There have been hundreds of articles on ‘how to get in shape like your favourite celebrity’, but keeping fit and healthy when you’re a superstar isn’t just about your body looking good. As trainer to the stars Ruben Tabares explains, whilst we might not be supermodels or have a number one single, we can all learn a few things from the way he trains celebrities that can help us all in everyday life and boost our overall health and wellbeing (if you end up looking better too that’s just a bonus)…
Ruben Tarabes
Get lifting - there’s more to strength training than just getting stronger. Whether I’m working with an Olympic Boxer or a Victoria’s Secret Model I always include some weights. Some people, especially women, remain nervous that lifting weights will mean they’ll get bigger muscles, but if you lift lighter and for more repetitions this shouldn’t be the case and indeed women can lift very heavy and look amazing if you know what you’re doing. Alongside toning up you’ll get a host of health benefits from ‘lifting’ from boosting bone health to reducing stress.
Core is king – actors often have to spend long hours on set standing around and unless they have good posture and a strong core this can end up causing back pain and other issues. The same is true if you’re sat down at an office desk all day, and everyone can benefit from having a stronger core. Improving your core doesn’t have to mean hours of planking, grab yourself an exercise ball and have a look at the tens of balance exercises you can do on them to improve core strength. It doesn’t hurt that a good core leads to a sexy looking midriff either! Being more aware of your core and bracing properly when carrying out exercises means you are working your core efficiently and without having to do floor abdominals.
Anywhere anytime – not many of the celebs I work with, like a lot of us, have huge amounts of time to get to the gym for a full work out and are often travelling. Find a few exercises you enjoy that you can do anywhere or anytime, but still provide you with a good workout – you can take a skipping rope anywhere and just 10 minutes will leave you panting. Also try walking everywhere whilst bracing your core and walking a little bit faster than normal, it’s a workout.
Add some algae - I encourage a lot of celebs I work with to take an unusual supplement called Sun Chlorella. It’s a type of green algae which can be dried and turned into a supplement. Recent research has shown that cyclists who take chlorella increase their peak oxygen uptake, a measure of aerobic endurance capacity. Ultimately this means the cyclists perform better when taking chlorella than a placebo and it might just help you perform better too, whether at the gym or in everyday life. Chlorella may also help with PMS and a lot of the people I work with who take it feel increased energy.
Set yourself a goal – the reason so many of the celebs I work with are successful in achieving their fitness goals is that they have a big goal they’re working towards. You may not have a Blockbuster movie you need to get in shape for, but if you set yourself a realistic but exciting goal, whether entering a charity cycling event or getting yourself in shape for an adventure holiday, you’re far more likely to achieve it than simply having the aim of ‘getting in shape’. This kind of goal setting is about more than just getting fitter physically, it also helps with mental wellbeing and can give you something to positively focus on rather than the stresses we all have in life.
Don’t go mad on day one – you might be super keen on day one, but it’s not always best to go hell for leather. You’ll probably wake up sore and lethargic, or even worse injured, if you go too hard straight out of the blocks. Take your time and enjoy seeing yourself progress. A common mistake people make is to try and do everything on day one, including eating as healthy as they possibly can and cutting out the food which has got them in trouble in the first place. My advice is don’t change a thing to begin with, you’re going to need the extra calories to start and continue training. Change one thing every four weeks, like giving up wheat one month and drinking more water the next. You will be far more likely to stick to your plan and ultimately succeed.
Remember you’re only human – even supermodels have an off day where they can’t resist that extra slice of cake, so don’t beat yourself up too much if you have an off day. Forget it and move on.
Ruben is a strength and conditioning coach based in London. He’s well known for achieving incredible results in a short space of time, offering motivational inspiration to help everyone achieve their fitness goals. He has a wide client portfolio, such as Micky Rourke, Naomi Watts, Kate Upton, David Haye, John Terry as well as performers such as Sean “P Diddy” Combes, Tinie Tempah and Dynamo.
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