Get an A-list workout with these tips from our trainers to the stars!
How do Hollywood's hottest celebs keep their envy-inducing figures?
"The key is consistency and intensity," says celebrity trainer and Gold's Gym Fitness Institute member Ramona Braganza, who helped Anne Hathaway tone up for the 2008 Oscars and Jessica Alba drop her post-baby weight.
"When celebs have to get in shape, they are really on top of it," agrees Adam Friedman, a certified personal trainer at the Gold's Gym Fitness Institute whose clients include model and Olympic volleyball star Gabrielle Reece and NBA forward Austin Croshere. "They view working out as not just for health, but as a responsibility to their profession."
But that doesn't mean you can't create your own Hollywood-inspired workout at home. Braganza thinks taking fitness cues from your favorite celebs is a great way to put a fresh spin on your gym routine. For example, to help today's leading ladies perfect their figures for upcoming roles, Braganza alternates 10-minute intervals of cardio with three sets of circuit strength-training and core exercises. She notes: "You have to keep the heart rate up throughout the routine for maximum calorie burn."
Hot Celebrity Workout Trends
Today's starlets don't want to bulk up, so cardio is king, Friedman says. Cycling, running on the beach (and from paparazzi!) and climbing the trendy Santa Monica Stairs, a taxing set of 154 steep wood stairs, are popular ways to burn calories. The Los Angeles-based trainer also relies on functional body-weight exercises — moves like push-ups and squats, which challenge your muscle groups to work together at once — to get his famous clients in their best shape ever. "The idea is to recruit the highest amount of muscle fibers at a time, because the more you're getting your nervous system involved, the more calories you're going to burn, the more fat you're going to burn, the more challenging the exercise is going to be," he says.
His tried-and-true favorite? The dreaded lunge.
"Lunges are the No. 1 most hated exercise among all my clients," Friedman says with a smile. "They're hard and they hurt! But there are so many benefits and so many variations that hit all the areas you want to target." Case in point: Braganza's client Jessica Alba reportedly owes her refined behind to a strict diet of lunges.
For an extra challenge, pair the moves with a weight known as a kettlebell, as Friedman makes his pro athletes do, to really work your core and develop explosiveness. "But you should already have a strong foundation in your core, so it's not something to go to right away," he warns.
According to Braganza, making those basic changes to your routine will help to keep exercise fresh and exciting.
"Variety is very important," she says. "For my clients, I try to find what they enjoy and then include it somehow every few workouts, whether it's boxing drills, hiking or dance classes."
Celebrity Workout Favorite
One activity in particular is especially popular with today's leading ladies: yoga.
"Celebrities love yoga!" Friedman says. "It works for them on a mental level, and they love stretching and the feeling they get." Not to mention long, lean muscles and improved balance and posture. And good posture can mean the difference between a great red-carpet photo and a nod on the worst-dressed list.
"Carrying your head and shoulders forward with bad posture doesn't look good in pictures or in the mirror," Friedman explains. "But if you improve your posture and strengthen your back, you'll look dramatically different and your energy will be different."
