Ari Meyers landed her first major acting role (in the movie Author Author with Al Pacino) at the tender age of twelve. Now - at fifteen - a seasoned veteran, Ari can be seen every week playing Susan Saint Jame's daughter Emma on CBS-TV's hit comedy Kate & Allie. But as you can see on these pages, (page scans below) acting isn't the only bug that Ari's caught - she's also a fitness devotee !

As a busy young actress living with her mom in New York, Ari (short for Ariadne) finds indoor activities, like Nautilus workouts and aerobics classes, are best for keeping her in shape (though when she gets the chance, she loves to play tennis, scuba dive, and ski).   To add some variety to Ari's workouts, we introduced her to different types of exercise equipment. After warming up, Ari tried a ride on a stationary bicycle. Biking is a terrific way to tone the muscles below the waist, improve cardiovasuclar fitness - and work up a thirst.

Petite Ari (she's five foot one) maintains her trim shape by avoiding between-meal snacks. For lunch on the set, she enjoys lots of fruits and veggies. "I never eat junk foo!" she stresses. Introduced to exercise a few years ago, Ari hasn't let up since. Even with a nonstop schedule (she films the show six months out of the year and attends private school when she's not being tutored on the set), Ari still manages to squeeze in a ninety-minute workout - every day!

"I exercise a lot," she says, "So when I have to stop for any length of time, I just don't feel as great."   She alternates daily between working on Nautilus equipment and taking aerobics classes, but she prefers aerobics. "I love moving to the music, " Ari says. Always up for exercise, she even takes a workout videocassette along when she's filming on location."Exercise gives me extra engery when I'm working long hours."

Not interested only in exercise, Ari sometimes steals a few quiet moments for herself to create costume jewelry ( a hobby she took up a year ago, when she found she could make accessories she liked ata much lower price than she could buy them). She usually makes "big clunky rhinestone and 'silver' pieces" and has even developed a loyal following. "Susan Saint James and Allison Smith have worn some of my jewelry on the Show!" she says with pride.