--- title: Kate Beckinsale Gets an Emotional Boost From Exercise description: Underworld: Blood Wars' star Kate Beckinsale revealed her exercise routine and diet in the new issue of Shape Magazine. canonical: https://time.com/4618790/kate-beckinsale-emotional-boost-exercise/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-28T14:59:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:14.512Z og:title: Kate Beckinsale Gets an Emotional Boost From Exercise og:description: 'Working out is basically nature’s antidepressant' og:url: https://time.com/4618790/kate-beckinsale-emotional-boost-exercise/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc98975570df8781c/6988b417ab6d7702026ac588/kate-beckinsale-workout-routine.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Kate Beckinsale at "Inframundo Guerras de Sangre" press conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kate Beckinsale Gets an Emotional Boost From Exercise twitter:description: 'Working out is basically nature’s antidepressant' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc98975570df8781c/6988b417ab6d7702026ac588/kate-beckinsale-workout-routine.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kate Beckinsale Gets an Emotional Boost From Exercise by [Gabrielle Olya / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Gabrielle Olya / People Dec 28, 2016 2:59 PM UTC  MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - NOVEMBER 30: British actress Kate Beckinsale poses at "Inframundo Guerras de Sangre" (Underworld Blood Wars) press conference on November 30, 2016 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Edgar Negrete/Clasos/LatinContent/Getty Images) MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - NOVEMBER 30: British actress Kate Beckinsale poses at "Inframundo Guerras de Sangre" (Underworld Blood Wars) press conference on November 30, 2016 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Edgar Negrete/Clasos/LatinContent/Getty Images)Clasos/CON—LatinContent/Getty Images by [Gabrielle Olya / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Gabrielle Olya / People Dec 28, 2016 2:59 PM UTC Just like everyone else, [Kate Beckinsale](http://people.com/tag/kate-beckinsale/) doesn’t love going to the gym — but she keeps going because she loves the way it makes her feel afterwards. “I start out absolutely dreading it, do an incredibly punishing workout, bitch about it the whole time, and end up feeling 100 percent better when I leave,” the actress, 43, tells [_SHAPE_](http://www.shape.com/celebrities/videos/kate-beckinsale-january-2017-cover-shape) in the January/February 2017 issue, on newsstands Jan. 3\. “Working out is basically nature’s antidepressant.” Beckinsale meets with celebrity trainer [Gunnar Peterson](http://people.com/bodies/khloe-kardashian-trainer-gunnar-peterson-on-holiday-fitness-holiday-workout-lg/) five or six times a week for intense workout sessions. “I love [yoga](http://people.com/bodies/drew-barrymore-celebrates-christmas-with-a-sweaty-yoga-session/), and that’s all I used to do, but hardcore workouts have really made a big difference in my life,” she tells the magazine. “I have a lot of internal energy, and intense exercise helps me channel that energy. I find balance by doing a workout that makes me pour sweat. I never was that girl before, but I am now.” A typical exercise session for the _Underworld: Blood Wars_ star mixes [circuit training](http://greatideas.people.com/2016/03/30/we-tried-it-rachel-mcadams-high-intensity-circuit-training-class/) and cardio for full-body toning. “I do circuit training interspersed with brutal cardio, such as crazy things on a nonmotorized treadmill. That part is torture,” she says. “But the thing I like about circuit training is that you’re never doing one thing for very long. You get to the point where you almost can’t bear it, and it changes to something else.” As for diet, Beckinsale tried [being a vegetarian](http://people.com/food/zendaya-vegetarian-diet/) but found it made her energy levels too low, so now she sticks to a clean diet that incorporates chicken and fish. “\[My 17-year-old daughter\] [Lily](http://people.com/movies/kate-beckinsale-michael-sheen-celebrate-daughter-lily-college-acceptance/) and I eat clean — we have a lot of sautéed vegetables like brussels sprouts and broccoli and chicken and fish,” she says. “Also, I don’t drink alcohol. I feel \[its effects\] very quickly, so I’ve never actually had an entire glass of anything alcoholic.” _This_ [_article_](http://people.com/bodies/kate-beckinsale-emotional-boost-from-exercise/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4618790/kate-beckinsale-emotional-boost-exercise/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4618790/kate-beckinsale-emotional-boost-exercise/"},"headline":"Kate Beckinsale Gets an Emotional Boost From Exercise","datePublished":"2016-12-28T14:59:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:14.512Z","description":"'Working out is basically nature’s antidepressant'","url":"https://time.com/4618790/kate-beckinsale-emotional-boost-exercise/","keywords":["motto","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc98975570df8781c/6988b417ab6d7702026ac588/kate-beckinsale-workout-routine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Gabrielle Olya / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc98975570df8781c/6988b417ab6d7702026ac588/kate-beckinsale-workout-routine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kate Beckinsale at \"Inframundo Guerras de Sangre\" press conference","caption":"Kate Beckinsale at \"Inframundo Guerras de Sangre\" press conference","creditText":"Clasos/CON—LatinContent/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4618790/kate-beckinsale-emotional-boost-exercise/","name":"Kate Beckinsale Gets an Emotional Boost From Exercise"}}]}] ```