I Tried Jessica Biel's Workout Routine & I Barely Lived To Tell The Tale

You've been there before: You're scrolling through your Instagram feed when you see your favorite celeb post about their favorite new product — a face serum, vitamins that will make your skin brighter, or a specialty food service. You can't help but want to be like the stars, but are the products worth it? In Elite Daily's new series, I Tried, we put it all to the test. We're trying those products as well as celebrities' health and wellness tips, recipes, and life hacks. We'll do the leg work and tell you what living like your fave star is really like.

Let me tell you a fun story about a girl I know who used to workout nearly every single day (hint: it's me). This girl ran miles upon miles with ease and had abs to prove it. Then, life hit her fast (a job with an hours-long commute, an apartment to upkeep, an engagement to plan), and she started to slack a bit. Let's fast forward to today, where this girl — OK fine, it's me — is fit, but not like, too fit. My workout routine is touch-and-go, and, while I truly do enjoy feeling fit, sometimes, the couch just looks so much more appealing. But as I scrolled through my Instagram, I found that actress Jessica Biel's account had videos of her fitness routines, and I convinced myself that this was something I *might* be able to do. That's right, I tried Jessica Biel's workout routine, and I (barely) lived to tell the tale.

According to Shape, Biel keeps her toned figure by doing a mixture of cardio, circuit strength training, and plyometrics, and if all of that sounds like a bunch of workout jargon, don't worry, I've got you covered. The magazine notes that circuit strength training is "a style of workout where you cycle through several exercises (usually five to 10) targeting different muscle groups with minimal rest in between," and plyometric training "consists of explosive exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing speed and strength."

If all of this sounds like you want to slowly exit the conversation about working out, I feel you.

But I decided to stalk Jessica Biel's Instagram to copy her workouts anyway.

I started my workout with cardio.

Because Shape noted that Biel likes to add running into her workout, I decided to start my routine with a quick, 10-minute run. I used to run a lot, but now that I'm older, my knees are unfortunately not as limber as they used to be, and so I have to really pace myself. This run was, thankfully, quick and easy, and got my blood pumping for the actual exercises.

After, I practiced plyometrics.

If you watch Jessica Biel's Boomerang, you'll see that she's not only kicking ass, but she has a pretty cool piece of equipment to help her along with her jump squats (AKA plyometrics):

Because I don't have that (or any piece of gym equipment) in my apartment, I instead just completed a few sets of regular old jump squats.

Here I am mid-jump. Sure, I may look like a blurred face from The Ring, but look at that form!

I'll be honest with you and tell you that I'm no stranger to this particular move, so getting through three sets of 12 wasn't entirely too difficult. But I'll also be honest and tell you that my legs did feel the burn by the end.

Next, I did some circuit strength training.

Here's Jessica Biel doin' the damn thing again, and looking good while doing it. Her circuit strength training involved weights and pistol squats, which are, to me, the actual devil:

Because of my past knee injuries, I instead ditched the box and worked at my pistol squat (AKA a single-leg squat) on the floor, and instead of letting my resting leg drop down, I simply held it parallel to the floor.

That's me, mid-move, looking like I'm smiling. I'm not smiling. That's an actual grimace.

These were tough. I lost my balance a few times, and the simple act of removing one leg from an exercise where you're so used to having the stability of two was a real challenge. Sprinkle in the fact that your hands are holding weights, and you've got yourself a ridiculously tough workout move. This particular exercise is proof of why Jessica Biel has an enviable backside — mere seconds after completing this, mine felt a lot like jello, and not in the fun, ~groovy~ way.

Final Thoughts

So, what did I learn from this experiment? A few things. For starters, I now completely understand the reason why Jessica Biel always looks so strong, and it's because she clearly is always staying active. And, while it definitely felt really good to get my body moving, I was very excited to sit down and relax after it was all over. While I probably won't ever achieve Jessica Biel-level fitness, it was pretty cool knowing that I was still able to replicate her workouts without needing a trip to the hospital.

Overall, I think I did a pretty decent job, so I think I'll reward myself with a night of laying on the couch. Just please don't tell Jessica.