Giorgia Palmas in Two-Piece Workout Gear Plays Padel

Eva Longoria is getting her sweat on – on the padel court. In a new social media post the Desperate Housewives star shows off her incredible body in a padel dress during a strenuous workout. “That’s gonna leave a mark,” she wrote on the Instagram Stories clip. What does Eva love about padel and why is padel such a great workout? Here is everything you need to know.

1. Longoria Is “Addicted” to Padel

Eva Longoria/Instagram

Longoria is “addicted” to the sport and “watches it all the time on TV, all the time on my Instagram,” she told CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies. “I was exposed to padel about 10 years ago through my husband and I became a fan.”

2. She Says It’s a Great Sport for Women

Eva Longoria/Instagram

“Women are super talented in this sport,” she added. “So women should absolutely be heading these teams and being a part of management and a part of strategy for where the sport needs to go … These women on the padel tour are bringing a lot of fans to these matches.”

3. What Makes Padel a Good Workout?

Eva Longoria/Instagram

Padel courts look like a small tennis court, but have glass walls that are actually part of the court. While very similar to tennis, the biggest difference is that the ball has to bounce off the floor before your opponent is able to hit it – and you can also hit the ball off the walls of the court. Why is padel such a great workout? “One of the many objectives that we seek to achieve through participating in sport is to improve general muscle tone, and playing padel even helps tone the muscles in the face, because you will not stop smiling. It also improves our coordination, mobility and reflexes,” pro Jorge Rodriguez, Juan Lebron's padel coach, writes for racquet brand Babolat.

4. It’s Especially Good for Toning the Glutes and Arm Muscles

Padel is also a great workout for the glutes, “and all the muscles we use in the arms, making our posture firmer.”

5. It Burns Up to 1000 Calories Per Hour

It’s also a great cardiovascular workout. You can burn up to 1000 calories in one game, he maintains. It is also an aerobic workout, which means it helps strengthen your heart and improve other aspects of your health.

6. It Might Help Relax You

“A game of padel will alleviate stress after a hard day at work, and that’s the best antidepressant there is. You’ll feel happy and light-hearted as your body secretes dopamine, endorphins and serotonin - the well-known happiness hormones!” he adds.

7. All Ages Can Play Padel

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Padel is a great workout for all ages. “Scientific research has shown that regular padel practice appears to be recommended to improve physical fitness and promote health, both in adults and children,” a 2022 study examining the benefits of padel concluded.

6. It’s a Social Game

Padel encourages socialization, as it is a doubles game. Engaging in social activities, especially later in life, has been linked to longevity.

Eva Longoria is a Hollywood powerhouse. She’s an actress, best known for her role on the TV series Desperate Housewives. She’s a producer, and has produced the TV series, Devious Maids, and the films Food Chains and The Harvest. Last year, Longoria made her directorial debut on the film Flamin’ Hot. She also stays super fit at age 49: Longoria recently took up padel, and shared a photo on her Instagram story of herself on the court. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Eva Longoria stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

1. She Prioritizes Wellness

For Longoria, being healthy means prioritizing her fitness and her diet. She tells Vogue, “People say they eat well but they don’t exercise. Or they run 20 miles a day but they can’t lose weight. You have to do both. It depends, I’ll do a cleanse to feel better, but I’ll do no sugar to lose weight, or I’ll do vegan to lean out. Everything has a different reaction.”

2. She Works Out Early

Longoria tells ELLE that she makes working out a regular activity. She says that her secret is getting it done first thing in the morning. “We tend to overthink our workout routine—‘I don’t have a gym membership, I don’t have equipment at home,’—you don’t need anything to be active. Moving your body is a start. Wake up an hour earlier and go to the gym. I promise you’re gonna have way more time during the day because it just energizes you and your brain in a very different way than if you don’t.”

3. She Keeps Her Skin Hydrated

Longoria shared some of her skincare secrets in an interview with Glamour. She says that she makes sure to keep her skin hydrated, and shared her favorite products for doing so. “I remember doing a commercial with L'Oréal's Revitalift Triple Power Anti-Aging Moisturizer, this cream that has vitamin C and hyaluronic acid. It's plumping—I was like, Oh my God, it's one cream with everything. I use it at night as the last product in my skin care routine. I love that it is has three: hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and pro-retinol. It leaves my skin feeling smooth and hydrated.”

4. She Uses Skincare Tools

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Longoria shared her favorite facial tools with Glamour. “Right now, I'm very much into the Facify Beauty Wand, which is this face massager. It has these rotating balls, you turn it on, and it vibrates, rotates, heats up, and cools. It's this great little machine. I use it every day, especially when I'm shooting, and it just gets the blood flowing. You're doing a facial massage, like doing the work of gua sha but easier because these balls are electronic and they're moving for you. And then I'm using the Lyma Laser lately. Oh my God, I noticed such a difference. Those two have been my go-tos.”

5. She Plays Padel

Eva Longoria/Instagram

As you can see from her Instagram story, Longoria likes to play padel. According to LTA.org, the sport has a lot of benefits. “It’s a full-body workout that keeps you moving from beginning to end – helping to improve your endurance, cardiovascular health and prevent health risk factors in the future. It involves plenty of running, movement from side-to-side and quick changes of direction and will help you build your speed and strength. Like tennis, while improving your overall aerobic fitness so you can run for longer, padel also helps you build muscle with short and explosive movements to benefit your anaerobic fitness.”