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Angela Bassett arms

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Image via Getty 

Angela Bassett has always had a killer body, especially those arms. The 59-year-old told us last year that the trick to her fit frame has been trying to stick to a consistent workout and healthy diet as much as she can. But she admitted that as she’s aged, it hasn’t been as easy as it used to be.

“It ebbs and flows. Like anybody, there are some times where I’m just not feeling it,” she said. “But at this point in my life, I have to pay somebody to show up. I need the accountability. It’s easier when you’re younger or whatever. After What’s Love [Got to Do With It], that’s when I got in the best shape in my life. But it was at such a fever pitch, you just can’t maintain it. Who can maintain working out 15 hours a day basically? Literally? You’re lifting weights three hours and then you’re dancing, cardio, for 13. Anybody would get in great shape!”

“So, I try to stay within, 10 to 15 — a fighting weight because something might come up,” Bassett continued. “I know what I’m supposed to do. We all know what we’re supposed to do, so just try to do what you’re supposed to do most of the time.”

It’s safe to say that trying to do what she’s “supposed to do most of the time” has benefited the star big time. Just this past weekend she had everyone talking when she stepped out in a little Black dress and big curls with her back and arm muscles looking incredible:

In March, the star’s most recent trainer Corey Calliet confirmed to PEOPLE that she was putting in extra work due to her role in the Black Panther film. So if you think she looks more toned than usual, you can blame that on the high-intensity interval training he had her doing. It included mountain climbers, jump squats, push-ups, high knees and lunges for 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off for up to an hour. Despite the tough workout, Calliet said she was game for the challenge.

“She’s very attentive and takes the knowledge that she needs from me to be able to utilize it,” he said. “She loves fitness, she loves to work out. She wants to do it and she doesn’t quit. We were going hard and she would not stop. That’s what I like about her— at her age, she still has it in her to make her want her go more.”

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