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The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is headed to London this season, and in anticipation for the December 9th spectacular, a group of Angels recently participated in a grueling 5-hour-a-day boxing boot camp in Mexico.
The program is the brainchild of former pro boxer and owner of New York City’s Aerospace High Performance Center,
Michael Olajide, Jr. and his former ballet-dancing partner, Leila
Fazel. Olajide, who’s famous for training supermodel Iman and for
getting Adriana Lima’s post-baby body in tip-top shape in just eight
weeks, came up with the idea to create a model boxing camp out of his
own experience.
“When I was a fighter that’s
what we did. We’d go away and train for a solid month and get in shape
for a fight,” Olajide tells Yahoo Style. “This is similar because I
thought it would be a great idea to give the girls a jump start for the
fashion show. I know they want to get in shape and the best way for
anyone to do that is to take time off and refocus and recalibrate.”
It’s
no wonder that the girls are training early with the intense scrutiny
that goes into selecting each Angel. Last year, the brand’s casting
director described the process to Vogue UK:
“It’s really quite terrifying for them,” confided Sophia
Neophitou-Apostolou. “The final decision is made by the whole team,
sitting at this long table in a room with really harsh lighting and they
have to walk towards us and away from us. They all have to do it — even
the contracted girls — and it’s incredibly nerve-wracking for them.”
The models (including newcomers
Kelly Gale, Mathilde Frachon, and Emanuela De Paula) engaged in four
full days of highly physical training that covers yoga, boxing, and
sculpting. The girls were provided with meals — high protein and minimal
carbs, — to ensure that they get the best results.
Model Mathilde Frachon agreed
that getting away helps her concentration, even if she is permanently in
plank mode. “It’s not like working out in the city, it’s way more
relaxing,” she says. “It’s like intense workout and then chill, intense
workout and then chill. It’s really the perfect four days.”
The
others took to Instagram to let the world in on the exclusive bootcamp
with photos captioned: “work hard, let your hair down, jump in the
water,” “it hurts but it works,” “the serene after the savage
Aero3workout,” and “boxing in heaven.”
Of course not everyone can drop
everything and hit the beach for serious cardio sessions. But according
to New York City celebrity fitness expert Kira Stokes, there are more realistic and long-term methods for obtaining similar results.
“You have to find a modality of
fitness that resonates with you, something that you enjoy,” Stokes tells
Yahoo Style. “And be the ultimate cross trainer — you need a little bit
of everything. But the one you give the most time and effort to should
be fun and gratifying so as to make sure it becomes part of your
routine.”
While Olajide says that “within a
day or two, the girls’ bodies were changing definition,” he, too,
understands that it’s not realistic for the layperson to jet off for a
short period of time to reset and engage in week-long exercise
programs.
“It’s a matter of the quality of
the exercise then. You want to be able to have an routine that will tax
you both cardiovascularly and muscularly. That’s the holy grail,” he
says.
To sculpt the Angels’ bodies
into long, lean physiques, Olajide swears by fast repetitions and shies
away from movements that can potentially bulk-up his clients – i.e.
squats, cycling with resistance, and heavy weights. His work builds
endurance and strength without increasing size. The master sculptor
offers five pearls of wisdom for those interested in kick-starting the
quest to attaining a Victoria’s Secret Angel body:
1. Involve your mind.
“I make the girls turn on their fighter minds,” he says. “The
psychology of a fighter or a competitor is different than your
day-to-day mental state. You have to go in with a goal and remind
yourself of that goal every single day and every single moment you’re in
it. If you can do that, you’ll be ahead of the game.”
2. Quit juicing.
“I think juicing can be great, but I think juicing to the point that we
juice is too much. Too much of a good thing is not good for you. A lot
of the girls’ issues, when they have them, is holding onto water weight
from salt or liquids,” Olajide explains. “If you’re juicing and not
eating fibers that help fill you and give you substance so you can
workout, you wont see the results you want.”
3. Get yourself a jump rope.
“It’s the most effective, efficient exercise you can do and it burns
fat everywhere all over the body. Wherever you want to tone, jump rope
will do it.” Olajide recommends aiming for at least 127 jumps per
minute. Or, if you’re feeling determined, try for 142 jumps per minute.
4. Consider your range of motion.
“Whether it’s punching, running, or jumping, getting full range of
motion is important, that way the body is moving the way it was meant to
move,” he says. “With the girls, the punching drills I do involve a
power punch. It’s not a short, tight combination. I have them go through
the punch, like a pitcher would.” Pitchers load up from behind the
shoulder and then their arms end up near their lower left knee. So
they’re moving their arms across the body with a full range of motion,
which tones and develops long, lean muscles.
5. It’s all about the speed. Like
setting a goal challenges your mind, speed challenges your muscle,
coordination, and reflexes. “When you’re working with speed, so much
more is accomplished. So anything that requires speed is the best thing
that you can do,” he says. “I do complex jump rope drills with the
girls, complex boxing combinations, and one-leg squats. We do them all
very fast because we are not looking to build thicker muscles, we are
just looking to tone and define.”
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