Night before last Richard and I had some friends (and family) over for dinner and to listen to some music. I loved seeing Rosanna again. She and I used to hang back in the late 70s and 80s and I was in her documentary, “Searching for Debra Winger”.

Parky DeVogelaere, My bro Peter and Rosanna Arquette

Singer/actor, Olivia d'Abo, her husband, music producer and pianist, Patrick Leonard, actor/director Rosanna Arquette, me, Peter, Parky and Richard

Songwriter supreme, Diane Warren with friends

Trying to be funny on their laps

Diane, me, Rosanna

Then, I just got back from a full day’s work doing the two exercise programs I am developing with a wonderful group of boomers and seniors who volunteered to be my guinea pigs. We all had a really good time and I learned a lot from them about what works, what needs tweeking, etc. They were a wonderful group, randomly picked to come into Darren Capik’s studio. ET and People Magazine stopped by to watch and film and I was interviewed and I am wiped!!! I think I’ll go take a hot Epsom Salts bath before we go out to dinner.

me talking with producer/director Darren Capik

torso twists

Using the band

doing wall squats

Denise Austin, Katrina Hodgson and me

I met Denise Austin yesterday. She is a real dynamo, overflowing with positive energy and generosity. She will join the roster of fitness celebrities that will be coming together to make May 1st a memorable event. I can’t yet go into detail about what it will be but stay tuned. Katrina Hodgson is a young fitness expert with more degrees and credentials to her name than most 80 year old physiologists. She also has an online exercise program. She is working with me on my new dvds. Funny, she even looks like she could be part of the Fonda clan. I have first cousins who could be her sister.

Next week we’re getting together with a group of seniors to go through the program with them to be sure they feel comfortable doing it, like it and would want to do it over and over. I gotta have their input. In the old days I had my own JF Workout studio as a laboratory to try things out. Now I have to create the lab. This is how I learn what works and what doesn’t. I’m so excited to be at this again after twenty years.

And now finally, I have the rest of the day to write my book. Days like this are  a real treat. Ain’t I lucky?

Today’s the day that I went to the studio of producer/director, Darren Capik to be interviewed about my history in the fitness business, how I started it, why I am interested in doing programs for boomers and older folks, how being healthy is related to self empowerment, to ‘owning your body’ and not giving it away, exposing it to disease, or burdening it with obesity. We covered a lot of ground over the seven hours I was there. There are the dvds I am going to be making in a month and a number of other extremely exciting projects that will be heard round the world —if we do our job right. Richard Simmons is in on it with me (among other famous fitness gurus) and he was kind enough to come over to do part of the interview with me and then on his own, also talking about why he does what he does…what he has been doing since the early 1970s. He is in such amazing shape, still overflowing with good humor and song. I lost track of the number of Broadway tunes he sang in the 2 1/2 hours he was with me. I was sad when he left.

With Karen Kawahara, my makeup stylist, looking at the monitor of what we just shot

Waiting in front of the lights to start the first interview

Richard Simmons just arrived to join me in the interviews. Doesn't he look fantastic!!

Can't be serious around Richard for long.

Richard and I being interviewed...and, actually, it did get serious (and quite moving) for awhile

With Darren Capik, producer/director of my new dvds

Yesterday’s blog about Valentine’s Day will come tomorrow because the photos from last night’s party haven’t been sent to me yet.

Stay Tuned

A recent article in the Daily Mail reports that my knee replacement surgery was the result of years of repetitive pounding from doing my Jane Fonda Workout programs. Wrong! It is a result of osteoarthritis which my father, Henry Fonda, also suffered from, as does my brother, Peter, who may need hip replacement soon. You never saw them doing the Jane Fonda Workouts. My family’s osteoarthritis (the gradual disappearance of joint cartilage) is a matter of genes, not working out. I am sure that my 25 years of eating disorders didn’t help the condition, and perhaps my decade of running made it worse. But sooner or later I would have needed joint replacement even if I had been totally sedentary.

The fact is that my Workout programs were initially not aerobic at all. Only one of them, “The Workout Challenge,” had an aerobic component and because it was so challenging, not many people purchased it. When I actually got into producing aerobic videos they were of the low-impact variety and were supervised by sports physiologists. As for my exhortation to  ”Go for The Burn,” that came with strength building-working the particular muscle group long enough to feel the burn that results from the build up of lactic acid. This has nothing to do with aerobic activity which is where the “pounding” comes in.

Genes, my friends, are the culprits, not my workouts,