Chelsea Handler and her trainer Ben Bruno have been sharing some seriously impressive fitness content on Instagram lately, and the comedian’s latest video is no exception.
In the clip, Handler maintains a modified plank position with a pad on the ground supporting her knees. While keeping her back flat and her torso steady (which requires a ton of core control, BTW), she rolls a barbell away from herself by extending her arms forward before rolling it back toward her chest by bending at her elbows. The isometric ab roll-out variation looks incredibly difficult, but Handler breezes through it like it’s nothing, as her followers were quick to point out.
"Those are some strong abs!!!!!" wrote none other than Kate Hudson. "I know how hard that is and you're making it look easy!! Core on 🔥," said another follower.
Handler addressed her impressive execution, attributing her strength to her training. “When I realized training wouldn’t make me ‘bulky,’ It made me a strong ass bitch,” she wrote on the video. She explained an accessory choice in her caption. “I keep my sunglasses on so my trainer @benbrunotraining knows I’m not interested in talking,” she wrote.
As for what else Handler incorporates in her training, Bruno regularly shares videos of Handler’s strength training sessions on Instagram. He’s shared footage her doing Bulgarian split squats, weighted hanging leg raises, and a hollow hold with a chest fly, just to name a few. Last year, Bruno also shared a video of Handler doing single-leg bodysaws, noting that she has some “serious core strength” in his caption.
While the idea that strength training makes people bulky has circulated for years, Handler’s right that it’s a myth. Sure, you can get bulky from strength training if that’s your goal, but you’d need to take specific steps to make that happen. “Gaining muscle mass comes from a combination of heavy weight training and an excess in calories,” Jacque Crockford, C.S.C.S., spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, previously told Shape. “If you perform resistance training one to three days per week and you’re not eating more calories than you expend in a day, you probably won’t see a ton of muscle growth.”
Aesthetics aside, there are plenty of other reasons to try out strength training. Research has also shown that strength training can help burn more fat and calories than other exercises, and it strengthens bones too. Plus, strengthening muscles that support your joints can help prevent injuries. You can even experience a self-esteem boost that comes from lifting weights. “Strength has a funny way of bleeding into all areas of your life, in the gym and out,” Jen Sinkler, an Olympic lifting coach, kettlebell instructor, and author of Lift Weights Faster, previously told Shape. “Weight lifting empowers you.”
As Handler shared in her most recent Instagram video, she’s changed the way she views exercise over the years. “To me, working out is about being strong in your body for your health, while before it was about being physically looking good,” she told People in 2018. “Now I’m like, I have to mentally be strong in order to work hard and get shit done.”
By the looks of the workout snippets she shares with on social media, Handler seems to take that goal seriously. After all, she went to the lengths of throwing on a pair of shades in the name of a distraction-free workout.
