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Celebrity Fitness
Remember
the good old days, when the celebrities we struggled to emulate were
just impossibly thin? Now they're impossibly thin and chiseled more
than ever before. Bulging veins are optional.
And they're not
action stars, either. They're not professional athletes, or even
training for triathlons. Their prime motivation appears to be ...
looking good. Even if it means working out three hours a day.
That's
a bit excessive, says Dr. Pietro Tonino, an orthopedic surgeon and
sports medicine specialist at Loyola University Hospital. "No pain, no
gain is a philosophy they adhere to too much sometimes," he says.
He
notes that celebrities look the way they do because they've followed
their intense regimes for a long time. They also can afford ace
trainers who make sure they don't hurt themselves, vary their routines
and keep them motivated. Another difference: "Most people that I know
don't have that amount of time to work out every day," Tonino says.
Overexercising
can be dangerous, warns the doctor. You might see some short-term
benefit, but at the risk of long-term damage. Among the hazards:
degenerative damage to tendons, ruptured biceps or pectorals and muscle
strain.
"Thirty minutes a day to an hour a day would be a good workout," Tonino says.
The result? You'll be strong and healthy. But you probably won't have big guns like Madonna.
Here's how celebrities earn those bodies.
Gwyneth Paltrow
After
giving birth to daughter Apple and son Moses, Paltrow gave up her
famously strict macrobiotic diet (locally grown seaweed, soy, that sort
of thing), but still avoids sugar and dairy. She's channeled that
powerful discipline into exercise, and isn't afraid to show it off.
When Paltrow was promoting "Iron Man," she wore super-short, peekaboo
dresses on the red carpet.
Time commitment: "I think she works
out three hours a day -- which is one of the keys to success," her
"Spain ... On the Road Again" co-star Mario Batali told Usmagazine.com.
Workout: Paltrow is a fan of yoga, Pilates and cardio and works with Madonna's trainer, the tiny Tracy Anderson.
She
says: "It's all lovely when you are pregnant, but when you are not
pregnant and you haven't been for a couple of months and you are still
carrying tons of extra weight and everything's all hanging and sagging,
you think, 'How is this ever going to go back?' But it does. If you do
a lot of working out."
Madonna
She turns 50 next month, and
she's as famous for her muscles as she is for her music. Madonna has
been spotted in London bicycling to workouts, but her personal gym is
just 20 yards from her front door. When she's gearing up for a tour,
she can put in a very physical, 14-hour day. The health nut has a diet
of natural unrefined foods, whole grains and vegetables. "I don't
really eat food in restaurants," she has said. "You can never be sure
what's in it, can you?"
Time commitment: She works out six days
a week, and the Daily Mail in Britain reported that she's at it at
least three hours a day.
Workout: Her activities include, but
are not limited to, ashtanga (extremely strenuous) yoga, Pilates,
karate, swimming, weightlifting, running, horseback riding, and
"Nordic" walking with trekking poles. The Daily Mail reported that she
also uses a StairMaster in her office as she takes calls.
She says: "I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art."
Matthew McConaughey
The
laid-back Texan is dedicated to a beach lifestyle, and often is
photographed jogging in the sand. He's good friends with Lance
Armstrong, and has gone on lengthy bike rides with him. He looks good,
but be warned: McConaughey doesn't wear deodorant or cologne.
Time commitment: Near as we can tell, he is never not exercising.
Workout: Surfing, swimming, shadowboxing, calisthenics, yoga, weightlifting, golf, bongo playing.
He
says: "Without exercise, I feel like my head doesn't work right. I just
feel better when I work out. I do situps, pushups and jogging. I think
the body is a beautiful thing, and you should take care of it. Whether
it's going for a run, dancing or loving, my rule is break one sweat a
day."
Mario Lopez
Suddenly, the "Saved by the Bell" and
"Dancing With the Stars" alum is everywhere -- most notably, he was
named "2008's Hottest Bachelor" in People magazine. The title was
accompanied by a series of photos re-creating iconic scenes in movies,
picturing Lopez as Christopher Atkins in "The Blue Lagoon" and Brad
Pitt in "Thelma & Louise." His motivation? He was a chubby baby. "I
looked like a sumo wrestler," Lopez told People. "My mom had to pull
the fat folds apart when she bathed me."
Time commitment: He says he exercises a minimum of one hour a day. We're guessing the emphasis is on "minimum."
Workout: Running, biking, wrestling, swimming, playing basketball, boxing, yoga and, of course, dancing.
He says: "There are no shortcuts; you've still gotta put the work in."
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