Whether it was that opening scene of 'The Better Sister' on Netflix or Jessica Biel's own social media posts, you've probably noticed the star has obviously perfected her upper-body workout routine with a strong back, shoulders, and arms.
Back in the summer, Jessica shared the workout she does when travelling, but now, we have the full arm and back workout that she used to get in shape for the show. Jessica uses resistance bands, gymnastic rings, medium and light dumbbells, and a bench in these exercises, as prescribed by celebrity trainer Ben Bruno.
He explains that while there are a lot of "great moves here, it's important to note that we don't do [them] all in the same workout". "In a given workout, she normally does one exercise for the back, which also works the biceps, one exercise for the shoulders, and one exercise for the triceps, and some other moves for legs and abs sprinkled in," he said in a video shared to Instagram.
Take your favourite few and try them out. As well as being excellent strength-building movements, the trainer also says that doing them back to back is "a great way to do it if you don't want to do a bunch of extra cardio".
Jessica Biel's upper-body workout
1. Assisted pull-ups
- Supporting your feet using a bench, grip the gymnastics rings.
- Pull yourself up until your head fits in between the bars.
- To make the exercise harder, as Jessica does, put a resistance band between your wrists and stretch the band out at the top.
- Do 8 to 12 repetitions of this exercise if your goal is to build muscle.
If you don't have access to a gym, you can still do this exercise. Simply switch out the bench for a sturdy chair and pick up a pull-up bar on Amazon. This bar fits between most door frames and is fully adjustable to different height levels.
An extendable pull-up bar uses tension to keep the bar in the frame of most doorways. It's fully adjustable, versatile, and doesn't damage your doorframe, so you can set it up for your workout then take it down again.
It's becoming clear that a set of resistance bands is a must in any Jessica Biel's workout. You can use this set for anything from stretching to the exercises in Ben's video. You could also build your own resistance band workout.
Jessica uses a couple of dumbbells in her workout - one set of medium and one set of light resistance. The most storage-friendly way to do any of the exercises in a dumbbell workout at home is to have a set of adjustable dumbbells.
2. Side-lying plank with crunch
- Tie a resistance band to a squat rack or a study door handle at home.
- Come into a side-plank position, raised up on one hand with your feet crossed over.
- Grab the resistance band from over your head.
- As you hold the side plank position, simultaneously bring your bottom leg into a side crunch and pull the resistance band down over your head.
- Complete the exercise for 8 to 12 repetitions, then switch sides.
3. Bulgarian split squat with lateral raise
- Come down into a Bulgarian split squat by taking the classic lunge position and elevating your back foot on the bench or chair behind you.
- Once you're comfortable, stay in that position.
- Complete a lateral raise by grabbing a dumbbell and bringing it in one fluid motion from by your side to in line with your shoulder.
- Hold your other arm out to the side to help you balance.
- Complete for 8 to 12 repetitions, then switch sides.
4. Shoulder raises
- Leaning back, with your gymnastics ring or pull-up bar for support, grab a dumbbell.
- Turn your elbow in slightly. Lift the dumbbell from shoulder height to above your head.
- Complete the movement 8 to 12 sides on both sides.
5. Supine pull-ups
- Hold onto your gymnastics rings or pull-up bar from below, almost lying down on the floor, and balancing on your heels. Keep your legs straight.
- Pull yourself up so your head comes between the rings.
- Once you're at the start of the movement, bring your body towards your legs by bending them at 90 degrees.
- Straighten them, return to the starting position.
- Repeat this exercise for 8 to 12 repetitions.
Some TRX cables also come with a door anchor, offering a non-permanent solution for a home gym and another great way to do many of the excellent back exercises in Jessica Biel's upper-body workout.
6. Dumbbell pull-over on one leg
- Lie across your bench or chair, with the middle of your back flat on the seat.
- Bring your legs to 90 degrees, then elevate one.
- Take a dumbbell, gripping it underneath the plate rather than by the handle. Bring it up over and behind your head with your elbows bent.
- From behind your head, lift the dumbbell above your head until it sits directly above your forehead.
- Come back down to behind your head, and repeat the move, then switch legs for 8 to 12 repetitions.
7. Back flys on bench
- Come onto your bench (or a set of two chairs pushed together securely) with your hands and knees resting flat. Grab a dumbbell in one hand.
- Lift one leg and bring it out straight behind you.
- Balancing on one leg and one hand, lift the dumbbell out to the side until it reaches in line with your shoulder.
- Repeat the movement, then switch legs. Try 8 to 12 repetitions.
8. Bent-over row on bench
- Balance on your bench or chairs (as above) with one knee and one hand sitting flat. Bring your other leg down onto the floor to support yourself and make sure your back is parallel to the floor.
- Grab a dumbbell from the floor with one hand, bring it up towards your chest.
- At the top of this movement, twist your body, look up toward the ceiling, and push the dumbbell above your head.
- At the very top of this movement, the dumbbell should be in line with your head.
- Repeat the movement for 8 to 12 repetitions, then switch sides.
9. Single-arm chest press with elevated leg
- Lie across your bench or chairs with the middle of your back flat against it, and your legs positioned at 90 degrees. Grab a dumbbell in one hand.
- Lift one leg, maintaining that 90-degree angle.
- Balancing on one leg, bring that dumbbell from your chest to above your head, carefully and controlled.
- Repeat the exercise for 8 to 12 repetitions, then switch sides.
10. Dumbbell reverse fly
- Taking two light dumbbells, one in each hand, stand with your back parallel to the floor. You legs should be wider than hip-width apart.
- With your arms directly below you, bring your hands out to the sides, raising them until your hands extend above your shoulders.
- Repeat the movement 8 to 12 times.
11. L-sit ring pull-ups
- Sit down on the floor, with your gymnastics rings or doorframe pull-up bar in reach above your head.
- Keeping your legs straight out in front of you, pull up until your head sits between the rings (or just above the bar).
- Repeat the movement for 8 to 12 repetitions.
Along with sharing Jessica's workout, Ben offered some helpful (and refreshingly honest) insights into the star's fitness routine.
"While she definitely does plenty of work on her back and arms, her workouts aren't split up into 'back day', 'arm day', and so on. She does full-body workouts that combine upper-body exercises, lower-body exercises, core work, and a bunch of things that work everything all at once to maximise efficiency," he says.
In general, most experts recommend doing six strength exercises per workout to get the most benefits for your time, while not fatiguing the body so much that you can't do it again later in the week.
"It's also important to remember that it's impossible to maintain peak physical condition all the time, and the super-toned physique you see on screen isn't maintainable all year round," he notes. "Jess knows that, so she spends most of the year working out consistently. Seven out of ten hard. Then, if there's ever a time when she needs to look her absolute best, she'll ramp it up for a few weeks, then go back to normal afterwards."
One exercise that we won't be seeing Jessica doing again is the last in the video: a straight-leg pull-up using the gymnastics rings. The trainer reveals that she's only done this move once - right in the lead up to when 'The Better Sister' started filming, and has "no intention" to do it again. We don't blame you, Jess.
