FitSugar

Reality Check: Victoria Beckham Now Works Out Daily

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:05:32 -0800

When Victoria Beckham came out as a gym addict earlier this year, people were more than a bit incredulous. Well Posh's fitness routine is once again in the news. It seems she didn't feel her old regimen of running eight miles six times a week was enough to prepare her body for her recent Emporio Armani ads with hubby soccer-stud David, so she implemented daily workouts. The 35-year old said, "I wanted to look at those pictures in 20 years' time and say 'Wow, look - after three kids - I didn't look bad.'" Mrs. Beckham didn't want to rely on retouching either.

One would think posing in gorgeous undergarments would give a gal a boost of confidence, but friends close to the former Spice Girl revealed that their gal pal's "not the most confident of girls." Sources close to Victoria told Us Magazine that she has had three breast surgeries, two enhancements followed by a reduction done earlier this year. Considering her fame and hot hubbie, does her lack of self-confidence surprise you?

Get the Bod: Padma Lakshmi

FitSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:30:40 -0700

Former model, cookbook author, and host of Top Chef Padma Lakshmi has got it going on.

After checking out the image of her in Allure's naked truth photo essay, it is hard to believe she gains 10 to 15 pounds when filming a season of Top Chef. When filming the competitive reality cooking show Padma eats a lot of food. Food flavored with fat, often extra fat, to make it taste good. She recently told the New York Times that keeps two dress sizes on set to accommodate her changing body.

Learn how she whips herself back into shape after five indulgent weeks of filming, when you read more.

Padma is a fan of boxing. It's part of her regular workout when not on the set. When traveling or filming, she keeps a jump rope in her suit case so she can fit in cardio when she has time. A firm believer in taking the stairs, Padma also works her upper body in a daily 90-minute fitness routine.

Food, is a different story. When on the set, she cuts herself some slack since she knows the weight gain is inevitable. Post filming she goes on a serious detox. Padma cuts out alcohol, cheese, and red meat until she is back to her normal weight. That has got to take some serious discipline, but if I were going to be seen naked in the pages of Allure, I would probably remove cheese from my meals for a while.

Get the Bod: Sandra Bullock

FitSugar — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:50:00 -0700

According to my pal Buzz, Sandra Bullock rocks the pencil skirt in her new film The Proposal.

This is no coincidence. According to InStyle Sandra wanted to "emulate her character and look buff and smashing in suits." Sounds like her hard work paid off. The lovely comedic actress doesn't shy away from variety; she mixes up her fitness routine. While in LA, Sandra incorporates Pilates, kick boxing, and weight training, including plyometrics, into her regimen. But back home in Austin, TX, she runs and rides her bike. The variety of fitness activities helps Sandra stay motivated and keeps workout boredom at bay. Always frank and funny, when asked if health was her sole motivation for working out, she replied:

"People ask, 'How do actresses do it?' Um, they pay us to do this in order to look good on film."

We could all take a page out of Sandra's playbook and work to keep our fitness routine fresh even if we don't have to wear pencil skirts on the silver screen.

Lauren Conrad Is Ready For Summer

FitSugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:35:00 -0700

We learned last year that Lauren Conrad loves kickboxing, but it looks like she's upped the ante and according to In Touch is now doing what her trainer calls the Body Box. Sounds vaguely sinister, but Jarret Del Bene, LC's trainer, says the boxing circuit is a full-body, high-intensity workout. Because the combos are always changing, the Body Box is also a boredom buster, which is good since the Hills star does the workout two to four times a week. The workout mixes punching and kickboxing moves with squats and other conditioning exercises.

Del Bene said LC follows a healthy diet, but she is limiting her caloric intake to 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day, portioned out into five or six small meals. While that is not dangerously low - an adult requires about 1,200 calories daily before the metabolism slows down as if there is a threat of starvation - I think I would feel hungry all the time if I ate like that every day, especially if I was exercising intensely. You can check out Lauren frolicking on the beach here.

