Jessica Biel's Ab Workout Has a Justin Timberlake Cameo
Jessica Biel Shows Off Her "Abs of Steel" With Help From Justin Timberlake
Jessica Biel has the best workout partner. In an Instagram video posted on 6 Aug., the actor walked her followers through a "killer" Pilates ab routine, with an unexpected visit from her husband, Justin Timberlake. Biel got right down to business in blue leggings (matching her yoga mat), a coordinating sports bra, and a black tank top. She used a medicine ball for added weight, taking her time to demonstrate each movement before Timberlake interrupted her workout mid-bicycle-crunch.
"Guess who it is," she wrote toward the end of the video, with only Timberlake's crew socks and colourful Nike sneakers visible in the video. "Abs of steel," she added after he playfully put a foot on her stomach to test her strength. "That was my man," she clarified with a smile once he left.
Couple cuteness aside, Biel's ab workout definitely packed a punch. Created by strength coach Ashley Brown, the workout started off with weighted single-leg stretches, with Biel holding the medicine ball above her chest as she lie on the floor. "I recommend using a med ball that's six to eight pounds, but you could use dumbbells or even cans of pasta sauce in your hands, which is what Jess and I used for sessions during COVID lockdown," Brown tells POPSUGAR, adding that most of the moves can also be completed with the chest lifted in a crunch.
Biel then performed double straight-leg stretches — slowly lowering her straight legs toward the floor and the medicine ball overhead, then lifting them up to meet in the centre — for several reps. Keeping the medicine ball over her chest, she switched to scissor kicks, alternating lowering each leg to the ground, before bringing the ball to meet her bent knees in a double-leg stretch.
Afterward, she ditched the ball entirely, alternating crunches and bicycle crunches before her husband's impromptu visit. "Have fun y'all," she said encouragingly at the end of her workout.
Though holding a weight makes the moves more challenging, Brown says technique is by far the most important part of this workout. She emphasises the importance of keeping the back of your rib cage on the floor to help engage your core. "This way you maximize the work in your abdominals and minimise the work in unintended muscles," she explains. "If you do this successfully, this will not only give you abs of steel like Jess, but also help you to breathe better and move better during other exercises." Ahead, see Biel's full ab routine — plus Timberlake's spontaneous cameo.
Jessica Biel's Pilates Ab Workout
This series is a variation on the classical Pilates ab series, also called the "series of five," Brown says. She recommends doing two to three sets of eight to 10 reps for each of these five moves.
- Single-Leg Stretch: To really feel the burn, Brown says to press up with the ball like you're trying to touch the ceiling.
- Double Straight-Leg Stretch: Form is important here, so make sure to keep your body long and your rib cage fully on the floor, Brown says.
- Single Straight-Leg Stretch (aka Scissors): "Whichever leg stays in the air, really push it into the med ball to work the legs in both directions," Brown says.
- Double-Leg Stretch: With each rep, make full contact between the medicine ball and your knees.
- Criss Cross (aka Bicycles): While making contact with the elbow and opposite knee, Brown says to "try to think of really spinning your shoulders and rotating so you don't just move through your arms."
