Celebrity
ELLE Interview: Marisa Tomei
Is Marisa Tomei the next Jane Fonda? Not if she can help it.
by : Karen Kwan- Mar 31st, 2010
Although the Academy Award winner has just released a new fitness DVD,
Marisa Tomei: Core & Curves — with another DVD set for release in a few months (this time swinging her hips and all the rest of her super fit body into even better shape via hula hooping) – she’s adamant that she is no fitness guru. “I’d like to see women feeling their centre and seeing their joy and sensuality – this is what I think is going to create big changes,” says Tomei, who most recently starred on the silver screen in
The Wrestler. “I don’t mind introducing women to what I think works on so many levels, but I’m not [a fitness guru].”
We caught up with Tomei while she was on vacation in Miami, and it turns out that the 45-year-old actress follows a keep-it-simple philosophy when it comes to staying fit, eating right and looking and feeling great.
ELLECanada.com: Your new DVD with trainer Key Son, what is it about the workout that you particularly like?
Marisa Tomei: Key Son is very meticulous. He’s a graduate of Cornell and he knows a lot about sports medicine and has worked with a lot of models. He understands women’s bodies and their shape and form and he thought about what are some great workouts that will emphasize a woman’s lines and their sensuality. The workout is such a low-impact approach, and your
core and balance are both strengthened. And I’ve always done
dance and yoga, and I still do, and all of those things create long, lean lines and this workout stays with the long, feminine shape.
EC: In the DVD, you stress that the workout doesn’t involve any weights – are you not a fan of strength training?
MT: I think everything should be in moderation. I like to try a lot of things and have variety, but as my main discipline, working out with weights hasn’t given me the kind of results I was wanting.
EC: You’re in incredible shape; what’s a typical week of workouts for you?
MT: A typical week? I
travel so much. For example, right now you’re reaching me in Miami and I’m not doing anything, I’m just taking a long walk by the beach. I think listening to your body is the most important thing, and it needs rest as much as it needs movement. I don’t really have typical weeks; I’ll do Key Son’s workout or I do nothing – but I end up paying for that, but we’re all human! I might do a dance class, or get a massage, which will activate me in a different way. I take hikes when I’m in Los Angeles, I hula hoop – a lot of different things.
Find out what makes Marisa Tomei feel most beautiful on the next page …
EC: Do you enjoy working out?
MT: I enjoy the results like everyone else. As for the actual workout itself, it can be a quiet time of centering, when I can focus the mind for the rest of my day or week, or overall life plan. Get emotions running through you so that you’re not holding anything in – physical movement moves mental toxins as well as physical toxins. It refreshes and keeps you emotionally stable – those are the reasons I work out.
EC: Your next workout DVD is about hooping. What is it that you like about hooping?
MT: It’s really playful. And it’s low impact, like Key Son’s workout. It’s something I can take with me when I travel – I can’t pack a treadmill. So when I do Key Son’s routines, in between sets I hoop to keep up my heart rate. Hooping will make you smile every time and with a hoop you working 360 degrees of muscle, it’s every single muscle in your waist and hips. It’s joyful and very feminine and I like the idea of women moving their hips and really getting into their bodies. The hoop will bring you inside your body and connect to yourself – it’s not like you’re tipping away and sculpting from the outside, but it’s like you’re revealed…how’s that for zen? (laughing).
EC: And what’s on your workout playlist right now?
MT: I like a band from L.A., Fitz and the Tanturms.
EC: Do you follow a certain diet?
MT: I got lucky in the way my mom fed us when we were growing up – a Mediterranean diets, lots of fresh fruit and veggies, and protein, but on the minimal side. I get food from farmer’s markets as much as possible and drink lots of water. I don’t really believe in being fanatical about anything. I like it to feel that food gives me more energy, so I try to eat things that have a lot of prana, or life force, in it.
EC: And what are some of your beauty essentials?
MT: I drink a lot of water, and wash my face with Cetaphil, I use natural jojoba oil to moisturize but I do change moisturizers on and off. I usually stick to the basics. Like Key Son’s easy to follow routine, it’s detail-oriented and it’s the small muscles that make a difference – there’s something to how simplicity is the link to everything that works.
EC: When would you say you feel most beautiful?
MT: (pausing) When I’m looking at my boyfriend looking at me.
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