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Kim Kardashian Slims Down With a Macrobiotic Diet

FitSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Kim Kardashian has been on a health kick recently, eating better and upping her workouts. In a recent issue of Us Weekly, this E! reality star explained how she slimmed down from a size 6 to a size 2 (not that she needed to) for filming her three-part fitness DVD series titled Fit in Your Jeans by Friday ($15 each). Kim hasn't always been a fan of the gym - she loves her feminine curves. She realized she had to work out in order to keep them. Maintaining a certain weight won't do the trick - she has to do exercises that tone and sculpt her body.

If you want to hear about her workouts and her healthy diet, then read more.

To tighten and tone, Kim worked out daily for at least two hours, and sometimes did two workouts in one day. Each workout started with a peppy warmup, then she moved on to cardio using five-pound weights. She was a fan of doing squats and lunges to target her lower body. She finished with ab-toning exercises and stretching.

As for her daily diet, she used to indulge in burgers and fries, but now she avoids heavy carbs. Kim eats macrobiotic foods including tofu, veggie burgers, soy cheese, and quinoa. A macrobiotic diet is low in fat, high in fiber, and is predominantly vegan. It includes beans, nuts, a small amount of fish, local fruit, and emphasizes whole grains and vegetables, so it's super healthy. Not only did this type of diet help Kim slim down, but it's also believed to help balance female hormones to help with menopause, premenstrual syndrome, and prevention against breast cancer and endometriosis. Have you ever tried a macrobiotic diet?

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Get the Bod: Jennifer Lopez Gets Suspended

FitSugar — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:30:00 -0700

I'm always looking for new ways to make the strength training moves I do at home more challenging, and it looks like Jennifer Lopez found the perfect piece of equipment. With her trainer, Gunnar Peterson, she uses a TRZ Suspension Trainer ($170), which weighs less than two pounds. All you do is attach it to a door, tree branch, swing set, or any other sturdy point such as a pull-up bar. Jennifer uses it to target her upper body, lower body, back, and abs.

To hear more about the benefits of suspension training and to see a video of the TRX Suspension Trainer in action read more.

Suspension training allows you to use your own body weight to create resistance, and many of the moves involve your torso, so it allows you to build amazing core strength. I've tried a TRX class before, and it was definitely a tough and sweaty workout, so if you have the dough, you can spring for a TRX Kit. It includes a DVD so you can learn all the moves and do a routine at home. Check out the video below to see all the different ways the TRX Suspension Trainer can be used.

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Get the Bod: Jessica Biel's Workout

FitSugar — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:30:00 -0700

When I think of fit celebs, Jessica Biel definitely comes to mind. Her toned tush and defined arms are the reason she's won the title of Fitsugar's Fittest Female Celeb two years in a row. If you want to know how she maintains such a strong and feminine physique, her personal trainer Jason Walsh told People magazine about her workouts. Here's what he said:

Stretch: Jessica warms up with walking lunges. Jason says, "This stretches the larger leg and glute muscles.”
Cardio: She hits the track and jogs for half a mile, then does two 200-meter, 150-meter, and 100-meter sprints. This type of cardio interval training "leans her out," Jason says.
Core: “Hanging leg raises don’t build a six-pack, but they flatten,” says Walsh. “Jessica hates them, but she powers through!”

To find out what else Jason Walsh had to say read more.

Plyometrics: “These hurt,” says Walsh of stair jumping. “Even athletes hate them. After Jessica did these the first time, she would’ve punched me if she had the energy.”
Weight Training: Jason says, “We tend to use lighter weights and do more reps. We keep moving, so it becomes a cardio workout, too.”
Waist: Get ready for Seated Russian Twists. Jessica does them holding a five-pound medicine ball. Twist to each side 15 times, and do a total of three sets.
Shoulders and biceps: Stand with knees slightly bent. Hold 10-pound dumbbells in each hand. Do a bicep curl and then rotate your hands hands so your palms face outward, and do a Twisting Dumbbell Press. Then reverse the move until you're back to the starting position. Complete three sets of 10 to 12 reps.

