The Kardashian/Jenner sisters are becoming some of the most powerful women in the world. Kylie is on the verge of being the youngest self-made billionaire, while Kim’s companies are booming and growing every single day. Khloe is the one who tapped into clothing, with her label Good American. We all know how much this Kardashian loves working out and keeping her body in the best possible shape. So, Koko and her partner are expanding their offerings with a debut activewear line.
Forbes has finally released its first-ever Top Influencers 2017 lists, and the winners of the Beauty and Fitness categories just gave us the right amount of encouragement and motivation to start off the day in a good mood! As for Fashion, a.k.a. one of the most anticipated categories, we have to wait up until September to check out the winners!
Forbes’ Top Influencers list is extremely important business-wise, as it helps determine, define and improve the winners’ future in the market, as well as actually strengthens this new business model in the industry and in our society, i.e. the idea of being an influencer. Influencers are, in fact, individuals who have the strong power to affect certain decisions of others, and their importance and, well, the influence, has exponentially increased in the past few years (especially thanks to social media such as Instagram and Snapchat).
The Forbes Top Influencers 2017 list’s jaw-dropping numbers just confirmed that this is not a perishing phenomenon, and we are very likely to go check more Top Influencers lists in the years to come, too. As for the categories, aside from fashion, beauty and fitness, the list includes influencers in the sphere of comedy, travel, gaming, entertainment, parenting, food, tech & business, and sports, with the names of the winners about to be released later this year.
So, let’s check out the winners in our favorite categories!
Forbes Top Influencers 2017: Beauty
#5. Shannon Harris (@shaaanxo)
Known online as ‘Shaaanxo’, Harris has grown in popularity ever since starting vlogging in 2009 from her home in New Zealand, and has now a beauty brand named xoBeauty, through which she sells praised lashes and makeup brushes.
#4. Nikkie de Jager (@nikkietutorials)
With over 7.2 million followers on Instagram, Nikki de Jager is the Dutch queen of makeup, and in 2017 she has even added “makeup creator’ to her already astounding resume, thanks to a collaboration with professional line Ofra.
#3. Huda Kattan (@hudabeauty)
Former finance employee Huda Kattan ventured into the beauty industry back in 2010, when she understood finance wasn’t actually her thing. Fast-forward to 7 years later, she is one of the top 3 beauty influencers in the industry, with even a makeup line sold at Sephora. She is the living proof one should never stop chasing her dreams!
#2. Michelle Phan (@michellephan)
Michelle Pan has been ruling over YouTube for more than a decade now, never stopping growing in popularity. She is also the cofounder of a cosmetics subscription box named Ipsy which, according to Forbes, “was valued at upwards of $500 million in 2015.’
#1. Zoe ‘Zoella’ Sugg (@zoella)
Here you have Forbes’ Top Beauty Influencer of 2017 ” Zoella! With three books (one of which is the best selling ‘Girl Online’), over 11.6 million subscribers on Youtube and a sellout beauty line at Superdrug, Zoella has re-shaped the beauty industry with her talent, passion, determination and simplicity, and we honestly couldn’t feel more inspired!
Forbes Top Influencers 2017: Fitness
#5. Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach)
‘Fitness’ is one of Instagram’s most followed categories, and so is Joe Wicks! With an audience of 5 million, Wicks is very busy posting fitness tips, vlogging cooking series, and we bet his growth is not going to decrease in the years to come.
#4. Michelle Lewin (@michelle_lewin)
According to Forbes, the Venezuelan “31-year-old bodybuilder has raked in as much as $10,000 per Instagram post thanks to partnerships with health and workout brands,’ so we are not that surprised she managed to score this list’s fourth position. If you love fitness and would like to follow someone who is as fit as determined, Lewin’s account won’t disappoint you for sure!
#3. Emily Skye (@emilyskyefit)
Aussie Emily Skye has never stopped being a fitness guru ever since starting her social media account back in 2011, growing a fortune via apps and video tutorials, too. She is about to release a sneaker collaboration with Reebok in 2018.
#2 Jennifer Selter (@jenselter)
With 6 different Instagram accounts and over 10.6 million followers on her main channel, Selter is the New York-based fitness guru everybody turns to in order to get the best daily fitness motivations.
#1. Kayla Itsines (@kayla_itsines)
Turning a passion into a business and empire is no small feat, but Kayla Itsines perfectly managed to do so. With a grand total of 6.6 million followers on Instagram and an app, “Sweat with Kayla’, that generated $17 million in revenue in 2016, we are not that surprised Forbes named her the number one Top Fitness Influencer of 2017.
Photos courtesy of Instagram
Working out and getting your body moving is always a good idea for many reasons. It promotes circulation, removes toxins via sweat, builds muscle, strengthens endurance, and can of course aid in burning fat. There are different workouts and strategies depending on preferences as well as goals, but if the goal is to burn excess fat, what is the best strategy?
Working out in the mornings or on an empty stomach is one of the best ways to burn excess fat. The reason behind this is better explained when we understand how our body uses glucose as fuel and how we can then get to our fat stores. Glucose is our body’s preferred source of fuel for energy. Ideally the sources of glucose would come from complex carbohydrates such as legumes, vegetables, fruits, grains, and so on, rather than simple sugars like white flour or sodas. The main reason the former are more desirable is because they contain nutrients, as they have not been processed, as well as fibre, which helps keep our blood sugar levels in check and does not result in “sugar crashes’ the way the latter would. We then use this energy source throughout the day and we even use it up when we are asleep!
