‘The Walking Dead’s’ Danai Gurira Details ‘Intense’ Fitness & Workout Routine

Danai Gurira plays fierce, walker-slaying warrior, Michonne, on The Walking Dead and she’s also known for her big-screen roles in The Black Panther and The Avengers: Infinity War as well as her work as a playwright and an activist. With such a busy schedule, it’s hard to believe the 40-year-old actress finds time for the intense workout routine that keeps her in such great shape, but it’s clear she makes it a priority.

In a new cover story for Women’s Health, Danai Gurira gives the skinny on her workout secrets and her healthy eating plan. Gurira revealed that she works out four times a week with trainer AJ Fisher, whom she met through a Walking Dead co-star. Fisher and Gurira focus on circuit training and Pilates-style exercises during their workout sessions.

“If I haven’t worked out, if I haven’t exercised and connected with my body in some way, it chips away at my feeling of well-being,” Danai told the magazine. Still, Danai Gurira admits that her workouts can be challenging.

“Sometimes it’s so intense I can’t remember what we did,” The Walking Dead star revealed.

The actress’s trainer, who specializes in a method which evens out muscle imbalances while improving strength, mobility, and cardiovascular function, puts her through the wringer on the workout circuit.

Danai’s typical workout routine is a combination of circuit training and Pilates-inspired moves with high-intensity intervals and “active rest.” Danai also wears a heart rate monitor and uses resistance bands, which she also takes with her when she travels so she can keep up with her workouts on the road. Every session also includes glutes work because “it’s the biggest muscle in the body and key for posture and balance,” Gurira’s trainer says.

Danai also adds yoga and jogging sessions with her dog to the mix. While all of that activity would make it seem like Danai Gurira loves to work out, it turns out she’s only human.

“I don’t think anyone loves working out all the time,” Gurira admitted. But she does like to reap the rewards, and she has been active since she was a kid.

Gurira previously told Rolling Stone she has been an athlete since childhood.

“I was a jock,” Danai said. “I became a very competitive swimmer in Zimbabwe. I was a swimmer, a tennis player, a hockey player.”

In addition to her workout routine, Danai Gurira follows a loose “pesca-vegan” diet. After giving up most meat and dairy products several years ago, Danai revealed that she feels better than ever and that spinach is her go-to green.

For more on Danai Gurira, see the video below.