I Tried Jennifer Lopez's Workout For A Week, And I Did Not Know It Was Physically Possible To Feel This Sore

I knew she worked hard, but this was another level.

There's no denying that Jennifer Lopez is having one of her best years yet — she's thriving everywhere right now.

Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival / Via Getty Images

You know by now that she recently got married in Las Vegas to Ben Affleck.

Jennifer Lopez / Via On the JLo

And that came off the heels of a hit Netflix documentary and debuting her own skincare line, among other things.

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In short? She's busy!

Personally, I've always been a J.Lo stan and I've always admired her work ethic whether it be on the screen or in the gym. And considering, that I'm someone who genuinely loves taking care of my body through exercising and eating well — as does Jennifer — I decided to follow in Jennifer's footsteps and switch up my go-to routine in the gym to try out hers for a week.

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(I know celebs have trainers and personal chefs, but that doesn't take away from them still having put in actual sweat and tears to achieve their physical goals, IMO.)

For some backstory on my current gym routine: I tend to lean towards strength-training workouts, usually working different body parts on different days. I'm not a big fan of cardio, but I try to occasionally do a HIIT-style workout to get my heart rate up and break a serious sweat.

@fabianabuontempo / Via Instagram

I did my research on Jennifer's routine, read through it, gasped a little — and then figured it was (probably) just the challenge that my body needed. 😅

@jlo / Via Instagram

From my reading, J.Lo does a mix of workouts and partners with several different trainers — which I really liked, because it was similar to how I approach working out too. According to one of her trainers, Dodd Romero, the singer trains for about an hour, four to five times a week, and she focuses on different body parts for each workout.

@jlo / Via Instagram

You can read more about her workouts with Dodd at Oprah Daily. I made sure to take notes on her specific exercises to plan out my workouts for the week ahead.

I decided to do five days of consecutive workouts followed by two days of rest. Each day would focus on a different body part.

The week would go like this:

•Monday: Lower Body

•Tuesday: Abs

• Wednesday: Upper Body

• Thursday: Upper Body (again)

• Friday: Full Body

• Saturday: Rest Day

• Sunday: Rest Day

DAY ONE: It was time to get started! First up for the week? A lower-body workout.

@davidkirsch / Via Instagram

This workout consisted of a lot of squat variations, lunges, hip thrusts, banded work, and a move called the platypus walk (above), which is walking while your legs are in a sumo squat and your hands are at your head. Let's just say...it's a move that I never want to do again. My legs felt like jelly afterwards, and I already had newfound respect for how hard J.Lo works for her famous asset.

DAY TWO: Getting out of bed was definitely a struggle this morning. But I knew I had to push myself and get my legs (still Jello-like from the previous day) out of bed and get to work. Abs day was here.

Fabiana Buontempo

J.Lo has some of the best abs in the business, so I figured her ab routine was going to be a struggle and...I was right. 😬 Another one of the singer's trainers, David Kirsch, has her do 30-second planks on a medicine ball, so I started today's ab session with this move, which was probably a mistake, since it was a really tough one.

More details on Jennfier's ab workout are spelled out in Hello!, but she apparently does a set of 50 hanging ab raises and 50 inclined sit ups with a 45-pound plate. The other 2 sets consisted of the same exercises but with 35 reps, and then 21 reps.

The moral of this particular workout? I never knew my abs could burn this bad.

DAY THREE: By Wednesday, everything from my abs down was sore and tired. Honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was continue the week of workouts.

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Is it sad that it had only been two days, and I was ready to throw in the towel? But in an ode to Jenny, I slowly but surely made my way to my workout area to do the singer's upper-body workout.

For Upper Body day, Jennifer does dumbbell rows to work the back and tricep extensions to exhaust the back of the arms, according to trainer Kirsch. From there, I also did everything from shoulder taps to overhead slams modified with a dumbbell.

Fabiana Buontempo

These moves were a bit different from the type of exercises I typically do, but I surprisingly appreciated the intensity of them. In short, they definitely checked the box for working up a sweat.

Although I just about complained through every workout this week, I have to admit I was feeling strong and quite accomplished for making it through almost a full week of Lopez's intense workout routine.

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Today's workout had me complete another upper-body workout that involved a lot of pushups, planks, bicep curls, and chest flies.

DAY FIVE: By the end of the week, I was feeling motivated and ready to finish Lopez's routine strong. Don't get me wrong: My body was *extremely* achy, but I got out of bed and powered through to complete the singer's total body workout, which actually turned out to be the toughest one of the week.

Fabiana Buontempo

Save the best for last, right?? 😅The final workout of this week was pretty brutal, since all of the moves simultaneously worked multiple muscle groups. The four-circuit workout consisted of squats with rows, into a bicep curl with a resistance band, tricep extensions also with the resistance band, torso rotation with a resistance band held out front, and lastly, side planks and sumo squats while holding a medicine ball in front of the chest.

I did my best to do the moves for one minute each as instructed, but I had to take a few breaks to give my muscles a rest before continuing. It was definitely a struggle, but I was happy I finished on a strong note.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Done and DONE!

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Overall, I'm really happy that I tried J.Lo's workout routine for the week. Don't get me wrong, every workout was a new (and often difficult) challenge and brought on very sore muscles — but I was proud of myself for stepping out of my fitness comfort zone. I did exercises that I normally wouldn't have ever done, I utilized my resistance bands more than I ever have, and I have a newfound respect for how hard Lopez works in the gym. It's NOT easy, to say the least.

Last but not least? A few final takeaways that I want to call out:

@jlo / Via instagram.com

• J.Lo's workout is probably more for intermediate or advanced skill sets, rather than total beginners. Parts can definitely be modified, but even as someone who personally loves working out (and does so regularly), there were parts where I struggled.

• You don't need any super-fancy equipment (or even a ton of space) to do this workout. And that's great! I did the entire week at home — and the only equipment I utilized were basic weights and resistance bands.

• Whether you're new to working out or you're a gym pro, remember to keep your muscles guessing and practice proper form. Also, listen to your body and rest when necessary.

• It's important to find workouts that you genuinely enjoy and not just ones that are trendy or celebrity-endorsed. J.Lo's workout routine was just the push that I needed to keep things interesting and remind myself of my strength and what I'm capable of in the gym. But the the same might not be true for everyone. Working out is incredibly personal, and it's most important to find what works for you.

Have you ever tried a celebrity workout before? Which one(s) have you loved — or hated? Do you have a suggestion for one I should try next? Share in the comments! 💪