Jennifer Lawrence: Fitness Q&A

There aren’t a lot of people in the world that don’t know who Jennifer Lawrence is. With an Oscar under her belt as well as a plethora of blockbusters, it’s safe to say that Lawrence is a star. With so many action films to train for, we chatted to her about all things fitness.

On her love of cardio

“There’s a lot of running and jumping over things in the Hunger Games movies and X-Men movies, so a lot of my training is cardio based. It’s based around improving my agility, speed, strength, stamina and technique. It’s nice now because I’ve got used to it and I’ve improved greatly since the first Hunger Games film, that’s for sure.”

On adapting her training

“With The Hunger Games there’s archery, but then there’s climbing indoors and on trees, vault stunts, mat work, skipping – a lot of skipping. Plus we do running, cycling on road or on a stationary bike, dance classes, yoga, box jumps, sprints and medicine ball moves. There are also weights and core moves because I want to look strong and healthy as both Katniss and Mystique. To play Mystique there’s combat training as well and free-running over all kinds of random obstacles. It’s tweaked slightly, but it stays similar – based around improving my agility, speed, strength, stamina and technique.”

On an ever-changing routine

“It’s full body and the good thing with circuit training is you don’t have to spend hours in the gym. Even a 30-minute circuit workout is rough. Honestly, I don’t really have a particular routine. One day might be just solely focused on cardio then the day after might be solely strength training. But then it could be a mix of both, and that’s how it usually is – a mixture. I like that though because it keeps me on my toes. On less-intense days or days I’m not training I like to do yoga as well: planks, sun salutes, reverse warriors, five pointed star, chair poses, and tree poses. I enjoy that.”

On healthy eating

“I don’t really diet to be honest. Diets can go f**k themselves. For sure, I exercise – but dieting isn’t for me. I definitely eat a bit more sensibly when I need to, but that’s about as far as I can go. I love carbs. Thankfully Katniss and Mystique need to look healthy and strong, so I don’t need to look really skinny – I wouldn’t like to do that.

“I eat balanced and well, but I don’t think I could do a seriously restricted diet. I like a balance and do start each day with warm water with lemon though. Plus I drink lots of water and peppermint and dandelion tea. I eat sensibly and I try to eat balanced and workout regularly.”

On how fitness helps her roles

“It’s worth doing the extra months of training, that’s for sure. Those countless hours to make it look right and believable. It’s very grueling and it’s important because it’s a part of the role and character. It does feel good when things become second nature as well, that feels awesome. And with training, you certainly do see how you slowly but surely improve when you put in work consistently. I think that’s an important lesson for everything we do in life.”

Find celebrity interviews and more in TRAIN for HER magazine.