Brooke Shields on confidence, body contouring and motherhood
Actress, model, mother and entrepreneur Brooke Shields joins Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on 'Fox & Friends.'
At age 15, Brooke Shields modeled a pair of Calvin Klein jeans and famously said: “What gets between me and my Calvins? Nothing.”
The 1980 ad was so controversial that both ABC and CBS banned it. But these days, the actress has no interest in squeezing into the designer denim again.
“I can get into them, but it looks painful,” Shields, 54, told Fox News. “I recently found them, [but] I think the last time I fit into them comfortably was probably while I was in ‘Wonderful Town’ on Broadway [back in 2004]. They’re so high waisted.”
“When I was that age, I was built like a little boy,” the star continued. “I don’t have any desire to fit back into them. I’ve had two children and I’ve grown into a more womanly shape that I feel comfortable in and that I’m proud of. I’m celebrating who I am now, not trying to get the body I had when I was 15. One of the messages I want to share with other women is to celebrate yourself. Own your curves and strengths rather than trying to look like somebody else or be skinny. I'd rather be strong and fit than anything else.”
Brooke Shields caused a stir when she famously posed for Calvin Klein. (Alamy)
The proud mom has recently taken to Instagram to share her at-home workout routines while social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic in hopes of encouraging her 1 million followers to get up and break a sweat to uplift their spirits. Shields said decades of dancing on Broadway have taken a toll on her physically, which has compelled her to find unique, safer ways to stay healthy while indoors. Shields aims to share a new workout routine every Wednesday on the social media platform.
“My approach to working out comes from more of a rehab approach because I had a partial knee replacement and I’m sort of preparing to have a full knee replacement on my other knee,” she explained. “It really stems from the maintenance aspect of continuing to activate my muscles. It really started off as me calling my trainer and saying, ‘Please, can you FaceTime with me and tell me what I can do?’ And it grew from there.”
“I never really used to work out,” Shields admitted. “I would just dance primarily -- that was my main thing. And then I realized after being stuck at home for such a long period of time, depression started to creep in. I also realized that when I got my heart rate up and the adrenaline was going, I started feeling better mentally. It just stopped me from getting depressed.”
Shields said she enjoys getting creative and finding new ways she can exercise while at home. And with a little motivation, anything is possible.
“I say I work out four times a week,” she said. “And I do one day of rest or one day of yoga or just one day of walking. I try to vary it. You can lift things that are heavy, a dishrag can give an unbelievable hamstring workout. Even vacuuming the house nonstop can break a sweat. I think it’s all about committing to doing something, whether it’s an online yoga class, a Zoom session with a trainer -- it becomes more of an opportunity than a chore.”
When it comes to motivation, Shields said some days are easier than others. Still, she insisted that changing things up each day and making use of household items have kept her committed to exercising whenever possible.
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“I had to change the way I think about it because I can’t say that I enjoy working out,” she explained. “I enjoy the feeling after. When you have a place to go, all you have to do is just get there and an hour goes by. But when you don’t even leave the house, it’s hard to get motivated. What I started doing is mentally telling myself, ‘Nobody’s telling you to do this. Why don’t you give it a try?’ You may not want to, but nine out of 10 times, you’re going to feel so much better afterward. Even setting 20 minutes aside makes a big difference. I think it helps to have smaller expectations rather than having these big goals and yet you’re not even sure why you have them.”
“I have no idea when my work is going to happen,” Shields shared. “So there’s that ego part of it where you’re like, ‘I’ve gotta get ready for this movie or show.’ That was a motivator because I would like to try to look my best. But when you don’t have that as a goal, you have to find another reason to allow yourself to care about your health.”
“You can lift gallons of milk,” Shields suggested. “I like to joke that you can do bicep curls with a bottle of tequila. Make it less of a chore. And once you start, you [start] to think, ‘I can do almost anything for an hour.’”
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