classes because you just want to keep going."

It didn't take long for her to decide she wanted to partner with Pvolve. "Because I didn't know about it and I didn't understand why no one knew," she said. "So I reached out to them, and sweet Rachel, who didn't believe that it was my team, like, 'Right, this is a joke.' And the rest is history. I said, ‘I'm a fan, I'm a member and I just want more people to know about it.'"

Aniston also does hiking and Pilates. "But I have hung up the 45 minutes of cardio, the aggressive CrossFits. That didn't, for me, work," she added. "And I think for longevity and something that is sustainable and you don't burn out, this just has worked for me."