I Tried Kaley Cuoco's Workout Routine, And Her Regimen Was Intense, Even For Someone Like Me Who Regularly Works Out

I might have underestimated just how tough this would be.

Hi! I'm Fabiana, and by now I've established that I'm a person who genuinely enjoys exercising and eating healthy. I've written posts about how I started my fitness journey, how I became a morning workout person, and I've even tried a few celebrity workout routines.

Fabiana Buontempo

It's been some time since I've ditched my go-to gym routine of strength training and HIIT-style workouts to endure an intense celebrity workout. After trying both Jennifer Lopez and Kourtney Kardashian's workout routines, I think my muscles just finished being sore. I'm kidding, but they were intense! Now, I'm back, and this time I'm trying Kaley Cuoco's go-to gym routine.

Rich Fury / Getty Images / Via Getty Images

I learned from doing some quick research that Kaley began working with her LA-based personal trainer, Ryan Sorensen, after the actor had to undergo shoulder surgery and was recovering from it.

@kaleycuoco / Via Instagram: @kaleycuoco

According to an E! News story, since then, Sorensen said he and Kaley train one to two times a week doing full-body workouts that consist of resistance training, conditioning, and stability work. You can also read more about her workouts with Sorensen at Cosmopolitan. After learning this, I made sure to take notes on her specific exercises to plan out my workouts for the week ahead. From all that I read, I was well aware that Kaley's workout routine was definitely not for beginners. I kept this in mind going into my week of workouts.  

I decided to do four days of workouts with two days of an active recovery mixed in — Kaley supposedly tries to get in 10,000 steps a day and does yoga when she's not working with her trainer — and one day of rest.

The week would go like this:

• Monday: Full Body

• Tuesday: Cardio (elliptical)

• Wednesday: Full Body

• Thursday: Cardio (jump rope)

• Friday: Yoga

• Saturday: Walking

• Sunday: Rest

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

Fabiana Buontempo

I tried my best to replicate some of the exercises Kaley does while also coming up with some of my own and using hers as inspiration. In an Instagram clip — Sorensen posted back in September when he was helping Kaley get Emmy-Award ready — she is seen doing lunges with a medicine ball slam. I don't own a medicine ball, so I instead did static lunges on each leg and lifted and lowered a single 15-pound dumbbell overhead for three sets of 10. 

From there, I did three variations of a plank — a regular one on my forearms and a side plank on each side — for a minute each. I also added in some squat presses — squatting with weights held at my shoulders and lifting the weights above my head when standing up from the squat. Full-body workouts are no joke, and I'm already predicting that I'll be sore tomorrow. 

DAY TWO: I was never more thankful for a cardio day than the way I was today considering both my upper and lower body were hurting.

@ryansorensen / Via instagram.com

To be honest, cardio days are not my jam. I don't mind mixing in cardio with weight training because dedicating a day solely to cardio usually has me rolling my eyes. But considering I'm sore pretty much head to toe, I happily laced up my sneakers this morning and hopped onto the elliptical. Sorensen has Kaley run on a treadmill, but I instead went at a fast pace on the elliptical because that's all I had access to. 

I have to admit, after a solid 30 minutes of sweating it out, my muscles did feel less sore, so I was happy with that. 

DAY THREE: Although my muscles were still recovering from Monday, I conjured up another Kaley-inspired full-body routine for today's workout. 😬

Fabiana Buontempo

According to Cosmopolitan, Kaley's full-body routine also includes kettlebell swings and dumbbell presses while holding a boat pose. I did three sets of 12 for both exercises, and sheesh, I was dripping in sweat by the time I was done. From there, I did some variations of lunges with dumbbell curls and snatches. I did the same set and rep count for these moves. 

I was surprisingly feeling good today — despite some soreness from earlier this week — so I followed in Kaley's steps and made sure to get in close to 10,000 steps today, which isn't that easy when you work at a desk all day. 

DAY FOUR: It didn't surprise me that by this point in the week when my alarm went off for my morning workout, I buried my head under my pillow and thought of a few excuses I could use to justify me skipping today's workout. But then I thought to myself, What would Kaley do?, which prompted me to hop out of bed and quickly make my way to my workout area in my basement before I changed my mind.

Kaley is a fan of jumping rope — another form of cardio that isn't my favorite. Are we seeing a trend here? I'm 5'9'' so I always feel clumsy and awkward jumping rope, but for the sake of this post, I had to do what I had to do. I put on some music and started hopping away. 

I did intervals of 30 seconds jumping rope with 10 seconds of rest. I then increased that to 45 seconds of jumping rope to 15 seconds of rest. In total, I was jumping rope for about 20 minutes, which was enough to cause me to be dripping in sweat. Let's just say this was a humbling workout. 

DAY FIVE: Praise be that today was an active recovery day, which meant I couldn't just lounge on my couch watching Netflix; I actually had to move my body but not necessarily at an intense rate. I opted for yoga because Kaley is a fan of yoga.

Fabiana Buontempo

I found a 25-minute yoga flow workout on YouTube, which felt great considering it's been a long week so far of full-body workouts and sweaty cardio sessions. This yoga flow consisted of a downward-facing dog, a warrior pose, and a child's pose. As I first moved through the poses, I felt all my soreness, but after some time I was moving seamlessly from one pose to the next, and by the end of the 25 minutes, my soreness was almost completely gone. 

DAY SIX: Despite having a few complaints this week, I was feeling good about my efforts in the gym following Kaley's workout regimen. I woke up feeling way less sore and ready to take on a nice, long walk.

Showtime / Via giphy.com

I laced up my sneakers, wore my fitness watch to keep track of my steps, put in my headphones, and went on my way. I tried to move at a quick pace to get my heart rate up and really break a sweat. I ended up walking for just about 3 miles, which made me feel really good. There's nothing like a good power walk to feel accomplished!

FINAL THOUGHTS: Done and DONE!

NBC / Via giphy.com

Overall, I'm really happy that I tried Kaley's workout routine for the week. Don't get me wrong — the lengthy full-body workouts left me feeling sore and like I wanted to throw in the towel and quit, but I was proud of myself for sticking with it. I learned new exercises and did moves that were a bit out of my comfort zone like that boat pose with an overhead press — those were brutal. Anytime I follow celebrity workouts, I always have a newfound respect for how hard some of them work in the gym. 

A few things I wanted to point out to keep in mind:

@kaleycuoco / Via instagram.com

• Kaley's workout is probably more for intermediate skill sets, rather than total beginners. I personally think before someone jumps into doing complex moves in the gym, it's important to first learn the basics. Kaley's routine consisted of a lot of moves that I even had to think about before attempting. 

• You can do this workout with minimal gym equipment. I modified a few moves due to the lack of equipment — such as the lunge with the medicine ball slams — and it was still very doable. I did the entire week at home — and the only equipment I really utilized were basic weights.

• Whether you're just starting out in your fitness journey or you're a gym pro, remember to listen to your body. It's also important to take precautions and practice proper form to prevent injuries. 

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! 💪