Ali Larter Spills Her Fitness Secrets (Exclusive)

Ali Larter might just be in the best shape of her life, but she’s not afraid to admit that she’s working hard for it.

To stay in tip-top shape for her role onLandman— Taylor Sheridan’s hit series about the oil boom in Texas on which she stars as Angela, the sexy, recently reconciled ex-wife of Billy Bob Thornton’s character — Larter, 49, puts in the work.

“I’ll tell you what. I work really hard, okay? I’m not pretending that I don’t,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I’m up at 4:30 (a.m.) on Mondays. I go for a run. It’s only 30 minutes. I try to eat very clean, but I eat. I’m one of those protein mommies. I eat so much protein all day long. It works for me.”

On top of morning runs, Larter does “a lot of strength training,” but the physical training is ultimately only one piece of the puzzle for her.

“In the end, anytime you have to put on a bathing suit and walk in front of anybody, it’s really difficult,” she admits. “When I look around, the sexiest women I know are the women that own it. So part of getting there with Angela is owning it.”

Once she enters the zone for a scene as Angela, particularly one where she might feel exposed given her outfit, Larter says, “There is no space in my mind for insecurity. I’m not allowing any of that into my space when I play Angela.”

Adding, “I wouldn’t be able to do it if I allowed insecurity to creep in. And I really do believe, sexiness — yeah, she’s sexy on the outside, but guess what? She’s owning it on the inside, too.”

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Larter admits that when she’s not filming the show in Fort Worth, Texas alongside costars Demi Moore, Michelle RandolphJacob Lofland and Kayla Wallaceshe takes her time off seriously. “I fall apart on the weekends. I lay in bed, sometimes 12 hours,” she says. “I’m not kidding you.”

In 2022, she relocated from Hollywood to the mountains of Idaho, where she lives in Sun Valley with her husband Hayes MacArthur and their two kids Teddy, 14, and daughter Vivienne, 10.

“I’m cooking dinners and allowing myself to sleep in, or going to yoga or taking long hikes with the dogs,” she says about her daily routine. “And I’m at every soccer game and every soccer practice, and that really feeds me.”

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She’s found the perfect balance for her and her family. “The experience I have (after) working in this industry so long, it allows me to run at this high-octane pace, where it kind of does feel like the Super Bowl with this show,” Larter says. “But I have an awareness of it — and I have an incredible support system with my husband and my children and my mom and dad.”

Landmanseason 2 premieres Nov. 16 on Paramount+.