Need some motivation to help you keep your New Year’s
fitness resolutions? We’ve rounded up the workout rules that celebrities swear
by to get themselves into A-list shape.
1. Establish a routine
“When it comes to exercise, I work my ass off – literally!”
says queen of fitness Gwyneth Paltrow. “I do Tracy Anderson’s method five days
a week. I drop my kids at school and go straight to the gym to get it out of
the way. Tracy once said to me ‘Think of it like brushing your teeth - just get
up and do it.’ So that’s what I do.” Gwyneth swears by a consistent workout
schedule to maintain her killer bod: “I do an hour of dance aerobics and some
muscular structure work with light weights every day.”
2. Adapt to your climate
It’s important to be realistic when choosing what exercises
will make up your fitness routine, and this includes taking the weather into
account. Leighton Meister agrees: “NYC girls are into their workout regimes –
but for six months of the year, it’s raining or snowing outside, so you need to
stay active. I love yoga. In a big city it’s good to lie there and take time
out.” So don’t commit to a strict
running regime if you know you’ll skip a day as soon as it rains, and living in
rainy Blighty that’s a lot of missed laps.
3. Find your one true love
Try as many different activities as you can until you
discover the exercise that’s a perfect fit for you. Supermodel Jourdan Dunn
changed up her fitness routine before Christmas and is already enjoying the
results: “Recently I’ve tried this thing called barrecore. It’s a combination
of ballet, Pilates, yoga and cardio. You’re doing squats on your tippy toes and
it’s very intense, but then you feel good afterwards.” You may find that rock
climbing is your forte or that you’re awesome at spinning, but you’ll never
know until you’ve given it a go.
4. Know your limits
“If you keep your targets and expectations realistic, then
it’s easier to deal with any setbacks” says Olympic champion Jessica
Ennis-Hill. “When you set targets, always identify the smaller steps with the
main goals and review them regularly.” Not an athlete? That might just mean
that a Sunday jog around the block rather than signing up for the London
Marathon is a more achievable starting point for you.
5. Be a hydration hero
It must be one of the oldest rules in the fitness book but
staying properly hydrated is crucial for optimum performance in your workout.
Cameron Diaz swears by starting her day with an abundance of water: “I brush my
teeth, then drink a litre and a half of water. It wakes up the digestive tract
and flushes it with moisture, which helps release waste.” Drink as much water
as you can before you begin your workout and make sure to keep a bottle handy
so that you can top up.
6. Incorporate exercise into everything
Getting creative with your daily routine is an efficient way
to fit more movement into your day. “A simple thing I do is raise my arms a
little when carrying bags – it’s great for toning your arms, as it really
engages the muscles,” says Helena Christensen. “Taking the stairs rather than
using the lift helps tone too.” You’ll soon be spotting ways to add exercise to
your everyday chores and this will quickly add up to giving you a great fitness
boost.
7. Don’t get stuck in a gym-rut
“I try to do one non-gym activity a week,” says Cindy
Crawford. Breaking out of the four walls of the gym can be a good way of
keeping your workout exciting. “Be it a hike, bike ride or a long walk. It’s
hard finding the time, as I travel a lot and have early starts, but I’ll do an
abbreviated version of my workout if I have to.”
8. Little and often is the way to go
We’re all time-poor and so it’s important to find inventive
ways of fitting in an exercise regime. Rather than shunning a two-hour workout
in the gym and getting into your onesie, try to fit in a short spurt of
activity every day. Jessica Alba is a aficionado of this method: “I know it
sounds brutal, but I try to get as much exercise as I can, even if it’s only 15
to 20 minutes a day. It helps keep my energy levels up.”
9. Buddy up
Working out with a friend gives you some accountability that
makes it harder to skip that early morning training session. “Running with a
buddy keeps you going. I would have hit the snooze button if I hadn’t planned
to meet them!” says Heidi Klum. It’s also a great way of multitasking - turning
a solitary cycling session into an outing with friends adds a hit of wellbeing
to the boost you get from a workout.
10. It’s all in the mind
If you’ve asked yourself ‘what would Beyoncé do?’ during a
workout then listen up: “To stay on track I visualize my goal,” the super fit
megastar says. “I’ve pictured what I want out of life and it’s so important to
have that picture, because we all get weak and we all get frustrated and we all
get tired. I just have to relive that picture in my mind. I only let myself
become so weak before I say to myself, ‘You’d better suck it up girl!’ If you
want it, it’s up to you. But you’ve got to do it yourself!
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