Of all the Desperate Housewives, Eva Longoria spends the most time in a bikini. Or lingerie. Or just a towel. And occasionally not even that. “It’s what I signed up for,” she says. “I don’t get a ‘Woo-hoo’ every time I do it. It’s the character.”
The former gymnast, cheerleader, personal trainer and aerobics instructor never exercises in the name of alter ego Gabrielle Solis.
“My workout routine is geared to wanting to lead a healthy lifestyle,” Longoria says. “Not so much because I’m going to be shooting a bikini scene tomorrow.”
In fact, when Eva Longoria drew up plans for a new home in San Antonio she specifically requested to have a workout room. “I had to have that,” she says.
In the meantime, personal trainer Pat Murphy pays a house call three times a week to Longoria’s home in L.A. Despite her commitment to exercise, she confesses she can’t get motivated alone.
“Without my trainer, I wouldn’t even get out of bed. That’s why he has to come to my house, because there’s so many times I’ve called and canceled if we meet at a gym.
‘There’s too much traffic.’…‘It’s raining.’…” Murphy brings the equipment – and that varies. “I get bored really easily, so he keeps it different every day,” Longoria says.
“He changes it not only for my mind, but for my body too, so it doesn’t get used to the same thing. I do a lot of core exercises that strengthen everything at the same time instead of just doing biceps or leg curls.
Right now, I’ve been standing on those balance balls.” Her goal is different than most. “I do it to keep my shape,” she says. “I get thin so easily, so I work out to stay bigger.”
Growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas, “I was very skinny,” Longoria explains. “I didn’t pay attention to my looks – my mom was a teacher, so the focus was on education. I always felt comfortable in my own skin, regardless of how I looked.”
Today she can dine out on her genes. “I’m just lucky that everything I like is good for you,” she says. “I could eat vegetables all day long. I like fish and meat. I don’t really like carbs. I love fruit, yogurt and nuts.”
