Martha Stewart is the most active 84-year-old I’ve ever met. Juggling her many business ventures, constant travel, and hectic commuting schedule, she still makes time to exercise “religiously” at 6:30 a.m. nearly every day—and she’s not slowing down any time soon.
“I’ve worked out ever since I can remember,” Martha tells Women’s Health. When she’s not in a Pilates or weight lifting session, she never stops moving. “I walk a whole lot. I garden a whole lot. I go to work in New York [City] pretty much five days a week or do my traveling,” she says. But her busy schedule is nothing she can’t take on—she’s always lived this way.
In fact, Martha says her workout routine has barely changed throughout her life. “I might not be as energetic as I used to be, but I’m pretty good,” she says. “The amount of weights and things that I use are pretty much the same as they’ve always been, so I’m strong. I’m very strong.”
I’ll say. Ahead, learn all the ins and outs of Martha’s exercise routine at 84, how gardening keeps her active, and some of her favorite recipes to make this time of year.
Martha’s main workouts are Pilates and weight training.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she’s at the gym bright and early weight lifting with her trainer. During their 45-minute sessions, they’re hitting the dumbbells and machines. Then, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (or Saturdays, depending on her schedule), she’s with her Pilates instructor at 6:30 a.m. working on the mat and reformer. “I do a very intense program and it’s nonstop for 45 minutes,” she says.
Martha loves Pilates because it helps her work on her flexibility. “It also is very good for strengthening one’s bones, keeping one limber, working with aches and pains, stretching out.” The stretching is particularly important because Martha sits in the car for extended periods of time while commuting to New York City from Bedford, New York. “It’s hard to sit all that time—you have to do a lot of stretching,” she adds.
She also loves yoga, but doesn’t practice it as religiously as Pilates. “Pilates reminds me a little bit of yoga,” she says. “I end with yoga stretches on blocks at Pilates.”
Of course, Martha has been a lifelong gardener, which has also kept her flexible and mobile. She started gardening “as soon as I could walk and sit out in the garden,” she says. Her father taught her gardening and introduced her to the gardening brand Miracle-Gro, for which she’s now the Chief Gardening Officer. “I’ve been a Miracle-Gro fan for a very, very long time,” she says. Martha has worked with the brand through segments on her television show and through a newsletter. She specifically loves their new organic soil.
Martha is frequently moving around in her big greenhouses and vegetable garden and on the ground planting trees, shrubs, and other crops. “I’m always outside directing or working on various projects,” she says.
Martha’s goal with her fitness routine is to see more muscle definition, and no matter how busy she is, she’s dedicated to fitting in her workouts. “Even when I get home late at night, I still go and do my workout,” she says.
Martha also cooks healthy dishes with the produce from her garden.
In her vegetable greenhouse, she grows all the veggies she needs for her morning green juice. “That’s a priority,” she says. The recipe: Spinach, cucumbers, parsley, celery, and mint—Martha also sometimes adds half an orange (peel included!) and ginger. “I grow that [produce] year-round,” she adds. “It’s very important that they be grown in my own organic soil, and it makes delicious juice.”
This time of year, Martha also makes lots of salads and vegetable soups with celery root, celeriac, squash, and tomatoes. “Saturday, I had a friend come over for lunch and I put a butternut squash soup with a tomato soup, and it made a delicious combination,” with some roasted sweet potatoes on the side, she says.
For dessert, they ate pomegranate seeds. “It couldn’t have been more delicious or more healthy, for that matter,” she adds.
Sounds absolutely delicious, Martha! If you need a plus-one to your next Pilates sesh…let me know.
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