Over the past few years, Brooke Shields has rethought everything from her haircare to her Hollywood childhood, and now she’s revealed that the same philosophy applies to fitness.
“My approach to exercise has completely changed,” Brooke tells Women’s Health in an exclusive interview in partnership with GSK for their Thrive@50+ campaign. “I only do things that make me want to do it again the next day. I don’t do anything else that makes me hate exercising. I just can’t exercise anymore. Before, feeling miserable was a badge of honour.”
Brooke, now 59, has used dance as her primary form of fitness for more than 30 years. But after giving up dance a few years ago, Brooke wanted to find a new type of exercise. Then, while training, she fell off a balance board and broke her femur. She needed six surgeries on her leg to repair the injury.
She says years of rehab “completely transformed the way I thought about training.” Here’s what you need to know about Brooke Shields’ workout routine.
She participates in Pilates and other group fitness classes.
Before her leg injury, Brooke worked out with a trainer, but then she realised she “didn’t like the spotlight” and would rather be “part of a group”.
“I don’t want to cheat in class, but I don’t like being scrutinized,” she said. “I know my teachers say they’re trying to help me, but I’m like, ‘I don’t want that attention!'”
But Brooke adds that she’s picky about the classes she takes, and can’t do “80 percent” of the intense classes her sister does. “My knees are stuck,” she says. “It’s really taken a toll on my body, so now I’m looking forward to how I feel not only after class but during class as well.”
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Brooke attends low-impact fitness classes four to five times a week, combining Pilates with “anything that’s strength-building and stretching.”
“I think I can get somewhere in 50 minutes and feel good the whole time,” she says.
Eventually, he also plans to incorporate strength training into his routine, hoping it will help improve bone density, something he’s “painfully aware of” as he gets older. (Experts say strength training “makes bones stronger and denser,” and weight-bearing exercise like running and walking also help.)
She keeps herself healthy by eating a balanced diet.
Brooke has also changed her diet over the past few years and says she is now listening to her body more.
“I’m really starting to realize that if I want something, I probably need something for it,” she says. “That’s what I did when I was pregnant. I would just give in to the cravings because they were usually just things I wanted — eggs, protein, pasta — but now I’m better at it.”
Brooke likes to eat “small, balanced meals” throughout the day to keep her feeling full.
She says “yes” to the things that give her energy.
From diet to fitness, Brooke is big on making herself a priority, and that applies to all areas of her life.
“I’m saying yes to the things that bring me joy instead of doing everything for the next thing,” she says. “It’s like, ‘Do you want to go see the ballet?’ Maybe I want to go, but I’m not going for the wrong reasons anymore.”
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She strives to get eight hours of sleep every night, and has also cut down on her alcohol consumption. “I didn’t drink much as a kid, but then I started to make up for it in my 30s and 40s,” she says. “I realized what a toll it takes on your body.”
She says part of that work is supporting GSK’s THRIVE@50+ campaign, which encourages everyone over 50 to ask their doctor or pharmacist about their risk of shingles and to get the company’s vaccine, Shingrix. She has seen the impact of this “isolating” disease first-hand: two of her close friends have contracted the disease, one of whom experienced extreme “pain”.
Overall, Brooke encourages women to take responsibility for their own health, no matter what obstacles they may face.
“Own the information you receive about your health,” she says. “Once we start to accept this as normal, I think it’ll be easier for women to be assertive. You’re not being difficult. Self-advocacy should be empowering, not something to be feared.”
Charlotte Walsh (she/her) is an Associate News Editor at Women’s Health, covering the intersection of health and entertainment. She previously worked as a writer for The Messenger, E! News, and Netflix. In her spare time, she enjoys reality TV, tennis, and movies starring Nicole Kidman.
