Megyn Kelly has come face to face with some of the most famous and powerful people in the world – but on Thursday morning she faced what may have been her most challenging job yet: an on-air jump rope workout.
The Today host, 47, struggled to maintain her balance and her cool-as-a-cucumber attitude as she was put through an intense series of moves by New York City trainer and dancer Amanda Kloots.
Amanda, 35, departs from usual jump rope moves and instead turns the rope into an exercise equipment that can be used to tone different muscle groups at a time.
Sweat: Megyn Kelly struggled to maintain her coordination this morning when New York City-based dancer and trainer Amanda Kloots demonstrated a jump rope workout on her show
Difficult: The Today host, 47, started laughing when Amanda demonstrated a leg-toning move
Tricky: Amanda instructed Kelly to move her head and upper body as little as possible to let her leg muscles do all the work
Moving on: After a few reps, Megyn and Amanda switched to a different movement, this time holding the rope in front of their chests while twisting their waists to hop to the side
For example, at one point during the segment, former Rockette Amanda asked Megyn – and a crowd of viewers who had agreed to try the workout – to fold the rope in half and use it in a series of different moves, none of which involved them actually jumping over it.
First, she had them put one leg in front of the other and bend both knees in order to perform a toning exercise that saw them bringing one leg up while raising their arms above their heads.
Megyn smiled as Amanda told her to keep her head and upper body as still as possible to let her legs to all the work.
She and the audience laughed as Megyn realized just how difficult the exercise is, and she exclaimed: ‘This is working!’
After a few reps, Megyn and Amanda – who teaches her own workouts, The Rope and The Dance, at Bandier’s Studio B – switched to a different movement, this time holding the rope in front of their chests while twisting their waists to hop to the side.
What’s going on: Megyn looked a bit confused at first when she had to get into position
‘Am I doing it?’ The host appeared lost at first, but eventually got the hang of the movement
Multi-tasking: Amanda’s move tones the shoulders and core muscles and inserts a cardio interval into the workout routine
Tired: Megyn later encouraged her viewers to try exercising with a jump rope as well
The move tones the elbows and the core muscles while adding in a bit of cardio.
Megyn seemed to have trouble wrapping her head around that part of the workout at first, looking at the trainer in dismay.
But she began jumping to the side and eventually got the hang of it.
‘Am I doing it, is it working?’ she asked while stepping her right leg to the side, mimicking Amanda’s jumps.
Megyn worked as an aerobics instructor when she was a college student, and even appeared in a fitness video, performing abs exercises next to instructor Kathy Caiello.
The archive clip shows Megyn going through the motions effortlessly, clad in a neon, lime green outfit in typical early 1990s fashion. This morning, she opted for more neutral tones with black leggings and a light gray zipped sweatshirt.
Meanwhile, the participants behind Megyn weren’t wearing athletic clothes, but managed to follow the routine in their regular shoes and jeans.
Candid: The host was clearly tired after following the workout routine in front of the cameras
Oh, the struggle: Megyn previously said in her memoir, Settle For More, that she had to give up exercising after she had her three children
Convenient: Despite her fatigue, Megyn deemed the workout convenient because the rope is easy to transport and doesn’t cost much money
Throwback: Megyn worked as an aerobics instructor when she was a college student, and even appeared in a fitness video with trainer Kathy Caiello (Megyn is pictured in lime green)
Towards the end of the segment, Megyn pointed out how convenient the jump rope is, since it can easily be transported to work out on the go and doesn’t cost much money.
At that point, the members of the audience who were following along behind Megyn and Amanda stopped doing the exercise, just like the host and the trainer.
But Megyn jokingly berated them, telling the viewers: ‘Keep going, keep going!’
The host then encouraged viewers to try the workout too.
Megyn previously said in her memoir, Settle For More, that she had to give up exercising after she had her three children, Yates, now eight, Yardley, six, and Thatcher, four.
Instead, she stated that she follows the F-factor diet, popularized by the dietitian Tanya Zuckerbrot, which focuses on high-fiber foods.