Last March, social media lost its mind over Elise Neal. As she celebrated her 50th birthday, a major milestone, she dropped jaws with her incredibly fit body and youthful look. She literally didn’t appear a day over 35.
As her 51st birthday approaches this month, Neal has a lot to celebrate. With the following she’s amassed for health and fitness, she’s started a boot camp and will host a “Fit Trip” in Jamaica in November. Also, she’s starring in Logan alongside Hugh Jackman (which comes out on Friday), a sendoff to the popular X-Men character Wolverine. While promoting the project, Neal spoke with People about her fitness regimen, telling the publication that she keeps up a strict exercise schedule whether she’s preparing for a film or not. Fitness is life for the actress.
“I started dancing at 6 years old, so fitness is something I do regardless,” she said. “I train and work out really hard regardless of whether I’m in a film, or if I have to do something physical for a project or not. I’ve enjoyed being fit my whole life.”
To continue that tradition, the beauty makes the time to work out at least an hour a day, mixing up her workouts. She has an affinity for squats, yoga, dance cardio and running on a high incline in the gym.
“Working out an hour or an hour and a half every day is the norm for me unless it’s really, really hectic,” she said. “I just love it. I feel better, I sleep better, I don’t get angry with people so much. It helps me all the way around. I’d like that feeling to continue so I try my best to keep it up.”
She also tries her best to keep up with a clean diet. However, if she wants something meaty and greasy, she will have it every once in a while. The trick is to go hard following such indulgences.
“I’m still a girl that was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, so I do occasionally still eat meat and things like that,” she said. “If I’m craving a hamburger, I’m going to have a hamburger — I’m just going to work out really hard the next day. But I’m not going to have five bags of chips or a full plate covered in foods and sauces. I’ll have a small plate of the things I like to eat. I do love salad and I do eat a lot of fruits of vegetables.”
But the biggest trick to staying toned and tight at 50 going on 51 is to make time for strength training. The more weight training she does, the more her metabolism speeds up and the more likely she is to feel the burn.
“I believe that as you get older, you need to do more weight training,” Neal said. “My metabolism is just not the same. My body has the same issues that anyone who’s getting older has — I’m just more actively trying to fix it. Everything is attainable, you just have to be ready to do the work.”