However, when we take in more glucose than we actually need in terms of energy throughout the day, our body stores this excess amount into our livers, which is called glycogen. We keep it stored for “emergency’ cases, so it is essentially our body’s way of being prepared and having a “back-up’ option readily available to us. What this means is that when we are not getting enough glucose, the next thing our bodies will choose to burn for fuel is the glycogen stores from our livers we have saved up. Only after our glycogen stores have been used up does our body then begin to burn fat for fuel. This is when exercise becomes most effective if fat loss is the ultimate goal.
As mentioned, even when we are asleep, we are still in need of energy – even just as a result of having dreams throughout the night. When we then wake up in the morning, our glycogen stores are actually at their lowest amount compared to any other time throughout the day, and we are therefore closest to burning fat during this time, before eating anything new. This is why when we choose to focus on doing some physical activity in the mornings on an empty stomach, our bodies will burn more fat than any other time since it is the only viable energy source our bodies have readily available to them. Of course, when you work out intensively, you will eventually get to the fat stores as well, but mornings on an empty stomach is the optimal time for burning fat in the sense that there is no “interference’. Whether your preferred choice of exercise is going for a long walk, going for a run, biking, or doing yoga or pilates, if your goal is to burn fat rather than focus only on endurance, this is the best strategy. Once you wake up, it is best to always drink a few glasses of water, do some stretches in order to ease into the physical activity of your choice, and then get ready to shed some fat!
It is important to note that in terms of endurance, eating before working out is a good idea as it will provide you with more energy. It is also a better idea to eat something if you do feel too tired or light-headed working out on an empty stomach or in the case of having low blood pressure or hypoglycemia. If any of these are the cases, you can still eat a small healthy snack or light breakfast in order to have a productive workout session and avoid any possible issues. Some good options for quick snack ideas pre-workout could be a handful of nuts and/or seeds, some cut up carrots or apples, or some yogurt. These options will provide enough fuel for you to still have a successful workout, even in the morning!
Working out in the morning also gives you the benefit of getting it out of the way, speeding up your metabolism, providing consistent energy throughout the day, as well as promoting a better and deeper sleep at night. It is also often easier to find excuses to avoid working out in the late afternoons or in the evenings as plans can change or develop, and/or the work day can be particularly draining or stressful, making it much more tempting to opt for a relaxing evening in rather than trying to muster up energy to commit to a workout.
What you do after working exercising is also just as important as what you do before. No matter how much you may enjoy your workout, your cortisol levels rise when you are physically active – the amount of course depending on the intensity of the workout. When our cortisol levels rise, our bodies are in a mode of stress, which makes them hold on to fat. The best way to counter this is to make sure to eat something – ideally a complex carbohydrate, right after working out. The insulin released after eating these types of carbohydrates can actually balance cortisol levels in our bodies getting us out of the stress-mode. This means more relaxation throughout the day and our bodies not remaining in a “panic’ and stubbornly holding onto fat.
After your morning fitness routine and stretches, you can opt to make a delicious green smoothie packed with nutrient-filled greens and fruits, or eat a banana with peanut butter, or have a healthy and filling home-made granola bar. All of these are delicious options that will steadily increase blood sugar levels therefore triggering the release of enough insulin in order to lower cortisol levels, leaving you stress-free, and still aiding in helping your body lose fat!
Photo courtesy of Peace Love Shea
Don’t miss: How to Get Skinny Legs: The Perfect Workout Plan
Working out is one of those things that we love to hate on or simple love without any additions to the emotion. We need to work out in order to keep in shape, this we know well. We also need to work out to ward off diseases apparently, to keep our organs working properly and to strengthen our body in general, ensuring we are always at our best, no matter what our weight. There are many myths connected with exercising as well though, things told by those gyms and those weight loss programs, the personal trainers and the “experts’ in the field alike. They may mean well, but they just end up making us feel worse overall. There are so many elements to each and every person’s body that it is imperative that one understands him or herself best before following that well-meant advice to the tee. As such, there are those quite knowledgeable in the field, who offer some sage advice. It is rather important to understand the truth and lies about working out correctly, which we are discussing below!
1. You are a unique individual: Just because someone else with an incredible body and form tells you to do something thus, it does not mean that it is something meant for you as well. You as a 25-year-old have a very different shape, size, ability, point of no return and everything else than your 25-year-old best friend, let alone a stranger. It makes no difference. You need to work out in a way that it is right for you, that it helps your body get into the shape you want it to be. Everything about you is different than all the rest so do not give up when you realize that what works for one person does not also work for you. You will find your own step sooner or later.
2. Weight loss can also mean health loss: It may seem to be amazing that you are losing a whole lot of weight all at once, dropping 5 kilos a week, but you are actually drastically affecting your health as well, something you do not want to be doing. It is better to lose your weight slowly but steadily, allowing your body time to adjust to each pound less weighing you down. Should you go too fast, you will run into some major problems.
