Sandra Oh has always had an amazing body. Now, before the Killing Eve actress hosts the Golden Globes on Sunday, January 6, with Andy Samberg, her trainer talks to Us Weekly exclusively about the fitness plan that keeps her stunningly in shape.
In a bit of an anomaly for Hollywood, the Grey’s Anatomy alum, 47, has been working with the same pro for 20-plus years: Dove Rose. And Oh brings that same sense of commitment and dedication to her workouts. “What’s so beautiful about someone like Sandra and most of my clients staying so consistent is that they stay strong enough, where, regardless of our ages, we continue to kick ass,” the founder of Dove’s Bodies tells Us. “She works hard. That’s why she looks so damn good.”
Besides doing Pilates regularly, the history-making 2018 Emmy nominee — who’s also nominated for a 2019 Golden Globe — takes private sessions with Rose and goes to her group class three to five times a week when she’s in town in L.A. “The classes are a combination of circuit training with influence deeply threaded throughout of mindfulness, meditation, breath work and being in the body and being grounded, and really taking care of yourself,” notes the pro.
Despite their focus on wellness, the sessions are hardly easy. “We do anything from lots of jump rope, treadmill, bike, elliptical, we use the Bosu Ball, lots of balance work, lots of plyometrics, lots of glider work,” says Rose. “We do sliders and runners on the floor. Lots of core training, planking. We do plank-offs to see who can hold plank the longest.” When it comes to free weights, Rose subscribes to the “higher reps, lower weights” school of thought, she notes: “Most of my clients are female, they just want to keep that very long, lean feminine but powerful body.”
The hour-long classes were built around the principles of “old-school P.E. moves” like pushups, dips, step-ups, lunges and resistance band work, says Rose. Now, they also incorporate advances in body-mind science. “We do a lot of foam rolling and a lot of yoga and the yoga sutras as well. A lot of vinyasas, power yoga, yoga nidra where we’re just doing restorative at the end of class.” To finish: meditation and savasana, or corpse pose.
But when Oh and other clients who are on camera get to work in their private sessions, Rose focuses on toning. “I go really deep into the micro-muscles of the arms, the glutes, the core — especially if they’re going to have a nude scene or a sex scene or be in a bikini,” she says.
Or, say, if they’re going to host an awards show. Before a big event, “I tend to go really heavy on cardio so they feel as lean as they can be,” says Rose, “but then I really get into the micro-details of the triceps, the chest, the lats — what might show around a sleeveless or strapless dress.”
And though the trainer notes that she hasn’t been working with Oh lately since the actress has been filming her BBC show in London, the Canada native didn’t exactly need much body work to prepare for the Globes. “Another great thing about Sandra is that this is her lifestyle. She doesn’t just run in before a show or before a filming — this is her everyday life,” Rose says of her active tendencies, including hiking. “She’s always had an intention of the most self-care she can have. She’s always an inquisitive mind — wanting to deepen her awareness into all modalities of health and wellness.”
The 76th annual Golden Globe Awards will air on NBC Sunday, January 6, at 8 p.m. ET.
Nominees include Vice, The Favourite, Green Book and A Star Is Born for film and Sharp Objects, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, The Americans and Barry for TV.
