It does not matter whether she is playing Rita Mora in Emilia Perez or Gamora in the MCU, Zoe Saldana always looks fit. However, that doesn't come easy.

These are some habits that Zoe Saldaña, the 47-year-old mom of three, swears by that you can also follow in your 40s.

The interval training approach

Because of her busy schedule, Zoe Saldana can not spend hours in the gym. So, she follows an interval-training approach rather than intense cardio and tries to lift weights at least three times a week.

“When I’m shooting, I really don’t like to be strict with my workout, since I’m already putting in 16-hour days. So I do 20-minute intervals either at the gym or at home, where I run in place for 30 seconds, then do squats, then carry a heavy medicine ball a few times in a row until I get my heart rate up," Saldana told Shape.

Those long shoots take a mental toll as well. So, Zoe Saldana prefers yoga for her mental health. “Yoga isn’t just exercise for me, it’s a way to centre myself and find balance," she told Journée Mondiale.

The Hollywood star also engages in functional training with moves like planks, kettlebell swings, banded split squats, glute bridges, and banded bear shoulder taps. Yet, working out is only one part of her fitness mantra.

Zoe Saldana likes to eat healthy

She prefers a healthy diet and follows the 80-20 rule. On any given day, she consumes 80 percent healthy food and 20 percent remains flexible.

This approach helps her from wasting all her hard work on cheat days. She said, "I don’t believe in cheat days because I don’t believe in diets…. I try not to deprive my body of anything, because the moment I have just salads and protein for a few days, I crave carbs."

"But when I eat everything in balance, I think less about food and more about everything else. It’s about eating to live, not living to eat," she added.

Zoe Saldana also follows a plant-based diet, and told Shape, she was “starting to move in the direction of becoming a vegetarian family.”

The Avatar: Fire and Ash star believes that diet plays a vital role in her daily fitness. “Once you have relatively healthy eating habits, your workout can become playing with your kids," said the actor.

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi