The actress, who recently starred in Amazon Prime's The Better Sister, revealed she'd been inundated with positive feedback about the show and about her physique in one particular scene, where she wears a white open-back dress.
Taking to Instagram recently, the star said such a look was "not maintainable unless you are living the strictest, most rigid lifestyle with your nutrition and your fitness". This is something she said she "cannot do" all of the time.
"My body's not 20 years old any more, you know, so I'm adjusting my workout to what I need to do," she says. "You've got to build muscle, so that's a key part of my particular routine and a ton of flexibility."
In the video, the star demonstrates some of the exercises she does in her strength training routine to get in shape, as developed by her "amazing, amazing Pilates-slash-fitness friend, guru and instructor Ashley Brown".
"Let's get older and stronger together," she tells her 13.9 million followers.
Jessica Biel's workout
1. Barbell hip thrust
- 10 repetitions, 4 sets. 2 x 10kg dumbbells.
Jessica didn’t have a barbell to hand when filming the video, she says, so she uses two 10kg dumbbells instead. You can use either to do this exercise.
"I pop them on my thighs and then I drop it down," she says.
The hip thrust is one of the better glute exercises you can do. It targets the largest muscle in the glutes, the gluteus maximus.
2. Romanian deadlift (RDL)
- 10 repetitions, 4 sets
For this one, the star uses dumbbells, two weights weighing 10kg each.
Much like the hip thrust, the RDL works the glute muscles, but it also uses the hamstrings and lower back, improving strength across most of the key muscles in the lower body.
3. Hamstring curls with a gym ball
- 10 to 12 reps, 3 sets
Jessica proves that a trusty gym ball is a fitness accessory that never goes out of style. She uses the ball to work her hamstrings, which are muscles on the back of the legs.
Lying down on the floor, she places her two heels on top of the ball. Core engaged, she rolls her feet away from her body, slowly and in control.
"I do three counts slowly, then spring back up," she says.
4. Goblet step-through lunges
- 6 to 8 reps, 3 sets
Jessica calls this a 'goblet' exercise as she holds a kettlebell with two hands up by her chin, as you would in a goblet squat.
This is one of the better quadricep exercises you can do, but it also challenges your balance as you work with the weight to stay upright.
5. Cable glute kickback
- 10 to 12 repetitions, 2 sets
The star uses two resistance bands for this exercise as she doesn't have a cable machine when filming. For the second set, she progresses to the heavier band for more resistance.
"I don't have a cable. I'm on the road, making up the best I can do," she says.
6. Kettlebell deadbugs
- 12 repetitions, 2 sets
Deadbugs are a great core exercise on their own - adding weight makes them harder. You can also do this one with dumbbells if you find it easier to have a weight in each hand.
Benefits of Jessica Biel's workout
- Realistic: Celebrity workouts aren't very often doable in the real world - that being at a standard gym or home set-up outside of other responsibilities in life - but this one is. It doesn't use specialist equipment, and you don't need a personal trainer on hand to do it. Jennifer Aniston's 15-15-15 workout or Helen Mirren's 12-minute workout are similar in this way.
- Versatile: As Jessica says herself, she does this workout with a variety of equipment depending on what she has on hand. In this session, she swaps her barbell for dumbbells to do the hip thrust and cables for resistance bands in the kickbacks.
- Adaptable: It would be easy to level up this workout as you get stronger in a process known as progressive overload (making an exercise harder to continue to challenge the body). You could do this by adding repetitions to the workout, more sets, or increasing the weight.
- Beginner-friendly: As the workout is versatile and adaptable to suit whatever gym setup you have, and you can start with lower weights, progressing as you get stronger, it's suitable for those who are just getting started with strength training.
A note on Jessica Biel's workout
This simple workout is an excellent way to build lower-body strength, improve balance and stability, and increase your heart rate. However, it was a workout developed specifically for this Hollywood star by a certified personal trainer to align with her goals and lifestyle.
Another of Jessica's trainers, Ben Bruno, emphasised how hard she worked in preparation for the role and that it's not sustainable. In an Instagram post in May, he wrote: "Some of our friends have texted me that Jess looks great in the show, and that’s not by accident so it reminded me that I never shared these clips. Jess works her ass off consistently so stuff like this is kinda the norm for her, but it’s anything but normal. She’s a total badass in the gym, and she makes all the hard exercises look easy.”
If you do want to start strength training or change your routine, speak to a certified personal trainer, who will be able to design a program for you.
