Working out is supposed to be a part of life, but who really loves the gym? After a long day nothing sounds better than going home, curling up on the couch and watching TV. Fitness guru Jillian Michaels totally understands that...and agrees. So when she's really struggling to find motivation to go to the gym, she changes it up.
"If I had to think about finding something in the gym that doesn't make me wish I was dead in the moment, I really love body-weight training and being very creative with my physicality," she tells Women's Health. "Whether it's free running, or any type of calisthenics exercise, that peaks my curiosity."
Though it might be surprising to read that working out makes her wish she was "dead," it's kind of relieving to hear The Biggest Loser former trainer also struggles. In fact, she chalks a lot of her success to admitting it's not always easy.
"The interesting thing about me is that I…people always ask 'Why YOU? Why are you so successful?' and they would always find so much fault with any aspect of my fitness pedigree or my physique and yet ask why have I been so successful in the field of fitness? And I think there are a host of reasons—from authenticity, passion, etc. But another reason I think that I'm so relatable is because I hate to workout," she tells the magazine.
"So when you ask me, 'What do love about the gym? What do you hate about it?' what I love is that I feel empowered. What I love is I feel comfortable in my own skin, let alone my own skinny jeans, and that's a big deal for me," she adds. "Fitness is transcendent. When you feel strong physically, you feel strong in every other facet of your life."
Obviously fitness is one of Michaels' passions, but she knows that the idea of fitness and lifestyle is starting to head in a bad direction—especially with "belfies."
"I'm not into fitness professionals who post selfies that show off their butts or other body parts. Come on, that's not fitness—it's softcore porn. God bless, but let's call it what it is," she says. "We've come so far, and this is where you're taking the movement? Put your clothes on. I get it—you love your body and bravo that—but it's not fitness. Fitness to me is about empowering people. It's about redefining self-image."
Having a positive self-image, she says, is the most important, but she doesn't believe it should get in the way of a healthy style. "I think people need to love themselves no matter who they are or what they look like, because only from that place can you truly have happiness and abundance. But I'm not going to embrace people being unhealthy," she says. "People ask me what's a through line for the morbidly obese, and I'd say a lack of self worth. If you really loved yourself, you would know that if we cut your artery open, it wouldn't be a beautiful thing.
"So this is where I'm like, ‘Let's completely separate your beauty and your worth from your body. You as a person? You're beautiful; you're worthy. Your body? Unhealthy.' Let's cut the s--t."
Watch the premiere of Just Jillian Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 10 p.m., only on E!.