Yahoo Lifestyle Teri Hatcher's Workout Secrets
On most mornings, Teri Hatcher straps on a helmet and pedals more than 8 km to work on a sleek 21-speed bike—the very one she rode to complete her first triathlon last year in Malibu. Today, pulling up to her production company's office in Burbank, California, the Golden Globe–winning star of the long-running hit Desperate Housewives and single mum to a 12-year-old daughter has a healthy glow and a quick laugh. Here, the 45-year-old actress reveals how keeping active and setting some surprising goals have gotten her into the best shape of her life.
So how did the whole biking thing come about?
My girlfriends kept trying to get together to celebrate my birthday, and, as often happens with my schedule, I was working, and we’d have to cancel and cancel and cancel. We never did get to celebrate it, but one night I came home from work late, and there it was [points to bike], with a big bow and a card signed by all my girlfriends.
What a great gift!
I started crying. It was very sweet. It took me another six months to actually get on it!
What was your incentive?
We were doing more green things around our house, and I thought, well, I'm going to start riding to work. I was shocked by the sense of joy that I got—I had no anticipation that I would feel like a 5-year-old. I probably ride 80 km back and forth to work, and some weekends, my girlfriends and I will do a more beautiful ride, like a 60-km ride on Mulholland Drive.
And what made you decide to do the Malibu triathlon?
I turned 45. I wasn't panicking about it; it just seemed like a milestone. The older you get, the more you become aware of the things you can't change and the things you can. Like, do I want to take a year off and travel the world? Sure! Can I do that? No. What can I do? So the triathlon became a goal.
Is it true you came up with a list of things you'd like to achieve?
Shouldn’t we all have such a list from the time we’re 20? I've always wanted to play guitar, learn other languages, dance more, travel more, write more. There are lots of things I want to accomplish.
You often biked nearly 150 km a week; what else did you do to prepare?
I immediately got in my pool and started swimming back and forth for half an hour every day. I also started a free-weights and exercise program (click here for Teri's daily workout) that I do at work. You know, with my work schedule, I don't have an hour to go to the gym, but I have 10 minutes here and there. And I don't run, but I take my four dogs on a hilly 4- or 5-km hike.
What did it feel like while you were doing the race?
Well, I didn't mentally comprehend that I was actually in a race until the last 20 m—when I turned the corner and saw the big digital clock reading '2:11'. I remember thinking, maybe I should have pushed harder. But I wasn't really in a race against anything but my own will. Would I make it without stopping, without walking, without stopping to pee? Would I quit? My goal was not to do any of those things, and I didn't!
Are you a healthy eater?
I eat all the superfoods: sweet potatoes, blueberries, salmon. I've never been a dieter. I put blueberries in oatmeal, but I also put brown sugar in. I'm more of a savoury person than a sweet person—I'd rather have an extra bowl of pasta than a piece of chocolate.
Do you have a favourite healthy recipe?
Here's something that people die for in my house: put olive oil, onion and garlic into a cast-iron frypan and cook until it's almost a sugary brown. Then I add chopped sweet potatoes and cook until they get crusty.
Have people noticed your newly toned physique?
Just the other day on the set, Marcia [Cross] looked at me and said, "It's great that you're so strong now." See, a few years before, when we were all going on hiatus and talking about what our plans were, I'd said, "I'm going to work out and get strong." Well, we came back from hiatus, and my body was the same [laughs]. But this year, it worked out. I'm like, "Okay, I like my arms" [flexes a bicep and grins]. It feels good to be strong!
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