Susan Lucci has a six day a week workout plan: ‘My body craves it’

Opening night of 'Pretty Woman: The Musical' - Arrivals

Susan Lucci is 71. I don’t know why this surprises me, as my mother jokes that All My Children was my unofficial babysitter while I was growing up in the early 1970s. The Daytime Emmy winner (who will always be Erica Kane to me) still looks amazing, and, of course, she works hard to maintain a fit lifestyle.

In in interview with Women’s Fitness, Susan said she works out six days a week. I work out five days a week and now I feel inadequate. She admitted, “I try to take one day off, because you’re supposed to take a day off.” Note she said “supposed to”. She doesn’t lock away her sneakers on that seventh day, confessing that she’ll “always do something, because I find my body craves it.” My body craves pizza and Buffalo wings. Life’s not fair sometimes.

One thing she and I have in common is the time of the day devoted to staying in shape. She says, “I like to work out first thing in the morning because then I know, no matter what happens for the rest of the day, I’ve done something good for myself.” After a long day of writing, of which posting here is the best part of it, I just want to collapse on the couch, so if I don’t go to the gym in the morning, I don’t workout that day. Working out in the morning also alleviates the feeling of guilt I carry with me all day if I don’t go. I totally understand Susan saying it’s a “craving,” because I feel the same way…even though my relationship with exercise can often border on abusive.

Susan practices Pilates moves to stay in shape (on a chair she promotes), but has always made fitness a part of her routine, especially after preparing to complete on Dancing with the Stars. She told the magazine, “I knew I’d have to step up my program, to get an even stronger core to be dancing on the show.” And, as a result of stepping it up (the lady did a pretty mean mambo), she now has flat abs – and she’s proud of them.

One thing the petite lady may not be able to achieve through her workouts is her height. She jokes, “I want to be 5’8, and I’m hoping I can get there through stretching—right now I’m five foot two on a good day.” I think she’s perfect just the way she is. I loved that such a small statured woman was such a good, larger than life soap opera villainess. it’s good to see my “babysitter” living her best life.

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Opening night of 'Pretty Woman: The Musical' - Arrivals

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29 Responses to “Susan Lucci has a six day a week workout plan: ‘My body craves it’”

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  1. Ginger says:

    She looks fantastic.

    I’ve trained on the piece of equipment that inspired her chair; my pilates instructor called it the Wonder Chair. That it is, LOL.

    • Eliza says:

      I love Susan! She looks great, and when you have a routine for decades your body does crave it.

      I miss my old pilates trainer (she moved away, whyyyy). She was great and used all the equipment (reformer, chair, barrel, Cadillac, walls, floors) and as an ex- ballerina also the barre. But never the same 1-2-3 routines and always changed it up. There is so much variety on each equipment you can do. I just haven’t had any luck in my area finding another teacher that is as good (and doesn’t work only weekdays at 10am – seriously i have to go to other towns for studios that have 5pm and weekend classes smh)

  2. Veronica S. says:

    Honestly, when I was my best shape and had the time to do it…six days a week was pretty typical. There comes a point where your body becomes so reliant on that extra boost of endorphins and adrenaline that you kind of “crash” if you go several days without it. Sometimes, I’d even do minor exercise on the seventh day, like a stroll. The more active your body is, the more it wants to be active. Basic kinetics – objects in motion, etc, etc.

    It’s part of why it’s so hard to get back into shape if you were previously sedentary or suffered an injury/medical condition that stopped your routine. Your body adjust to that lifestyle, and it’s just one long climb uphill to get back uphill. Five years and a combined thyroid/GI disorder has left me fifty pounds heavier than I used to be, and it’s been a massive battle against fatigue and muscular deterioration to get back into the shape I was in my mid-twenties.

    • april says:

      I hope you feel better soon, Veronica. I’ve had a similar issue and am starting to get back into shape. I have a ways to go but I’m telling myself “I lose weight easily.” Hope it works! 🙂

  3. Sam the Pink says:

    I have used a Pilates chair, and they will kick your ass (no lie). Seriously, they are deceptive in how tough they are.

    And good on her for not having excuses. Exercise actually becomes more important for women as we age, so I’m for anybody who promotes women working out well into our later years.

  4. Jan90067 says:

    LOVE LOVE LOVE La Lucci! I remember, as a kid, staying home with the Hong Kong Flu the week AMC started, so I watched from the beginning (yes, I am *that* old lol). I told a group of friends, who started watching when they’d be home sick, and we kept up by getting our moms to watch occasionally, and we’d watch vacations, summers, etc. Sigh… still miss my AMC daily fix 😊

    Susan looks amazing for 71. Even the plastic surgery she’s had (aside from the boob job, which is just too much for her little frame IMO), just made her look like a better, rested version of herself. I remember when she had her nose job during the AMC days… the controversy!! lol. Now, no one would bat an eye.

    I always look forward to seeing Susan…still a big fan 😊

    • Lightpurple says:

      My dad was a huge fan of All My Children. He was a firefighter and they would watch it at the fire station. He loved Ericka.

      AMC Trivia: Susan’s Ericka was step mom to Michael B. Jordan’s Reggie Porter Montgomery

      • Nancy says:

        LP…The Queen of Trivia. You always have a tidbit of info that is always interesting. My grandad was a firefighter as well in Canton, Ohio. 🚒

  5. Esmom says:

    I love Susan Lucci, AMC was my lunchtime companion for a couple decades. But holy hell could her face be pulled any tighter? Makes me sad that she can’t relax into her age. She’s about as opposite in that regard from Jamie Lee Curtis as a person can get. But she’s harmless and seems sweet and lovely.

    Working out is important to me, it’s actually essential to my mental health especially. But I take two days off a week, I need to let my aging joints rest a bit or I end up with injuries.

