What Is Jennifer Aniston’s 15-15-15 Workout?

We all know how important aerobic fitness is: breaking a sweat is crucial for good heart health, and may even help us live longer. But nonetheless, many people dread the often repetitive feel of cardiovascular exercise. Perhaps that’s why Jennifer Aniston’s 15-15-15 workout has garnered such attention: the trending method involves flitting between three types of exercise for an approachable yet challenging workout. Here C&TH’s resident personal trainer Ellie Smith shares some of the benefits.

Jennifer Aniston’s 15-15-15 Workout, Explained

A big draw of Jennifer Aniston’s 15-15-15 workout is its simplicity. The method involves a straightforward 15 minutes on a bike, followed by 15 minutes on a cross trainer, then 15 minutes on a treadmill. Aniston first spoke about her go-to workout during an interview with InStyle. ‘I had an injury last fall and I was only able to do Pilates, which I absolutely love,’ she said. ‘But I was missing that kind of sweat when you just go for it.’ So, once she’d recovered, she was happy to be ‘going back to my 15-15-15, which is a 15-minute spin, elliptical, run,’ adding, ‘It’s just old school: I can chase myself around a gym.’

Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix

What Are The Benefits?

This workout would suit people who find long stints of cardio monotonous. A 45-minute session on one machine can feel, let’s be honest, pretty boring, but Aniston’s method of switching between three keeps things (relatively) interesting. What’s more, research from New York University shows workouts seem less intense after 10 minutes, so if you can power through the initial bike session, you’ll fly through to the end.

Any type of cardio offers numerous benefits for the body and mind. It helps strengthen your heart: regular aerobic exercise can lead to a decrease in your resting blood pressure and heart rate, as well as improving good cholesterol levels. Cardio also builds up your lung capacity, which is beneficial for endurance in everyday life and other types of exercise – and according to research, it can help improve symptoms of asthma.

Regular aerobic exercise can also contribute to longevity, with a 2021 study finding that training in middle age can ‘reverse some of the consequences of diseases such as hypertension, and can potentially stave off more serious diseases such as heart failure in the future.’ Cardio is also a scientifically-proven stress buster, and can help boost concentration and energy.

And while there’s nothing particularly special about combining these three types of cardio, they all offer slightly different benefits, so the 15-15-15 method offers a rounded workout. Indoor cycling, or spinning, is a great form of low-impact exercise: it’s easy on the joints, and in fact may increase the strength of your muscles, ligaments and bones. It’s also a big calorie burner, and while it might feel like you’re just working your legs, keeping your body in an upright position means you’re using your core too. The cross trainer, or the elliptical machine, is also low-impact, and works numerous muscle groups including the quads, hamstrings, glutes, back and arms. 

Running, on the other hand, is high-impact. Arguably the most challenging of the three, it offers an abundance of health perks, including improving VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen you can utilise during exercise), increasing metabolism and even boosting brain function. Plus, there’s nothing like the runner’s high, that euphoric feeling you get from all the endorphins – and running has been proven to ease anxiety.

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How To Do The 15-15-15 Workout

You’ll need a gym membership to do this workout, but whatever gym you visit you’re guaranteed to find these three traditional machines. The level of intensity can be tailored to your fitness level, but it’s generally best to start at a steady state, building up to a more moderate or high-intensity level towards the end of a workout, so the run is time to give it your all. Stick on a podcast or your favourite playlist, and the 45 minutes will be up in no time.