5 Women on TV to Watch For Fitspiration

We can’t get enough of the women taking over our television sets this fall. Not only are they badass, but their bodies are seriously rockin’ too. They totally exemplify what it means to own your health. That’s why we were dumbfounded to find that research conducted by San Diego State’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film revealed that speaking roles for small screen female stars has declined by 2.3% this year as compared to last year.

So we decided to shine a light on five of our favorite primetime stars that are worth watching. The best part: They are all over 40, proving that women just keep getting better with age!

Jada Pinkett Smith

Gotham, Mondays at 8 pm EST on FOX

Our gorgeous October cover star, who just celebrated her 43rd birthday, let Health in on the secret to her sexy, svelte shape: “I make sure I do something physical every single day. But that doesn't mean you have to go to the gym and freakin' kill yourself! I do 20 minutes of cardio a day. Everybody's thinking you gotta be in the gym for an hour and a half. Literally, I'm never in the gym longer than 45 minutes.”

Connie Britton

Nashville, Wednesdays at 10pm EST on ABC

When the former aerobics instructor isn’t belting out country music tunes, you can find her getting sweaty in hot yoga. The 47 year-old Dartmouth alum has been quoted as saying how much she loves the “mind-body-spirit element” of posing in the heat. (P.S. We're team Deacon all the way!)

Tracee Ellis Ross

Black-ish, Wednesdays at 9:30pm EST on ABC

This fab former model (and daughter of Diana Ross!), has been linked to several fitness regimens: the Gyrotonic workout (a mixture of dance, tai chi, yoga, and gymnastics); the Tracy Anderson Method; and has posted pictures on her Instagram account of her sweating it out with celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins. Ross recently told Upscale magazine: “I’m proud of my body—I work very hard to keep my body at 41 years old, because my booty could drop. Gravity is not a joke.”

Kate Walsh

Bad Judge, series premiere on Thursday, October 2, at 9pm EST on NBC

Whether she’s strutting her stuff along the beach in a bikini or showing some serious skin on a magazine cover, we don’t think we’ve ever seen 46 look this good! How exactly does the red-haired beauty keep that killer muscle definition? She’s a fan of Pilates sessions with trainer Juliet Kaska.

Lucy Liu

Elementary, premieres Thursday, October 30, at 10pm EST on CBS

You might be surprised to find out that this martial arts master (um, hello, did you not see her butt-kicking awesomeness in the Kill Bill and Charlie’s Angels franchises?) is also a fan of Pilates. In fact, the 45 year-old credits it with elongating her muscles and giving her a leaner frame.