Oprah Winfrey celebrated her 72nd birthday with 72 minutes of hardcore cardio.
The media mogul posted a video of herself completing a grueling 72-minute fitness session in her home gym on Instagram on Thursday.
“I never thought I’d spend my birthday working out, much less a 72-minute workout!” she captioned the impressive video.
“But the older I get, the more I realize that it’s a privilege to have a body that can use the treadmill, the bike, the climber, the ski machine, and any machine my trainer Peter can throw at me,” she said.
Winfrey made sure to thank her fans for the sweet birthday wishes, and cheekily concluded: “Now, let’s go find a book to read!”
Wearing a white long-sleeved training top, navy blue leggings, white sneakers and a black headband, Winfrey began her workout by running on the treadmill.
“Let’s go! This is the beginning!” she exclaimed enthusiastically.
She then hopped on a stationary bike and focused on her cycling skills.
“You should work harder!” someone yelled from off camera as Winfrey hit the pedal.
Thirty-two minutes after she started sweating, Winfrey was seen panting on a treadmill.
“Minute 32 of 72. Checking in,” the person filming her said, but Winfrey was too nervous to respond.
Despite being exhausted, Winfrey jumped on a climber and finished strong on the ski machine.
Her gym mates sang the lyrics to Stevie Wonder’s 1981 song “Happy Birthday” as she triumphantly reached the 72nd minute.
The video ended with Winfrey catching her breath and joking, “I don’t know my name.”
In another post, Winfrey reflected on her ever-changing self, writing, “Life at 72 looks different than it has in the last 10 years.”
“Two summers ago, when I had two new knees, I decided to add strength training to my workouts because we all need to maintain muscle as we age,” she explained. “I can’t say I’m as ready for the Olympics as Adele, but I certainly feel stronger 💪🏽 So in honor of another trip around the sun for me, try something new. You never know where it will lead you.”
The former talk show host has been open about her health journey over the years, and has also addressed her weight fluctuations throughout her career.
In 2023, she looked so much slimmer that there was speculation for months that she had turned to Ozempic to lose weight. In December of the same year, she admitted that she was taking GLP-1 drugs to manage her health.
“I’ve completely stopped shaming others, especially myself,” she told People magazine at the time, adding, “I now use it as a management tool to avoid yo-yoing when I feel like it’s necessary.”
Since then, she has focused on getting healthy in other ways, such as eliminating alcohol from her diet.
“I literally had 17 shots in one night,” she previously admitted. “I haven’t had a drink in years. It’s amazing that I don’t even have the desire to drink anymore.”
In 2024, Winfrey detailed her workout routine on ABC’s special “Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution.”
In addition to “hiking three to five miles a day,” she also runs and does strength training.
Last year, Winfrey spoke passionately about how her longtime partner Stedman Graham supported her through her body image struggles, sharing that “he’s been really supportive through it all.”
