I used to do the Jane Fonda Workout as a kid with my mom. We’d put the record on in the living room and prop its sleeve against the piano so we could see diagrams of the leg lifts and arm circles we would execute, in our leotards, with the help of Fonda’s mellifluous, encouraging cues.
So it was a bit surreal this morning when I tried Fonda’s latest fitness class and saw the 86-year-old fitness guru in my own living room, on my Meta Quest VR headset. She was in her iconic striped leotard and pink leg warmers and standing atop Machu Picchu (and looking amazing, by the way), calling out exercise commands, like, “Don’t forget to breathe,” and “Move like it matters—because it does!” over ’80s hits “Physical” and “Gloria.”
It was part of Fonda’s new partnership with the Supernatural workout platform, where she’s serving as celebrity guest coach for three sweat-inducing, immersive workouts set in natural wonderlands, available on Dec. 25.
And the two I tried really delivered—on sweat, fun, and Fonda witticisms.
“Like Gloria, I’ve had many titles in my life: mother, actor, activist, wife,” she said at one point during “Flow with Jane Fonda.” “I was good at some of them, not so good as others. As I’ve grown older, I’m less worried about being perfect. I’m more concerned about being authentic, being old.”
She said that she chose the virtual locations for each of her workouts, starting with Machu Picchu, a “mysterious and spiritual place that I’ve actually hiked to. I hiked five days up the mountainous Inca Trail. It was intense, believe me, but I did it. That’s why we have to keep moving, so we don’t miss out on seeing this beautiful world.”
Fonda gave the trip to herself for her 60th birthday, she shared, “because I knew the older we get, the more important it is to keep moving. If you want to remain independent, if you want to be able to pick up your grandchildren, if you want to be able to carry your own luggage, you have to stay flexible and strong.”
In general, she said, “I believe we’re alienated from nature and we’re alienated from our bodies. By honoring and respecting your body, exercise helps us overcome this feeling of being fragmented.”
And now she’s embracing the technology that’s bringing more fitness opportunities. “All these portals are taking us in a new direction,” she said. “I like taking new directions and seeing everything that’s around me.” A later portion of her ’80s workout is set within a sweeping vista of Milford Sound on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island.
The Gracie & Frankie star also offers some group cardio with “Jane Fonda: Team Workout.” And in “Box with Jane Fonda & Ludacris,” the other workout I sampled, Fonda teams up with the rapper and actor as the duo, outfitted in matching black tracksuits, call out commands in between banter as they stand stop a brightly bubbling lava field.
“Jane is my girl… First time we met, we just hit it off,” said Ludacris. He then shared, “This is a real full-circle moment for me. My mom used to work out to your workout tapes, and I still remember watching her and seeing you. So I’m loving this.”
Fonda, who is still acting and still an activist—most recently fighting for planet earth through her Climate PAC—has also never stopped moving, despite being a cancer survivor who recently had a shoulder replacement surgery. Last year, she told Elle UK that she was still doing her 1982 original workout daily, only slower and with less weight.
“Slow—you’ll find out that’s the operative word,” Fonda reiterated to Julia Louis-Dreyfus earlier this year as a guest on her Wiser Than Me podcast.
But being older and slower has clearly not left Fonda feeling any less chipper or playful, as she stresses the importance of a post-workout stretch and cool-down to slow the heart rate and relax your muscles.
“You know, if you were alive when any of these [’80s] songs first came out,” she quips, “you’re going to need this stretch as much as I do.”
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