3. Weight loss is not necessarily fat loss: You may be losing weight as you go on one diet or another, but that may not be fat at all but merely water loss, leading to a dehydrated body more than a thinner, healthier one. The amount of muscle you have to body fat is most important here and losing on the muscle mass will only hurt your stamina, physical abilities and general functioning in life. Use measurements instead of a scale to make sure you are keeping in shape and are fit enough, while ensuring a proper body composition with a balanced scale of muscle, fat, water and overall density.
4. Stress can be causing the majority of your problems: An obsession over a healthy lifestyle can cause way too much stress and have the opposite effect as well. If you have missed an aerobics class or a training session, it matters not. Just enjoy the moment and reschedule, make up for it the next time around without allowing it to eat you up from the inside. You’re only human so you will need to take a deep breath and relax in order for your healthy lifestyle to work out properly.
You have been told many different myths throughout your life. It is time to have them seen as defunct, as outdated and incorrect, not taking any of the factors stated above into consideration. But which lies have been the worst?
This program will transform your body! Yeah, okay. The truth is that health is a lifestyle and not a series of programs meant to transform your body. You cannot start a workout program for a few weeks or months, lose the weight and then expect it to stay off when you begin to eat those cheesecakes again. It can be a fantastic way to kick start a healthy lifestyle but it does not end there. There should be no countdown until it ends. It should become a part of who you are. But you must already know that, even if you are enrolled in a program or two or three…
You do not need to sleep so much as you get older: In a way it is true. You no longer need 9 to 10 hours of sleep a night like a child would. However, you do need at least 7 hours of sleep, preferably 8, or at least resting the eyes and the brain so that you can function normally once again the next day. A lack of proper sleep will snowball soon enough and you will have a load of health problems to deal with. You will need that sleep in order to have a proper workout session.
Your body will conform to whatever you decide to do with it: Once again, in a way it is true. But your body is smarter than you think and will respond to a lack of proper calories and nutrition by breaking itself down. If you want to be losing on energy or want a slower metabolism, along with increased appetite levels, you should keep to that irrational manner of controlling the body. You will certainly not be able to hold on to your health however. Working your body too hard and stressing it out will not be of any help.
You can lose a lot of weight all at once: You can lose a lot of weight or you may not. You can feel healthy doing so or totally lose interest in everything. At the end of the day, you just need to slow down, a lot. You will not be losing too much weight at once if you are actually taking a healthy route to fitness, will plateau and even see yourself barely budging towards your goals. You do not even want to be seeing extremes as that can have an adverse effect overall. Don’t feel guilty either for any small “mistakes’ made on your way. That is a sure way to ruin any bit of success gained over the last bit you have been working on something.
The more you work out, the more fit you will be: Endurance is a very good thing and the more you work out the better you will feel but not all in the same block of time. Your body does amazing after 45 to 55 minutes of really pushing it to its limits but you do not want to stress out your body and produce excess cortisol, leading to a negative impact on your health. Make sure your body is nice and stimulated but not pushed too far that it can lead to failure at any given point.
You need a variety of workouts every time: Now this is certainly not true as you also need to build endurance. There is nothing wrong with doing the same thing for 45 minutes straight, tough it will bore you to no end as well. Variety also helps you prevent hitting a plateau, but it helps condition strength and gives your body a chance to adapt to the moves themselves. You should have a plan of different moves, one batch a days that you repeat every other day or every week just to keep changing it up while still working your muscles productively. Plus, you should switch around the types of workout you do every 4-6 weeks just to give your body a chance to work on something different, on a different set of muscles that need your unwavering attention, at least for a certain period of time.
Photo courtesy of The Blonde Salad
Don’t miss: 5 Easy Ways to Get Rid of Thigh Fat
When it comes to our fatty regions, women are very self-conscious. This means that we will go to any length to hide those dimples and erase any trace of extra weight on our bodies. There are a few ways one can effectively reduce the thigh fat in a shorter time period. We all want that of course, but you have to work at it. There is no single exercise or diet that specifically targets the thigh fat alone but there are changes in your routines that can be made that will ensure those limbs of yours look toned instead of flabby and full of cellulite. So how do you reduce thigh fat?
1. The Benefits of Cardio Exercise: You can reduce thigh fat by going for high impact cardio that really gets your heart pumping and body moving. You have to burn the calories, burn them fast and in large amounts. 60 minutes of cardio 5 times a week will ensure you are as fit as can be in no time at all. Just make sure you are working your legs the whole time.
2. Go for Height: Incline your treadmill or simply go for a jog uphill. You don’t need to run but keep the pace competitive and keep going no matter what. Even if you walk around most of the time, going uphill, you will be working those thigh muscles and toning those legs. You burn more calories on the incline so next time you decide to go anywhere that’s uphill, choose to walk instead, especially if it will take you over 30 minutes. This way you get everything from your thighs to your hamstrings to your calves and buttocks.
3. Go for Yoga and Pilates: You want to spot tone and these practices are the best way to do so. While the cardio will drop your weight, the yoga and Pilates will build up muscle on your inner and outer thighs as so many of the routines are focused on the lower body and the strength in your back. You will thus look leaner, slimmer and fitter. It is definitely worth signing up for.
