Gwyneth Paltrow hated exercising every day. One piece of advice changed that.

When it comes to ideas on health and fitness, Gwyneth Paltrow is brimming with them. Remember her penchant for Moon Juice Sex Dust, anyone? Or her love of strict (and kind of scary) detox cleanses?

Often her wellness advice seems out of reach or even extreme, but this week Hollywood’s love-to-hate golden girl has shared a fitness tip which actually had us nodding our heads in agreement.

This tip comes via Tracy Anderson, personal trainer to the stars and boss of her own fitness empire. Gwyneth has been training with Tracy for several years, and in a recent interview with Hamptons magazine, Gwyneth reflects on how Tracy revolutionised her attitude to daily exercising. Gwyneth, having a bad attitude toward working out? C’est impossible! (Post continues after gallery…)

But in this interview, Gwyneth confirms that, yes, it’s possible that she’s just like us, because – believe it or not –  there was a point when she thought exercise was too hard and just the worst.

Related: You NEED to watch this video of Gwyneth Paltrow doing hip hop dancing.  

While preparing up for her comeback role as Pepper Potts in Iron Man, Gwyneth was working out six days a week, using the Tracy Anderson Method. The Method is a combination of aerobics, Pilates and low-weight reps, and it’s fast and tough. I know this, because I used it to help shift some of my 25kg of baby weight. It’s fun, but a lot of hard work.

Gwyneth struggled with the intensity and frequency of the workouts. Ooh, we have something in common!

She says, “I remember there was a certain point when I felt like I was going to cry. I just physically and mentally couldn’t do it anymore. It was just too hard for me. [Tracy] said to me, ‘Don’t even think of it like that. It’s not an option. It’s like brushing your teeth. You get up and do it.’”

Thanks to that advice, Gwyneth notes that she experienced “a powerful shift” in the way she thought about exercise.

She further praised Tracy: “You showed me how to take the option out of it and make it something you do for self-care”. Gwyneth's new focus was to “feel good” in her body, and also “feel healthy and feel strong.” (Post continues after gallery.)

This advice is described as “inspirational” by Paltrow, and we agree. When you start to think of exercise as something you need to do without fuss on a regular basis to secure your own health, it becomes a normal part of your routine, rather than something you “have” to do.

The exercise-as-brushing-your-teeth analogy is particularly helpful for those of us on the wrong side of thirty, as we start to take our health more seriously whilst staring down the barrel at the ailments that come with aging. And yes, by ‘we’, I mean lazy-ass ‘me’.

Related: How to become an exercise lover, when you really, really hate it. 

Gwyneth’s appearance on the red carpet for the premiere of Iron Man in 2008 was memorable. She’d just cut off her long hair and embraced micro-miniskirts. She looked sexy, strong and confident. And perhaps, she had a new fitness routine to thank for it.

Have you tried the Tracy Anderson Method? Or any other exercise method? Give us your exercise tips in the comments!