As an L.A.-based celebrity trainer, with A-list clients such as Jessica Alba and Halle Berry, choosing "don't do it for a 'Hollywood body'" as a topic for my first blog may sound like a contradiction.
Having trained talented and beautiful actresses known for their celebrated "bikini bodies," shouldn't I just introduce myself, tell you about my 3-2-1 training method and promise you that it's the secret to getting Jessica Alba's butt or building Halle Berry's abs? I could then share my top tips on the latest diets or cleanses that have been proven to help actresses reach their goals. Secrets, top tips and techniques to get that "Hollywood body," -- it's what celebrity trainers are known to divulge, right?
I really do want you to reach your goals! I want you to be successful, and I'm going to tell you how. And you can believe me, because I've actually been around the "Hollywood body" for years. I've traveled with Jessica Alba for over a decade on remote location shoots, I was there to help Halle Berry get in shape post-baby, I have watched Amanda Seyfried, Kate Beckinsale and Anne Hathaway struggle to fit in their workouts and eat right after working 16 hour days. And let me tell you there's no magic pill; no secret formula.
What I can tell you, though, is that the key to successful weight-loss and toning is choosing the right motivation. When Jess and Halle train they not only do it for their images and their careers, they do it for a greater motivation: They do it for themselves. Jess trains for her health knowing osteoporosis runs in her family. Halle trains to keep her diabetes under control. Both have children and families along with their busy careers which means they require a lot of energy, and daily exercise provides that. I, too, continue to train four to five days a week, having done so for most of my life, because as I approach 50 I want to continue to experience the same quality of life I have gotten used to!
The right motivation is health-driven -- not image-driven. It's not about wanting to emulate the body parts of others, but rather wanting to strengthen your legs and butt so you can remain mobile and powerful. It's about improving your abs and core to make functional movements easier to do. It's about prolonging your life and being healthy enough to live it to the fullest.
It's really about making you the star of your own movie! If your goal is tangible it becomes attainable. If you allow reasonable time to achieve it, then you will see the changes happen. It takes sacrifice, commitment and perseverance. It should be motivation enough to want to go jogging with your kids, hiking with friends or adventure-traveling with your spouse. Body conscious Hollywood will always be there -- will you?
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It also gets rid of "end-point" thinking by taking away the idea that good health is something you can do and get done and then it's off your checklist, leaving you free to relax and go about your old bad habits. When health is the goal, keeping a reasonable diet and exercise schedule becomes a lifelong commitment. Patience and slow, steady improvement become the bywords, while self-doubt, self-criticism, destructive fanaticism and the endless search for new panaceas come to be seen for what they are -- inherently over-the-top and unproductive, if not outright absurd.
Health should be a day to day thing. No drama. More work than you may be used to, but not necessarily a whole lot, and you'll adapt fine if you stop worrying and give it time. Progress is not immediate. It is, however, inevitable.
Even a few minutes of fitness a day makes a difference, and everyone has a few minutes. Just like a few less cookies or calories from soda a day makes a difference. You'll feel it, you'll see it, and you'll know it. You don't have to go nuts to make a difference. Just don't expect to see the difference tomorrow. It comes.
Most of us don't have the luxury of taking 6 months off between jobs to focus on getting into shape for a role, and most of us don't make the hundreds of thousands of dollars to put a full gym in their basement and hire a staff to help them get in shape.
It is important to be healthy, but to mention regular folks being healthy and to compare that in any way to what celebrity can do is an insult to regular folks, and I would imagine a little disrespectful to the celebritys that pay top dollar for the help they get.
Although working hard simply for your image isn't wrong per se. For me its a combination of both health and image.
Unfortunately, it doesn't necessarily work the other way around.
I just work for both!
I would add - do the best you can under your individual circumstances - that's what I thought the article was going to be about. It is really hard for the average 9-5 working mom to keep up with a work out schedule, especially if you are trying to serve your family healthy fresh food. Let's not make the American Mom feels any worse about herself (she needs support!).
Anne Hathaway may work a 16 hour day, but she doesn't have to still get to the grocery and put her kids to bed on time.