See also: 9 Tips For Getting A Flat Belly Without Exercising
4. Ensure You Have Your Breakfast: You might want to fast most of the day or decide you are eating only a single meal. Well, if that’s the case then jumpstart your metabolism from early on in the morning and just grab a snack later in the day that’s filling but not a full meal. If you have a better metabolism, you will make sure your legs and body in general is leaner. Eat protein and fibre-filled complex carbs and then go for that morning cardio. You’ll be pumped, your body will work well and your day will go by smooth and nice. You’ll be losing fat and building muscle, while the carbs give you the energy to sustain you throughout the day. Also, don’t skip eating the whole day. If you aren’t feeling hungry, then snack often, keep it under 150 calories and fill up on energy.
5. Drink a Lot of Water: Instead of sodas or any juice you may think you want, go for water. It has absolutely no calories, it will keep you hydrated and the constant peeing will flush your body of a lot of unwanted things. It helps with your weight loss plans and encourages portion control. Honestly, it’s the best thing you can be drinking. Have some milk for calcium if you wish early in the morning with your breakfast so that your metabolism works well, then spend the day drinking water, while you end the evening with a cup or two of tea.
Photo courtesy of The Blonde Salad
Don’t miss: The New Trend Of Thigh Gap: An Obsession Or A Fitness Rule?
It’s a dream for most of us women to be able to lose weight without exercising. It’s nearly impossible people say, and perhaps that is so if you are not careful with diet and your daily routines. Shedding those extra pounds sounds heavenly enough, though hard work added to our daily schedules in order to maintain the ideal body is just too much to handle and often falls low on our list of priorities. We know that dedicating 30 minutes a day to exercising is a feat and often we find ourselves lazy and just looking to lounge about in those spare few moments we have got. Time is treasured.
In order to get fit really, a gym seems to be necessary, but that requires at least 2 hours of your day, between getting there, exercising, showering, taking care of the nitty gritty and heading home. Sometimes it may even span to 3 hours, depending on how long we end up exercising for. Not to mention the hefty price paid in order to go use those gym facilities. It’s a bit of a joke really: We waste time driving to a place where we pay money to get on a stationary bike instead of just taking a real bike out in the first place, just paying for the piece of metal with wheels itself and getting to and from work with that. It is certainly healthier living overall and not as much of a laughable situation.
Getting a flat belly without exercising and dieting seems to be something real and not just a dream of a lazy girl. So for those of us who have neither the time nor the extra cash to spend on gyms and home equipment, these handy tips may just help in flattening out those tummies without the pain.
1. Straighten Up: You may be surprised to know that simply perfecting your posture can help tone your core muscles, making your figure look better while working out the areas of your body that would other be folding over in flabs. If you need constant posture reminders, just put some notes in strategic places so that you have to straighten up your back to read them anyway.
2. Drink Up: You know this one like the back of your hand but it’s certainly worth repeating just in case you’ve forgotten. Don’t forget to keep drinking those fluids as it will ensure your body isn’t hoarding water due to your dehydration. About 4 pounds are carried around in excess around your midsection when you fail to drink enough water to replenish your system. Go for as much as your body can handle as opposed to counting the litres. So long as you’re hydrated, your weight will be regulated and your skin will love you for it.
See also: How To Get Skinny Legs: The Perfect Workout Plan
3. Bottoms Up: It may be a rather awkward subject to discuss, especially for women, but you really need to get yourself to the bathroom as much as possible, preferably at least once a day. Just set a specific time, whether early in the morning or later in the afternoon, but your body will get used to it and automatically dispense of the excess waste that could otherwise cause bloat-inducing constipation. Too often we dismiss the body’s signals and forget to go for days. This ends up hurting our systems even if at the moment we are hard-pressed to spend 10-15 minutes cleaning out our bowels. Just take a seat when you can and your body will thank you for it.
4. Eat Up: Just make sure you are mindful of not just what you are eating but how many times you are chewing. You may not need the age-old advised 32 chews per bite, but giving it at least 10 should prevent the build-up of gas and indigestion, as well as reducing the likelihood of you swallowing air that could lead to a potbelly in no time. We’re not telling you that you should diet, but just make sure that you are chewing each bite you take properly. The chewier the morsel, the more time should be spent breaking it down and making it easier for your stomach to digest.
5. “Pro’ it Up: You actually want some good bacteria ingested, which is why yoghurts are so good for you. Probiotics are perfect for breaking down foods in your stomach and reducing the chances of gastrointestinal problems that can keep you from having a flat belly. The excess gas is bothersome and probiotics help prevent that bloated feeling. You should either have a daily serving of yoghurt or take a 50 mg supplement of probiotics in order to keep the balance in your body. Your stomach and intestinal tract will certainly be thanking you profusely for this while the reduced indigestion problems mean less of a problem with protruding bellies.
6. Walk it Up: This may be harder to make yourself allocate time to but if there are certain things in the vicinity that intrigue you or if you love shopping and need to buy new things anyway, just mark a 30-minute segment of your day that you spend walking. You don’t need to jog, you don’t need to run, and you certainly don’t need a gym. Don’t count your steps and don’t count the calories lost. This isn’t a regime exercise, it’s merely a simple way to boost metabolism and wash out that embarrassing fat that’s been clinging to your midsection so tenaciously.
Related: How To Get Rid Of Sagging Belly Skin
7. Gum Give Up: Just as with the food needing multiple chews before you swallow to prevent air from being swallowed, gum should be left as a last resort when you need a quick breath refresher and have nothing else to turn to. You shouldn’t be chewing gum if you want to keep out the bloat and fit into those skinny jeans. Suck on a mint instead.
