4 minute read
Cover Story – Jennifer Lopez - "Let's Get Loud"
SHE HAS 12 TOP-SELLING ALBUMS TO HER NAME, SELLING OVER 70 MILLION, HAS APPEARED IN AT LEAST 42 FILMS, IS MUM TO 13-YEAR-OLD TWINS AND IN 2020 LAUNCHED HER OWN BRAND OF BEAUTY PRODUCTS, AND AT 52, JENNIFER LOPEZ HAS NO INTENTION OF RETIRING FROM THE LIMELIGHT.
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In February 2020 at the 54th Super Bowl Halftime show in Miami, JLo joined Shakira on stage and broke the internet with their dance moves and rendition of “Let’s Get Loud”.
Declared by some in the media as “too sexy” for prime time, the energetic performances from 43-yearold Shakira and the 50-year-old JLo wowed the majority of us for their agility and professionalism. Yes, we know a lot of it is “smoke and mirrors” thanks to trainers, stylists, make-up, hair and a cast of thousands, but it was awesome to behold women of a certain age, visible, talented and rocking it. Of her performance, which includes an epic knee slide across the stage, the ever-humble JLo said “I think it’s super important for two Latina women to be headlining the Super Bowl, especially right now in Trump’s America.” Behind the dazzling 15 minutes on stage, are years of solid workouts. She told Harper’s Bazaar that she always like to “mix it up”, with yoga or a boxing class and sessions drawn from the Tracy Anderson Method, pole dancing and weight training at the gym. In New York, according to her Instagram posts, JLo seeks a sesh with celebrity trainer, David Kirsch who’s known for his 32-minute workouts that consist of short bursts of interval training. Apart from the consistent training, JLo is a fanatic for diet which she says plays a major role in how she looks and feels. The triple threat is said to avoid alcohol, caffeine, sugary drinks and processed food, which is vital to her ageless appearance. Instead, she’s a stickler for lots of veggies, fruit, and fish and drinks plenty of water. “Drinking plenty of water, especially before a workout, can help you push harder and get more out of your exercise routine. I try to keep my body hydrated and well rested after every workout. That way, I'm ready to hit it hard again the next day.” In an interview with Hollywood Life, JLo confessed to loving nothing better than salmon and a veggie-packed salad such as broccoli, peppers and zucchini with a drizzle of vinaigrette on top. For dinner, “protein and quinoa, which feels like rice and beans, which I grew up with. And I like pork and chicken, especially Puerto Rican style.” Whether she’s busting a move on stage, hosting “American Idol” for a record US$12 million, juggling motherhood and mogul of her several businesses, or posing on the deck of a yacht with new-old flame, Ben Affleck, JLo breaks barriers in what has become known as “The JLo effect” – the way in which she defies nearly every human standard, such as beauty, talent, success, age, relevance – all of them!
We all realise she is blessed with beauty (and more than her fair share of brains) and surrounded by the perks of wealth and fame. But instead of comparing the ways we fall short of the “JLo Glow” (the name of her new skin serum, coincidentally), which is absolutely unachievable, we should take several substantial leaves out of her book.
JLo and Shakira are part of a trend of super-fit women maintaining their physical fitness and self-care into mid-life and beyond, putting themselves as priority while they manage businesses, brands and families.
At the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympics, international debutantes in their 40s and top contenders in their 50s and 60s proved age is just a number. According to Olympics.com, Australia’s Mary Hanna, who at 66 years young was the first woman to make six Australian Olympic Teams, was also the oldest Olympian at Tokyo 2020. 57-year-old People's Republic of China table tennis star, Ni Xialian competed at her fifth Olympic Games, 36 years after claiming her first world title in Tokyo, breaking all sorts of records along the way. Shout-out to basketball legend, Sue Bird too who’s going for a fifth women’s basketball gold medal and turned 41 this year, and the evergreen 46-year-old gymnast Oksana Chusovitina who competed in her eighth Olympic Games. Consider JLo the performer, the athlete, still giving everything she’s got and performing at her peak at 50. That is totally inspiration-worthy and should fire us all up to keep doing our best and demanding the best for ourselves into our 50s, 60s and beyond. Just after JLo and Shakira showed us what mid-life now looks like, Samantha Brennan, co-author with Tracy Isaacs of the book “Fit at Mid-Life: A Feminist Fitness Journey” wrote an opinion piece for The Conversation.
She stated “Older women are taking over the running community and are, as a group, the fastestgrowing race demographic. Women in their 40s are also running faster marathon times than 20-somethings, according to the running app Strava. “These excellent performers shouldn’t cause women to throw up their hands and stop working out any more than Olympic cyclists should inspire us to quit riding our bikes.” Instead, they “inspire us to take up exercise, fitness and nutrition for an investment in longevity.”
Top advice. Now, Let’s Get Loud!
