Julia Roberts’ Fitness Secrets

Celebrity trainer Kathy Kaehler, who has worked with the actress for over a decade, reveals her current exercise routine

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In bringing Elizabeth Gilbert—the celebrated author who recounted her tale of self-discovery in Eat Pray Love—to the silver screen, Julia Roberts put on nearly 10 pounds while filming the Italy portion of the movie: Depressed after her divorce, Gilbert wrote that she arrived in Italy "pinched and thin" and proceeded to indulge herself in the country's delectable cuisine. Normally, however, Roberts works hard to maintain a svelte figure so she can run and play with her children, five-and-a-half-year-old twins Phinneaus and Hazel, and Henry, three.

"You make these people and you love them and you want them around for a thousand years, and you want to be there for them for a thousand years," Roberts tells writer Will Blythe in the September issue of ELLE.

To keep up with her brood, the 42-year-old Roberts—who says that aging gracefully "is a combination of genetics and loving support"—does hour-long sessions four times a week with exercise guru Kathy Kaehler.

"Eat Pray Love took her all over the world but when she got back [to California] I helped her get ready for the press tour," says Kaehler. "We currently do 20 to 40 minutes of step aerobics and up to 40 minutes of body work—lunges, crunches, planks, push-ups—after."

Though Roberts is on a step aerobics streak at the moment, Kaehler says she switches up the Oscar winner's routine to keep her interested (Roberts has admitted that she doesn't typically enjoy exercising but likes the strength and sense of accomplishment she gets from it).

Besides step aerobics, for example, Roberts is also known to do aquatic workouts: To prepare for Duplicity last year, the actress swam laps in her Malibu pool and did cross-country skiing, running, and arm movements in the deep end wearing a flotation belt. Kaehler, who led the activity, says swimming and water workouts are excellent for building endurance because the feeling of weightlessness allows for less resistance and a wider range of motion.

For now, Roberts is content with doing step aerobics—and observing her young ones play or watch TV nearby. "Sometimes we'll listen to music or talk as we exercise, but a lot of the time the kids are watching cartoons in the room," says Kaehler, who adds with a laugh, "We adjust to the situation."

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