8. Supplement it Up: There are certain supplements that are not just necessary for the body but help keep your belly flat as well. It may be prudent to add calcium D-glucarate and B-complex supplements to your typical vitamin count on a daily basis, particularly in order to reduce estrogen levels that end up retaining fat around the waist.
9. Finally Just Relax: This is probably your favourite tip on this list and it certainly helps. When you are feeling stressed, frazzled and just all over the place, the steroids and hormones your body produces affect your digestive system negatively and cause constipation. The production of cortisol also brings fat to your midsection in an attempt to protect the organs in a fight, which is certainly not something you wish for at the moment. For 20 minutes a day, do something that relieves the stress and minimize the tension in your life otherwise. You’ll be very happy with the final results.
Photos courtesy of StyleScrapbook, The Blonde Salad
Don’t miss: 9 Effective Exercises For Legs, Arms And Belly
Victoria’s Secret models are gorgeous and those Angels certainly have bodies most women out there would kill for. The worst part is, some of them are mothers of at least 1 or 2 children on there, which makes watching them strut out onto the runway fit as a young woman just entering her 20s all the more painful. Those sculpted physiques, of course, do not come without a whole lot of work and despite what people may think, models have to work just as hard to keep their jobs (if not harder) as the rest of us. We may not be able to gain those Angel mile long legs, but we certainly can ensure we make our own bodies just as toned as those lovely ladies’. Here are some fitness and exercise tips from the Victoria’s Secret Angels on how they’ve been keeping toned, honed and painfully slender ahead of each Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Erin Heatherton Exercise Routine: Ballet Beautiful
Erin Heatherton indulges in Ballet Beautiful, a form of dance that makes learning elegant moves fun while she works at mastering each technique. Considering grace has not been one of her childhood strong points, taking these types of ballet classes gives her the opportunity to keep her spirit youthful, improve posture, and inspire a wide array of movements she never thought she was capable of pulling off. With that body of hers though, we can easily imagine her working her core to the max!
Doutzen Kroes Exercise Routine: Healthy Mixes
Doutzen Kroes knows what she’s doing when it comes to heavy exercise and her impeccably toned body attests to her not leaving a single muscle without proper honing. Those strong long legs of hers alongside that smooth little 2-pack are enough to prove that she not only runs outside (preferring along the Hudson River in NYC), but also does a lot of boxing, jump rope training, tough workouts and a large amount of cardio. According to her, they not only make her look good, these exercises ensure she feels really good too.
See also: What’s It Really Like To Be A Model
Candice Swanepoel Exercise Routine: Year-Round Exercise
Candice Swanepoel is lovely to behold, a true Angel in more ways than one. For her, it seems that she doesn’t let a single day go by where she doesn’t work on keeping her gorgeous body fit, with just enough muscle formed to look sumptuous without adding too much girth to the image presented. Since she loves to feel really strong and really needs to keep up the strength in her legs, the focus goes there, as well as on her bum that looks best when toned Angel style.
Lindsay Ellingson Exercise Routine: Mary Helen
For Lindsay Ellingson, both Ballet Beautiful and working with Mary Helen are amazing at ensuring her exercise routine is just right for the amount she eats. She’s by far one of the most slender women working for Victoria’s Secret and you can bet that her focus is on looking her best in lingerie. This means tight glutes and strong core, problem areas that Mary Helen helps the model focus on throughout the year.
Josephine Skriver Exercise Routine: Boxing and Spinning
Talking about slender, Josephine Skriver looks like she could use a bit more meat on that body but her exercise routine seems to be nothing too special. Combining boxing, spinning and running is an easy feat for the model that has always seen exercise as a part of her identity more so than it being a heavy weight placed on her due to her career. Since she should be looking amazing all year round, Skriver ensures that she pushes a little harder before a show but keeps up the pace throughout the rest of the year.
Alessandra Ambrosio Exercise Routine: Brazil Butt Lift
Perhaps one of the most envied of the Angels, Alessandra Ambrosio may be one of the older models but she’s definitely also one of the hottest. The worst part, she’s also a mother while keeping up that amazing body. With Pilates and yoga part of her daily routine, an intense 10-day session of Brazil Butt Lift classes really takes a toll on her body, despite it having amazing effects. She’s in better shape now than she was 10 years ago but the years and motherhood must have affected her spine for she gets back pains from time to time.
Related: How Victoria’s Secret Angel Wings Are Made
Karlie Kloss Exercise Routine: Always on the Move
Extremely slender Karlie Kloss is a supermodel that’s coveted by many. She is an Angel at heart though and we love seeing her showing off Victoria’s Secret lingerie in magazines and live during shows. For her, she’s always on the move, thanking childhood classical ballet classes for her current grace, flexibility and ability to dance, while also spending her time running, swimming and cycling from place to place.
Behati Prinsloo Exercise Routine: Pilates
If you want to see extremely long, slender, toned and honed legs on the runway, look for Behati Prinsloo and her extremely thin exotic look. Swimming and Pilates are her go-to exercise methods that she simply loves while a special trainer makes sure to kick some butt whenever the model finds it necessary. Keeping busy is part of her personality so Prinsloo opts for a more active lifestyle practicing her swimming techniques while also ensuring every muscle in her body gets the exercise it needs with her Pilates.
