Jennifer Lopez met up with Good Morning America’s Chris Cuomo in Central Park this morning. She talked about training for a triathlon to take place on September 14 in Malibu in which she will run, bike, and swim to raise money for Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. According to the website for the 2008 Nautica Malibu triathlon, the course consists of “a half-mile ocean swim, an 18 mile out-and-back bike course, and a 4-mile out-and-back run course.”
Lopez was recently declared the most inspiring woman by Self Magazine and was there with the magazine’s editor Lucy Danzinger, who is is helping her train.
Twins sleep through the night
Lopez said the twins are doing “great” and “amazing” and that they sleep through the night and that they “go to bed around 9/9:30 and get up around 6:30/7:00.”
They are looking for a nanny still
She mentioned they are about to get help with her six month-old twins, and that “We actually just tried somebody out last week when Lucy was there, it was her first day, because I will be going back to work to do a film later in the year, so I’m trying to find somebody… We’ve been doing it [caring for the twins] by ourselves and we love it.”
Lopez said she got the idea to do a triathlon when she was 8 months pregnant and saw one on TV. She thought “maybe I could do that this year.”
Lopez was encouraged by Self editor Danzinger, who contacted her after she heard she would do a triathlon and told her she could help. Danzinger is a triathlete who has been training for around 4 years.
Start slow if you’re training
Self.com has more about Lopez’s triathlon training, and Danzinger said you can train for one if you’re already active by just adding things gradually into your workout.
Lopez claimed the swimming was a “killer” and was the hardest part for her. Danzinger added that you can train to swim by just trying it for five minutes at a time, and giving yourself permission to stop.
Lopez said training is fun and challenging but admitted she’s scared she might not be able to finish.
Danzinger emphasized the importance of setting goals and said “if you have a goal, you can reach that finish line.”
Lopez spends about an hour and a half training a day, works out at home
As for working out and having time for her children, Lopez said that she has a full setup at home with a stationary bike and treadmill and that she does about an hour to an hour and a half a day. Her husband, Marc Anthony, is very supportive, and helped set up her workout room.
Jennifer Lopez usually seems like a self-centered diva to me, but good for her for training for a triathlon and donating the money to charity if that’s what she wants to do. I’m kind of surprised that she claims to be such a hands-on mom, although she seemed genuine about it on GMA this morning. You can donate to Lopez’s cause through Self.com.
Photo Credit: Anthony Dixon/WENN
I admire her. There’s nothing wrong with making fitness a priority in your life, especially when it helps you cope with the massive change new babies bring. Best of luck to her!
I’m sure they do, the nanny sleeps right down the hall.
Yes, I’m sure it’s quite a bit different when you have the option of having someone else take over when you need a break. Good for her on the triathlon, though. Swimming is a bitch.
“We actually just tried somebody out last week when Lucy was there, it was her first day, because I will be going back to work to do a film later in the year, so I’m trying to find somebody… We’ve been doing it [caring for the twins] by ourselves and we love it.”
Nice way to cover your ass.
And all babies sleep through the night with the help of a little benadryl.
haha only kidding. =]]]
Who wears large hoop earrings while training? Oh yeah, Jennifer Lopez.
Good for her. *reaches for doughnut*
For me, Lopez is one of those do-no-harm celebs. She’s self-absorbed and materialistic, but I think she basically has a good heart.
While I cannot sneer at someone planning or attempting to do this physical feat, because sometimes I have to stop and rest when walking six blocks (kidding!!), I really wish they’d refer to it as something other than a triathlon, since a real triathlon is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run. What JLo is planning, a half mile swim, 18 mile bike ride and 4 mile run, is much less. Still impressive and more than I could do, but not a true triathlon.
Yeah right because she wants everyone to think her world is oh so perfect. Like vdantev said the nannies sleep down the hall. I have never seen anyone talk so much about NOT having a nanny as these two.. GIVE ME A BREAK.. we are not dingbats Lopez.. hilarious.
Syko-
Triathalons are all different lengths. There is no such thing as a “Real” triathalon. As long as you’re racing and doing the 3 events back to back to back, you’re doing a triathalon. What she is doing is not easy at all. Try doing just one of those sports by itself and the average person would be winded. She’s training for a triathalon and should be commended. Just b/c it’s not long enough for you doesn’t make it any less of a triathalon.
This story stinks to high heaven. I read somewhere that this “triathlon training” is just a desperate bid to get back to her pre-baby figure. I smiled because at the time I was running my warmup set, and thought that “training” would be a very clever rouse for extreme weightloss – if you have the self discipline to punish yourself for months.
She strikes me as a very insincere person with very selfish motives. I can understand going back to work to support her family, but training for a triathlon is serious shit. It consumes most of one’s time and energy (far more than an hour and a half a day) – especially if one just recently gave birth. It’s an incredibly soulful, yet hedonistic endeavor, one that I think is slightly inappropriate to undertake with little ones still breast feeding.
And aren’t they allegedly raising the kids solo? Sans help from nannies? That’s an awful lot of childcare to put in the lap of your spouse while you’re ‘running’ 20k a week, Jenny. That is of course, if she’s actually following her regimen.
I think the only way she’s going to be participating in a triathlon is as a gatorade girl at the relay stations. I think she’s delusional, but I welcome her to prove me wrong.
vdantev: My thoughts, exactly.
Gah – My previous post was based on the assumption that when J-Lo said that she was going to do a triathlon, she meant she was going to do a “triathlon” – not a fucking kiddie race.
