Candace Cameron Bure Is in Her Best Shape at 40: 'I Feel the Most Fit and Strong That I've Ever Felt in My Life'

Candace Cameron Bure is dedicated to working out

Candace Cameron Bure is only getting better with age.

The Fuller House star, 40, is in the best shape of her life thanks to her commitment to working out.

“I feel the most fit and strong that I’ve ever felt in my life,” Bure tells PEOPLE. “What keeps me on track is that I want to feel good and have a long life with my husband [Valeri Bure, 42] and kids [daughter Natasha, 18, and sons Lev, 16, and Maksim, 15].”

The actress’ fitness routine depends on her filming schedule, but she makes sure to get a workout in whenever she can.

“It can be anywhere from a 20-minute workout a couple of times a week, or an hour five times a week,” she says. “If I am home and working on Fuller House, my schedule is more consistent, so I’ll usually work out five days a week. But now I’m filming a Hallmark movie in Vancouver and my schedule is really tough as far as the amount of hours I work every day, so if I can squeeze in even 10 minutes of exercise here and 10 minutes of exercise there, that’s what I’ll do for the three weeks I’m filming.”

When Bure does have the time to fit in an hour workout, she loves working with her trainer Kira Stokes, who trains her via FaceTime now that Bure is no longer based in New York.

Courtesy Kira Stokes

“Our workouts incorporate strength training with cardio, plyo work and balance,” says Bure. “What’s so specific about Kira is the order of the moves that she does that complement one another, which really makes a huge difference in her workout.”

Stokes trains Bure using her signature Stoked Method.

“The Stoked Method is a high intensity training system with a focus on mindful functional flow of movement,” Stokes tells PEOPLE. “With regards to training Candace, each circuit we complete during her workout is a highly curated combination of strength, cardio and core work. She jumps rope in between each circuit while I educate and demo her on the next circuit so she rarely stops moving. We end each session with signature Stoked fine-tuning work for the focus muscle groups of the workout, and tension abdominal work.”

Courtesy Kira Stokes

Bure uses 3-lb. dumbbells for fine-tuning work, and 25-lb. or 30-lb. dumbbells for weight lifting.

“We love using TRX, and then we do a lot with my own body weight too,” she says.

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When Bure trains on her own, she’ll have a jump rope on hand to squeeze in a couple of minutes of cardio whenever she can. She also mixes in moves she can do without any equipment.

“I love doing air squats or jump squats, push-ups, jumping jacks, burpees, crunches — all the basic stuff, but it’s all you need to do to keep it toned,” she says.

“The great thing about Candace is she’s a very self-motivated person,” says Stokes. “She is so game for everything and she loves challenges.”

Bure says seeing her body transform is what keeps her motivated to stay on track with her workouts.

“When I see muscles that are more defined that I hadn’t seen before, it’s exciting,” she says. “I love a muscular figure. It feels like an accomplishment and it makes me feel strong and I love having a strong body. When you look better, you feel better. That keeps me motivated.”

Courtesy Kira Stokes

In addition to working out, Cameron Bure credits her healthy diet with boosting her toned physique.

“I eat a very plant and grain-based diet,” she says. “I follow a more Mediterranean diet, so I eat lots of fresh vegetables and whole grains and fish. I don’t eat dairy very often, and I’ve cut most of the sugar out of my diet — I see the biggest effect from not eating as much sugar.”

While Bure has been open about struggling with bulimia when she was younger, she says she is long past that phase of her life and feels healthier than ever before.

“It’s something that I’m always aware of and that I do think about, but having been healthy for so many years, it’s not something I have to think about on a daily basis,” she says. “It’s not something that I struggle with anymore. I really found my joy in fitness, and then as I get older I’ve just been fine-tuning my diet and I enjoy eating what makes my body feel the best.”

As she ages, Bure is focused on keeping her body properly fueled and healthy.

“I feel a real sense of accomplishment about what my body can still do, and I want to keep it in shape and keep it strong for so many years that are ahead of me,” she says. “You kind of take your body for granted when you’re younger, so the older I get the prouder I am of the things I’m able to do with it.”