Cara Delevingne Exercise Routine: Yoga
A favourite in the fashion world, Cara Delevingne likes to use yoga to calm her nerves and shut off her brain, while she’d really love to get into the sport of boxing. The slender model is well known for her softly toned body, which may be the result of zipping through her days as quickly as possible. It may not be the best exercise, but those arms of hers most definitely get a workout as she also plays the drums. We’ll be waiting to see a whole lot more of Delevingne soon enough!
Toni Garrn Exercise Routine: Strict Regimes
Toni Garrn knows she needs to keep a close handle on things, which is why her exercise routines are strict as can be. Every day is exercise day and that just gets amped up before a show. Sugar and gluten get cut out of the diet even though the model is known for having an incredible sweet tooth. That only makes the regime harder to follow but the results pay off as needed, meaning the deprivation was certainly worth it in the end.
Jasmine Tookes Exercise Routine: P90x and Squats
If Jasmine Tookes can look that good with the P90x program, so can all of us. It’s intensive without a doubt, but it’s also worth the pain and suffering when the results begin to show. Squats also ensure those legs are strong enough to conquer the runway in thin heels. She may be perpetually fit but it doesn’t hurt to ramp up the routine during the month before a show.
Photos courtesy of Vogue, Zimbio
Don’t miss: Supermodels Who Want To Be Something More
The way you work out effects the amount of weight that you lose and as a man or woman you will want maximum results for your hard work; often, you may be doing something wrong or just not doing something the best way possible. You may or may not hit the gym regularly, but you should know how to schedule your workout routine so that you get the most out of your trip. You will want to build muscle as you shed the weight as well, not only becoming leaner but also more fit. Soho Strength Lab co-founder and trainer Albert Matheny has been sharing some secrets to burning more calories with less amount of work. Just need to tweak your routine schedule.
Strength Training Comes First
Cardio is the most common exercise people start with but Matheny says it’s best to do some strength training instead. You want more lean muscle for your metabolism to work better. Once you have played around in the weights room, you can switch to cardio and stretch all those sore muscles out, building on your core. You thus use the carbs stored in you, and allow the body to burn more fat during cardio.
Heavier Weights Needed
If you want to speed up the calorie burn, add more weights to the ones you train with, of course without hurting yourself or compromising your form. The more stress that’s placed on the body, the harder it has to work to keep a palace and it does great in building muscle while really torching those calories.
Put Your Body Into It
It’s not just your arms and legs you should be working on but your body as a whole. Don’t work on toning one muscle group at a time, instead focusing on incorporating both the upper and lower parts of your body together. You can also add a boost of cardio by doing some dumbbell squats.
Interval Training Instead of 20 Minute Jog
Predictable workouts don’t burn as much fat. Switching things around every couple of minutes gets your heart pumping, your muscles moving and more calories burning. You can add little sprints to your 20-minute job or you can move around a cardio routine, but either way, remove the predictability.
Inclines are Better
When you’re on that treadmill, don’t be walking or running on a straight path but add a steeper incline so that you must work harder to keep up the pace. Strength-building is added to the cardio this way. If you’re jobbing though, don’t make the incline over 5% as it could hurt your Achilles tendons and lead to injury.
Loving the Stretches
You should actually love the stretches and make them count. You deserve a break after a workout but do not take it until you have completed all your stretches. You can add a bit more cardio to the stretching business as well, particularly if you include yoga moves that can crush a few more calories while you finish up for the day.
Just Keep it Up
You have a goal and you hit it but don’t go back to a regular routine. Keep challenging yourself to be better, look better, feel better. You want to be stronger and fitter; the only way to do so is to keep going at it and keeping to the hard work you’ve been putting into it to date.
Photo courtesy of Shape Magazine
Don’t Miss: How To Get Skinny Legs: The Perfect Workout Plan
Having beautiful and skinny legs is a dream that haunts many of us. Achieving this is not easy, and if you believe that the fighter in you has died long ago, then we are sorry to tell you that this is not going to work. Just like any set of exercises, these ones too need careful planning, determination and strong will (after all, where there’s a will there’s a way). Now let’s work out a perfect workout plan together to get tones legs easily! Here are the simple steps on how to get skinny legs!
Weight Training for Perfect Legs
If you are afraid that because of weight training your body is going to become all bulky and too massive for a woman, remember that carefully planned weight training is one way to go towards beautifully skinny legs. Your body will NOT become disproportionate for one simple reason: as a woman, you are genetically protected from building too much muscle. Also, keep in mind that an ideal weight training is the one combined with leading a healthy way of life, which involves consuming all the right products. So what to do and how much to do? Hang on; we have got all the answers you are looking for.
Ideally, we would recommend you doing 8-12 repetitions per set, each exercise involving 3 sets. Do not let the rests between the sets last longer than a minute. Try doing weight training 2 times a week, allowing 3 days between the workouts.