As for her diet, Jessica eats complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal and whole wheat toast with one tablespoon of almond butter in the morning. For dinner she enjoys fish, veggies, and basmati rice. She snacks on fruits like bananas, apples, and strawberries. She doesn't deny herself the foods she craves, and likes to treat herself at the end of the day with something sweet like a piece of dark chocolate.

Flynet

Get the Bod: Valerie Bertinelli's 48-Year-Old Bikini Body

FitSugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Valerie Bertinelli is on the cover of this week's People magazine, showing off her lean body in a bikini for the first time since she was 20 years old, just in time for her 48th birthday! Two years ago she was a larger version of herself, at 172 pounds, which she felt was more than 40 pounds over her ideal weight for a person who's 5'4".

So how did she lose the weight and get bikini-ready? To find out read more.

Valerie used the Jenny Craig plan and became a spokesperson for the diet as well. In nine months she was down to 132 pounds. She exercised on her own, primarily walking 10,000 steps a day. After keeping the weight off for more than a year, she decided to kick it up a notch and hired a personal trainer in December, with her goal of feeling gorgeous and confident in a bikini.

Her 60-minute bikini workout was completed four or five times a week. It included running on the treadmill 30 to 45 minutes, but sometimes she switched back and forth between five minute intervals of running and strength training. To get strong and defined muscles, Valerie used a resistance band in combination with dumbbells. She alternated between up to 25 triceps dips, 20 push-ups, up to 30 squats, step-ups, and over 100 sit-ups total. The last three weeks before her bikini shoot, she lowered her daily caloric intake from 1,700 calories to 1,200, and also gave up a treat - champagne. Now Valerie is in the best shape of her life and said "I never, ever, ever had deltoids! Oh my God, when I'm doing exercises and I see them pop out, I'm like, Yes!" She's a huge inspiration for those of us who may be afraid to sport our bikinis.

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Get the Bod: Halle Berry's Back and Shoulders

FitSugar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:00:00 -0700

Spring is just around the corner and warmer weather is on everyone's mind. With a much-anticipated increase in daily temps comes more revealing fashion - bring on the strapless dresses and tank tops. I've always been inspired by Halle Berry's upper back and shoulders. Her trainer Harley Pasternak admits that Halle is a fan of rowing exercises, and he recommends this move to achieve sculpted shoulders and a toned upper back. Start the slideshow to learn some rowing variations to incorporate into your next strength training session.
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View Slideshow ›

Renée Zellweger on Her Running Addiction

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:30:00 -0800

I don't know if you were able to catch Renée Zellweger on The Late Show last week, but Dave's first comment was about how fit she looks and his follow up question was how does she do it? The answer was running, of course!

Renee runs three miles on the treadmill almost everyday and to keep herself entertained while logging the miles she watches TV, mostly CNN. However, she does admit that she has a tendency to over do it and is running even though her physician "forbid" her to. Renée has fluid on her hip joint from inflammation, but somehow, with the help of copious amounts of Advil, she manages to walk in her beautifully high Louboutin pumps as well as run. She can't give up running, claiming it's her therapy. But she might be needing some physical therapy soon because unfortunately, Renée is no stranger to injury; she suffered from plantar fasciitis, a painful foot injury, for two years.

To see how she feels about spinning, just read more.
Renée does not like Spinning, the "woo" factor of group classes turns her off. We know that she seems a bit worried about turning 40, but FitSugar reader laellavita works out at the same gym as Renée and says that the movie star works hard and "seriously sprints on the treadmill." Along with her daily dose of cardio, she works with weights too.

While I understand needing to run, I hope she monitors her hip inflammation because over use injuries can seriously interfere with ~~therapy~~ running.

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