So much for reading all the instructions before marking down your answer. My teachers would be so disappointed in me.
Thank you Syko – my thoughts exactly. I am a SELF subscriber but I haven’t received the Sept. issue in which she talks about the triathlon yet, so I’ll be very interested to see whether they clarify that what she is doing isn’t really a true “tri”. Although, she’s doing a hell of a lot more than what I’m doing right now. Kudos to her, but I do wish she’d call it what it really is.
Syko: Lopez is doing a sprint triathlon, which is very respectable. I’m pretty sure you’d find disagreement from any number of Olympians, too, since according to you, they’re not doing “real” triathlons either.
Sprint tri: 750m (0.5mi) swim, 20km (12.4 mi) bike, 5km (4 mi) run
Olympic tri: 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10km run
Ironman tri: 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, 42.2 km run
Karen: Thank you for the correction. I got my actual numbers from Wikipedia. I was aware that there are shorter competitions, one of my bosses is training for a half triathlon now. Your information and attitude are appreciated.
As I said, it’s far more than I can do and I admire her for that. But she should clarify that she’s doing a sprint, and not a full-fledged (is that better than “true”?) triathlon.
There is nothing wrong w/ getting help if you can afford it, but it seems like her and Anthony are going out of their way to make it clear they are hands on. I’m sorry but with their busy schedules and nights out on the town there is no way they do not have help. They should just admit they have some help if not a lot.
Good for her on the “sprint.”
The triathalon you described is the Ironman Triathlon. There are many different kinds and they’re all considered “real” triathlons. There’s nothing selfish about taking the time to get back in shape after having babies. It doesn’t make her a non-hands-on mom to take a couple of hours a day to exercise. Her husband doesn’t have a demanding schedule as far as I know. I believe that she’s a hands on mom. She wanted kids for a long time and she’s a bit of a type A personality and I don’t see her handing her babies off to someone else to care for. She said in the Self article that she wouldn’t be motivated to exercise just to lose the baby weight but having the goal of doing a triathlon motivates her. We all play tricks like that on ourselves. I trained for a marathon I ended up never doing. But I lost 15 pounds in the process which was really my goal. I wish people would be less critical of new moms not falling into the martyr role of the overextended, exhausted mom. It’s great that she’s doing this and showing that it takes a lot of work to get into shape after a baby! Kudos to her for going on national television bigger than normal and not being a size 4 right away like so many other celeb moms.
I agree with KarenOK.
I believe she can do the training in 1 – 1.5 hr/day and she could do it while the babies are napping. She is a good role model for health in that she is not a skinny person by nature, but showing people that it can be hard work to regain your pre-pregnancy self.
Honestly, whether they have help or not is not interesting to me.
🙁 I had to go back to work at 6 weeks after I had my daughter because I could not afford to be home with my baby. that’s nice that jlo wants to be active, but her children are only 6 months once in their life. I dont believe her motive is so sincere. She isn’t content without the flash bulbs. I agree that it’s all a publicity ploy.
BTW,
Is she showing off the size of the man’s unit she prefers with those hand gestures or what? 😯
If JLo’s fat ass can get through a freaking triathlon, I’ll bench press my own house!
😈
I do not know why people dislike Jennifer Lopez so much, I mean yes she seems too materialistic but most celebs are the same, is hard not to be when you grow up with nothing then you suddenly earn enough money to effort everything. However, from all the interviews I have seen her in, she seems genuinely sweet and a fun person, so I have always liked her.
Enonymous, there’s a general perception among people that if you start from humble beginnings and come into money and promptly act like you’ve always been rich and you somehow deserve all your new-found wealth and privilege, then you’re not a good person and you’ve betrayed your humble origins and all the people who shared that life with you. I’m not saying it’s fair, but that’s how it is.
I still think of that little song she did called ‘Still Jenny from the Block’ where she tried to defend herself from the critics who called her out for this behavior.
Enonymous, I don’t know about why everyone else dislikes JLo so much (but vdantev has said half of what I was going to say), but I have heard many many unpleasant things about her; now, I know before I get jumped on that you can’t believe everything you see and hear(my grandma taught me that), but I also know that where there’s smoke, there’s fire!
I dislike her because she plays people to get “good” press. Hmm. Remember what she did AFTER the engagement to (aka white boy) Ben Affleck ended? Met up, married Skeletor and “embraced” her roots. PLOY!! But, that was the best thing that ever happened to Ben; look at him now! He has beautiful, sincere Jennifer G, a gorgeous little girl, and another baby on the way! (I know that’s off topic, but still….yay!!)
Also, enonymous, you do bring up good points. I’m NOT criticizing you at all. 😉
If J Lo did this…it was no easy feat. I am an active triathlete and member of USAT. I have run everything from sprint to ironman and have to say they are all REAL triathlons. There is no distance requirement to be a TRUE triathlon. There are small supersprints all the way to ironmans. They are all grueling and tough to compete it. The competition in the sprints are some of the hardest because everyone paces it up ALOT to try to place. Don’t knock her till you’ve tried one yourself.
J-lo doing a triathlon is sweet! Triathlon is increasing in popularity too.
Jennifer Lopez has gotta keep that nice body looking great! A triathlon is a good way to do that.
Jennifer Lopez is so beautiful. I would love to see her at a triathlon one day.
I really don’t understand why everyone loves Jennifer Lopez so much. For me, she is not that attractive…