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If there’s anyone who can take side stepping, lunging, and punching to an Olivia Newton-John song into the 21st century, it’s Jane Fonda. The aerobics icon has released a new workout, and it’s out of this world—literally—because it takes place in virtual reality.
Wednesday, the Meta-owned VR fitness app Supernatural announced the December 25 release of a series of workouts led by Fonda. Supernatural is a VR fitness game played on Meta Quest devices that prompts players to squat, lunge, twist, and crunch in time to music, while swiping (with virtual light sabers) or punching targets flying at your face.
The workout game all takes place in real-life immersive scenic environments, like the surface of the moon or on a sand bar in the Galápagos. Well+Good got a sneak peak at a few of the workouts ahead of time, and they seriously delivered.
When you fire up the Jane Fonda Supernatural VR workout, she appears floating before you in one such incredible scene, Machu Picchu (“I came here for my 60th birthday,” she says). Wearing a classic leotard and leg warmer-getup, the 86-year-old leads you in a series of stretches to get you limber. Then, the actual workout starts. Fonda’s virtual figure disappears, but she narrates the workout for you as ’80s tunes (like Newton-John’s “Physical”) play.
Her instruction is soothing and motivating at the same time, just like in her original workouts.
Encouraging you to step side-to-side and, of course, use your virtual light sabers to smash targets to the beat, is certainly a trip. But her instruction is soothing and motivating at the same time, just like in her original workouts. She muses on the importance of getting active while aging, the benefits of travel and staying connected to nature, and more. Even just with her voice, she infuses the workout with energy, positivity, and fun. Fonda comes back on the scene for the cooldown to tell you how great you did. Honestly, it hits.
Though Fonda needs no assistance, for a Supernatural boxing workout, she gets a co-host in her fellow Atlantan and apparently good friend… Ludacris? Fonda and Luda materialize while the three of you hang out on top of an Ethiopian volcano. Bad Ludacris song puns abound, but Fonda instructing you to punch and jab is both hilarious and effective. (Unrelated, but important, question: Do we think Jane Fonda and Ludacris hang out with Martha Stewart and Snoop?)
Fonda also leads a full stretching class, which drops with the two workouts on Christmas Day. On January 1, Supernatural will release a Fonda-led “challenge,” which is a class multiple people compete in.
Will a new Jane Fonda workout be what finally entices you (or your mom) to try VR? If Fonda can’t do it, no one can. But if VR’s still not your thing, you can always throw it back with a good old Jane Fonda VHS workout. Either way, you’ll be sweating with the best.