Exercising with Special Machines and Sport Equipment
One thing you should always remember is that before starting any workout, you need to do pre-workout warm-up exercises for about 5 minutes. Warm-up exercises for legs include skipping, cycling, running on a treadmill and so on. The main exercises designed for training your legs include:
Squats with a Bar
Lifting the bar, stand still and spread your legs a little wider than shoulder width. Keeping your head straight, bend your knees and try to get your thighs parallel with the floor and make sure your butt stays still and does not go back when you squat. To return to the starting position, make pressure on your heels.
Lunges with Dumbbells
Holding a dumbbell in each hand, spread your arms, keeping your back straight. Step forward with your right leg, bend your knee so that it forms a 90 degree angle. Let your left leg get close to the floor, but not touch it. Repeat the exercise with the other leg.
Using Leg Extensions Machine
Leg extension exercises help to gain muscles on thighs and give them distinct, convex shape along their length. These exercises are performed on special machines where the person who is exercising gets her legs under special rollers and does the exercise by bending and straightening the knees. The leg extension machine helps to tone both the inner and outer parts of your thighs. To achieve the best results for outer thighs, sit properly on the machine, extend your legs in front of you and try to lift the pad, keeping your toes pointed all the time. After holding the pad in top position for several seconds, lower it down. For inner thighs, repeat the same exercise, this time leaning your back forward and keeping your butt at the base of the seat of the machine.
Using Leg Curl Machine
Leg curl is designed for “treating” your hamstrings and glutes. Hamstrings are the muscles at the back of the upper leg, and glutes are the muscles of your buttock. Unlike the extension machine, you use the leg curl machine by lying down on your stomach on specially designed bench and putting your feet under the pad at the end of the machine. Slightly arching your back, try to lift the pad as high as you can. Again after holding it up for several seconds, lower it down.
Using Calf Rise Machine
Another machine that is very effective in leg toning process is the calf rice machine. The machine consists of shoulder pads that you adjust according to your height. It also has a special foot plate for your toes. Standing on the foot plate (make sure that only your toes are touching the plate), get hold of the special handles and try to stand on your toes. After 2-3 seconds lower your toes. During the exercise it is prohibited to bend your knees, so make sure you keep them straight and unbend all the time. One thing you should always keep in mind while using the calf machine is that the slower you lower your toes, the more effective the exercise will be.
What About…the Fat?
You will not get the toned thighs and legs you have always dreamt about only by using the above-mentioned exercises. For the results of your endeavors to be visible, you need to get rid of the fat that is already stored in your body, the fat that needs to be burned. There’s no better fat removing technique than cardio exercises. Cardio exercises, which are sometimes called aerobic exercises, are “physical exercises of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process”.
High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT comes to the aid of those, who are looking for a quick way to remove the excess fat from their body. The whole essence of HIIT is doing fast cardio exercises and taking very short breaks. There are all sorts of cardio exercises to choose from, and you are free to choose any of them (depending on which one you feel the most comfortable doing): swimming, sprinting, cycling are all welcome. So how and where do we start? As always, we start with a short (2-3 minutes) warm-up. Devote 20 seconds to sprinting (make sure to run the fastest you can). Have a 10 seconds rest. Another 20 seconds sprint. Repeat the same pattern to get 8 20 second sprints. The whole process will take 4 minutes, but after you are done, you are going to feel like you have been training all day long, which only proves the effectiveness of the exercise.
Remember that HIIT should be performed on days when you do not lift any weights. Devote 3 days a week to HIIT and make sure those days do not coincide with your weight training days.
The exercises described above are by no means easy, you need to possess great stamina to get to positive results in due time. But, as they say, nothing worth having comes easy. So prepare yourself mentally and go get those perfect legs! We know you can do it, you are strong enough! Have faith in yourself, because with right attitude and planning, there are no “impossibles” in exercising.
Photo courtesy of Style Scrapbook
Don’t Miss: How To Slim Down Calves Easily
The problem of too big calves on legs is capable of upsetting any girl and this problem actually has a number of other difficulties and additional problems that arise along with it. For instance, those problems may be connected with inconvenience when wearing boots, or the discomfort you might feel when wearing a short dress or a skirt. But you shouldn’t worry at all, since here we are going to introduce the top effective ways of slimming down the calves easily and quickly. So starting out the list of the main things that you should do we can speak about the following options!
Why Are My Calves Big?
So first of all you need to find out the reason of the appearance of big calf muscles, among which we can mention:
• Swelling of the extremities, which is accompanied with the varicose widening of the vessels. This might happen because of too loose tissue accompanied with unpleasant feelings and pain. In addition they might also cause some illnesses.
• Hyper-sthenic structure described as an inborn quality. The symptoms are the predominance of the muscular mass, big bones, and the stocky figure.
• The existence of fats around the area of the legs, which may become strongly pronounced after losing weight around the areas of the waist and the hips.
• Strongly overinflated muscles. Most often this kind of a phenomenon can be found in case of the sportswomen, professional ballerinas, those who are fond of running and of course as a result of excessively frequent fitness exercises.
How to Slim Down Calf Muscles?
Thus after finding out the main reasons that may cause this problem we can also start looking for some ways to get rid of big calf muscles. If the problem has been the excess accumulation of fats then you may try out one of the following options:
• Use regular wrappings with food film also opting for different ingredients and products. With the help of these procedures you will have significant improvements especially in terms of softening and smoothing the skin, which will be the result of the heating procedures. So this in its turn will bring to burning the additional and unnecessary fats of your body.
