More on celebrity training

Here's another celebrity trainer that's got the right idea. His name is Joe Dowdell. Who's Joe Dowdell trained? Many of New York's top fashion model's, including Gisele Bundchen. What's his advice for getting towards a Victoria's Secrets like body?

* Always build your exercise choices around exercises that utilize multiple joints, such as Squats,Deadlifts, Split Squats, Lunges, Step Ups, etc.
* Intensity is the key.
* Focus on strengthening the posterior chain, Hamstrings, Glutes and Lower Back, which is important for both aesthetics as well as function.
* Forget reading a magazine and spending 45-60 minutes on the Stairmaster doing cardio, perform at least 2 high intensity interval training sessions of cardio each week in conjunction with your weight training routine.
* ... I prefer using total body resistance training routines at least 3 times per week on non-consecutive days along with interval training sessions on the days in between resistance sessions. I find this to be the most effective manner to get people lean.

As Joe says in the quote, he has his Victoria's Secret clients perform squats and deadlifts. In case you're unfamiliar with deadlifts, here's a video:



When it comes to squats, Joe has said elsewhere that one of his Brazilian models can do back squats with 135 pounds, and she has amazingly slender legs.

Here's a video of a back squat. The demonstrator is using 95 pounds:



Here's a few more quotes from Joe:

For instance with models... [they] will come in 3 times per week and we will do a total body workout and the off days will be energy system work (cardio). The strength program may consist of back squats with short rest before a pull up.

What type of cardio?

Most women overdue cardio training, some do an hour a day, which is too much. I will tell them right away that changes will be made in the way they do their cardio and that the sessions will last 30 minutes at the most. Most of the time women look at me like I am crazy and say that they do not think it will be enough. I tell them not to worry about it and that the bottom line is caloric expenditure. You can burn more calories doing interval training, which is done at a higher intensity. You will get a better return on your time as well. The heart rate fat burning zones is a big myth.

I find that women tend to want to do more cardiovascular training then men. It is very difficult to convince some women that they are being counter-productive to their body compositional goals by doing 45-60 minutes of aerobic training a day. When it comes to body compositional goals, I like to utilize Interval Training with my clients.