  6. Jerusha says:

    She has been married to her first and only husband for nearly 50 years! Pretty impressive. How many marriages did Erica rack up? 10? 11?

  7. Prissa says:

    This may be a silly question, but can anyone have that small frame? I’m quite overweight now, but even at my smallest (130 in high school), my body never looked so tiny. I’m 5’4” so I think I should be able to be that small, but I never did.

    Is it possible or do people truly have different sized bones, which might equate to a larger frame??? 🤔

    ETA- I just checked – she’s 5’ 1” so that’s probably why. LOL

    • Jerusha says:

      I’m 5’, 93 pounds. I think of myself as Xenaesque, but when I see a photograph of me standing next to someone, I look about 11 years old, sizewise. I am very small boned, so I would say yes to your question.

    • Olive says:

      absolutely possible. I’m 5’2″ and about 120lbs and very often see women a couple inches shorter and up to 20 lbs lighter than me. i know it takes a lot of hard work and discipline though

    • Jan90067 says:

      I met her in person, at the Beverly Hills Cheesecake Factory eons ago. Her son, Andreas, was about 5 at the time, and she was holding him; he was almost as big as she was! lol. And she is TINY! About 5’1, and if she was 100 lbs, that was a lot! I wasn’t big (5’3″, and 125 lbs) and I felt like King Kong next to her! lol

      I went over to her to say hello (after having a heart attack seeing my fav soap star in my local CF!!), and she was sooooo sweet and gracious. Something as a young teen I never forgot 😊.

    • Veronica S. says:

      Yeah, I have a friend whose 5’ and 90 pounds on her thinnest. She’s ususally closer to 100, but not at all overly thin. She’s just a legitimately tiny woman with small bone structure.

    • CharliePenn says:

      Yes! Recently a nutritionist was calculating my caloric needs, and the body scan machine they used on me gave a reading of “structurally large”. Big boned! I swear to god! So the nutritionist gave me higher calories and a higher weight goal.

      I reached the supposed “healthy” weight for my height (I’m 5’9”) once in high school, by starving myself. I was scaring people and I was very unwell. I looked awful, I was too thin. I had almost no muscle. It’s totally crazy to say that that was a healthy weight for me. My goal weight is a good 25-30 lbs over that weight now. So structure is a real thing and impacts your health.

      • Betsy says:

        That’s nice to know that they’re accounting for frame size these days. The last time I saw a nutritionist, she told me that frame size was a myth. I remember thinking that that was bull; I think the very fittest and thinnest body I could ever have would be the short version of Cindy Crawford – muscular and toned, but never svelte.

  8. Aerohead21 says:

    Aww thank you for posting this!! Erica Kane was my babysitter too, though I was an 80s child. I got to witness her love with Jack 🙂 Anyway, she is life goals at 71. I’m guessing this has been a routine of hers for many, many years though. It makes it easier to maintain when it’s that deeply ingrained. It takes a lot of work to keep that up. If I didn’t have 4 kids and no time, I could invest in myself that way too. Good for her!

  9. BANANIE says:

    I would kill to look like that at her age — or now! I’ve recently fallen out of the habit after a long bout of depression and it’s such a struggle getting back into it. But I know how good it is for you and how it even helps with those symptoms.

    But I don’t know about you guys, but as much as I tell myself it’s for the health benefits, in my heart I feel like it’s a physical appearance thing. Which is why it’s so easy to lose motivation.

    • Esmom says:

      I think can be both. I’m sure for Susan her physical appearance was always a major concern, as it seems to be for most actors.

      It has always been a huge factor in managing the depression and anxiety that I’ve battled my whole life. It’s always been easy for me to keep up a regular workout schedule, I think, because I was an athlete growing up. Consistency is the key, for both the physical and mental benefits.

    • FhMom says:

      I’m guessing that you are young if you feel the gym is only for your appearance. I’m over 50 and I go for my health. I do like that it keeps my weight down, but I’ve realized that my pear shaped body type isn’t going to change, my thighs will never be small and a low body weight doesn’t equal health. Studies have shown that exercise may ward off all sorts of disease and even keep you mentally sharp. (I’m not criticizing you, so please don’t take it that way.)

      ETA I just wanted to add that exercise helps with my depression. I feel like even if I get nothing done all day, if I can get to the gym, I’ve accomplished something.

  10. Darkladi says:

    My mom raised me on All My Children. My Auntie Erica looks great!!

  11. Alix says:

    She’s addicted to being thin. Total lollipop head.

    • Nancy says:

      Yep. She’s like a page out of the past. The big hair, head and itsy, bitsy body that she will keep until it’s her time. Not so many lollipops anymore. Her face is so tight, it looks like it will crack if that smile gets any wider! But props to her, it took so many years to get her Emmy, and she finally did and was so happy. I never watched a soap opera, my mom did…Young & The Restless. I don’t even think they’re on anymore. Keep smiling Erica!

    • K8typat says:

      She looks so anorexic to me.

  12. Valerie says:

    The problem I have with workouts is that it never feels like enough. I could put in a solid workout and go for a walk, and still tell myself that I need to do more. (Before you tell me, I’m aware that I have a problem, lol.) I would like to get to the point where I can have her mindset and relax guilt-free.

  13. Myrtle says:

    I need that chair! Wonder how much it costs…?

    • Myrtle says:

      UPDATE: Looks like $199 on QVC.

      • Dazed and confused says:

        @Myrtle – I HAVE this chair and I love it. It is much harder than you would think – but it doesn’t leave me so exhausted I can’t function later. I have Hashimoto’s – so a lot of workouts will flatten me for days – even ones I used to be able to handle. This is based on Joseph Pilate’s Wunda Chair. It’s also very sturdy. You don’t have to be as tiny as Susan Lucci to use it. 🙂