It’s one thing to stretch your legs on a long-haul flight — it’s another to turn the cabin aisle into your personal gym.
Mexican actor and fitness influencer Bárbara de Regil has gone viral for doing exactly that, sparking a heated debate after posting footage of herself working out mid-flight.
The Rosario Tijeras and Lalola star shared a video to her 9 million Instagram followers last November, showing her wearing pyjamas and an eye mask while performing a “body pump” routine in the middle of the plane aisle.
“I’m feeling crazy after nearly 35 hours in the air on planes,” she told her followers, before breaking into a sequence of running on the spot and squat jumps.
Her husband, Fernando Schoenwald, appeared completely unfazed by the in-flight fitness display — staying seated and scrolling on his phone as she moved through her routine.
But while no one onboard seemed to complain, the internet certainly did.
Once the clip landed on social media, users quickly split into two camps: those who thought her behaviour was ridiculous, and those who believed she had every right to move around.
One user wrote, “This ridiculous lady has already won the Idiot of the Year award.”
Another joked, “I go to the back of the plain [sic] and stretch, not in the middle of the Isle.”
Others were less amused by the hygiene implications of mid-air exercise, with one comment reading: “Planes don’t have showers, she must stink.”
But many came to de Regil’s defence. After all, 35 hours of air travel is enough to make anyone restless. “35 hours!? I would be moving too,” said one supporter.
Another added: “Movement is extremely good for you and healthy for you when you’re flying so often. I learned this because I used to fly a lot for work and I started having issues with water retention and cramping.”
de Regil herself later responded to the backlash under a repost from La Razón México, explaining that her in-flight routine wasn’t just about killing time.
“Those movements that you see, hahaha, are to avoid thrombosis and, above all, I don’t know about you, but I can’t sit for that long,” she wrote. “I think more are bothered by the one who snores than the one who moves – besides first of all the space is big.”
The 38-year-old influencer — who’s built a fitness empire through workout programs and motivational content — insisted that she was only following basic health advice.
And to be fair, she’s got some science on her side.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), passengers on long flights are encouraged to move around as much as possible to prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) — a condition where blood clots form in the legs due to long periods of inactivity.
Medical experts warn that sitting still for hours at a time increases the risk, especially on long international routes. The simplest way to lower the danger is to stretch, walk, or move your legs regularly during the flight.
That said, flight attendants generally prefer those exercises to happen at the back of the plane — not between passengers’ seats at 30,000 feet.
The online verdict?
While Bárbara de Regil may have been trying to stay healthy after 35 hours in transit, her choice of location has turned her into the latest lightning rod for the online “plane etiquette” wars — a never-ending debate that’s seen passengers clash over everything from seat reclining to shoe removal.
Was she rude? Was she right? Or was she just restless? Let us know your thoughts.
Featured image credit: Instagram/barbaraderegil/larazon_mx (screenshots)