• Following the low-calorie diets is also a nice way to overcome problems of this type. You just need to find the exact options for you.
• In addition, you should also accomplish a set of simple exercises every day, aimed at working out the problematic areas. At the same time you will significantly improve your blood flow under the skin and it’s really important that the exercises can be carried out regularly without long pauses.
• You may also get rid of extra fats with the help of special massagers, which most often have tough applicators, be those made of plastic or wood. In any case you need to act carefully in order not to get injuries.
One more reason because of which those calves might appear is the excessive frequency of physical exercises and the excessive load, which often brings to the creation of excessive muscle mass. It’s important to remember that this might happen because of having too many proteins in daily ration too, since the excessive use of proteins also results in the growth of the muscles.
In order to prevent the possible future growth of the calves, you should be attentive about your ration especially focusing on limiting the overall amount of proteins consumed every day. If you feel proteins form a bigger percentage of your ration than it is expected, you’d better limit the consumption of such products as legumes, cheese, cottage cheese, milk and meat and the dishes made with them.
If you still can’t avoid or get rid of those unwanted big calf muscles you may at least try to decrease their mass to minimum, trying to decrease the physical load and the heavy exercises. For instance, you may use the elevator instead of climbing the stairs, not go for walks or running for incredibly long distances, and activities like cycling. If you go to the gym regularly, you may pick such exercises, which will not have any influence on the calves.
In addition, you may also try out the following set of activities, which might help you to get rid of big calves:
1. Plié Squat: This is one of the most popular exercises among the professional ballerinas. For this exercise you should stand straight, putting the feet parallel to the shoulders and do squats. It’s important to put the pressure on the thighs at the same time bending the knees as much as possible. After doing the first 20 squats you should make a leaning on the whole of the feet and after that the following 20 squats might be done standing on the tips of the toes. Still, you need to be very careful when doing this exercise, as there is a big risk of getting injuries.
2. Folding Knife: The following exercise we would like to talk about is folding knife, which requires to be sitting on the buttocks and thoroughly straightening the legs. Just like in case of stretches, you should lean forward and stretch your arms at the same time you should also try to touch your feet with your hands. You should then stay in that position for at least 1.5 minutes and repeat the exercise for 15 times.
3. Jumping: This is a simple yet effective exercise you may try out too. 15 minutes are enough and you will have really impressive results. All you need to do is jumping with the help of which the blood flow gets more intense and the fats and extra calories all vanish due to the great energy consumption.
4. Rolls: This exercise is aimed at stretching the shins. You should stand on your tiptoes and walk 30 times feeling the calves. Further you need to do abrupt rolls from the tips to the heels and walk again. For each time you will have one such roll and overall the rolls should be repeated at least 4 times.
5. One more exercise suggests that you strand straight putting the feet slightly wider than the pelvis. At first you need to shift the weight to the left leg lifting the right leg and bending it in the knee. Then you should breathe in and do the same with the right leg. You should repeat this exercise for 15 times for each leg and gradually increase the load.
6. Lunges: These are simplified variants of exercises, for which you should put your legs on the width of your shoulders and do a lunge at the same time following that the heel of the second leg doesn’t get cut from the floor. After a couple of seconds you may go back to your starting position.
7. For the next exercise you should stand straight, putting the legs on the width of the pelvis and putting the feet parallelly to each other. When breathing in you need to go up and while breathing out you should come back to your starting position. For the beginning you may begin with 20 repetitions, but by the time it should be increased to 30.
8. Lifting on Heels: This exercise might be accomplished in a variety of ways, due to which you may pick the one you liked most. You just need to stand straight shifting the weight to the right leg bending the left one in the knee. Then you need to stand on your heels at least for 15 times and repeat the exercise for the second leg too. You may also choose a more difficult alternative standing on the stairs instead of standing on the floor.
9. In addition, you may also stand on your knees and in order not to get bruises you may use a small rag. Your arms should be free and positioned forward, keeping the back straight. Then you just need to start sitting on one side and then on another, trying to press against the floor with your hip as tightly as possible. This should be repeated at least 20 times.
10. Batman! The last but not least effective exercise, which we would like to present to your attention is called Batman and the essence is grabbing a hair, holding the back and trying to stand close to it. Your feet should be positioned parallelly to each other. The right hand should be stretched forward stretching the heel and making an abrupt swing forwards. For each leg you should repeat this for 20 times.
Finally, in order to slim down the calves and to make them your secret ingredient for being more attractive and charming you should combine these exercises with healthy organized nutrition preferably following a healthy diet. Despite the fact that there hasn’t been developed any special ration for this, using the complex set of activities is better in any case.
Thus your nutrition should be balanced and limited in terms of salty and/or fatty dishes. If swelling disturbs you, you may use a small pillow to put it under your legs and keep it there for 15 minutes. Throughout the whole day you should also try to periodically lift your legs to avoid the swelling and other problems like that.
In addition, you may also do some small massage to relax your feet after exercises and have the desired results. The muscle pain will not be so noticeable due to that.
Thus here was another description of one more possible problem you might face. If you manage to follow the instructions and be careful when exercising, you will avoid such problems or get rid of quicker.
Photo courtesy of The Blonde Salad
Don’t Miss: 7 Effective Inner-Thigh Exercises For Women