Body of Evidence

Glamorous pictures of beautiful stars showing off their stunning bodies may leave us green with envy. But even Hollywood divas work up a sweat to achieve their perfect curves. In recognition of their dedication to looking drop dead gorgeous, Zest health and fitness magazine has awarded a dozen celebrities their Star Body Awards plus a lifetime’s achievement gong to Madonna for looking so inspiringly fantastic over the decades.
Researchers scoured the globe from London to LA to speak to top celebrity fitness gurus and gain an unique insight into the stars’ individual workout regimes. Editor Alison Pylkkanen said: ”J-Lo may look soft and curvy, but underneath she’s absolutely rock solid, with muscles to die for all thanks to one of the most punishing workout schedules in the business. All of our winners are in amazingly healthy shape. Readers aren’t interested in emulating any of the aggressively thin celebrities around today so you won’t find Posh or Nicole anywhere on the list. There’s no room either for the yo-yo bodyshapes of Geri or Oprah. There’s nothing healthy about losing and gaining the same 10 lbs over and over again.”

BEST POST-BABY SHAPE-UP: SARAH JESSICA PARKER

She not only looked cool throughout her pregnancy, but she also got her body back fast thanks to hard work. She said: ”I can afford a yoga teacher to come round to my house. It’s an unrealistic standard.”
But she’s still an inspiration both on and off the yoga mat. Celebrity motto Call in a personal trainer for a kick-start.

FITTEST MODEL: ELLE MACPHERSON

SEXY cover-girl Elle has a body we all dream about strong, lean and toned. The mum-oftwo maintains her figure by swimming, power-walking and skiing. She says: ”I don’t exercise madly, but I eat well. I want to be as fit and healthy as can. It’s a mum’s responsibility to be fit to take care of her child properly.”
Celebrity motto Walk yourself gorgeous.

FITTEST ACTRESS: J-LO

DON’T be fooled by J-Lo’s curves they’re rock solid thanks to punishing workouts. Her trainers Nancy Kennedy and Bobby Strom say she’s hard to exhaust. Says Nancy: ”Bobby would skip and box with her and the next day I’d do shallow-water running in the pool, plus pool exercises wearing gloves that increase resistance on your arms.”
Celebrity motto Curves always look better firm.

BEST ABS: BRITNEY

HE’S got an ironing board tummy, but boy does she work hard for it.
Trainer Bobby Strom, who helped her tone up for her 2002 tour does 700 sites 700 sit-ups a day. We use three stomach exercises a basic crunch, an obliquessic crunch, an obliques move and a reverse crunch.ove and a reverse crunch. She’ll do 50 of each, then swape’ll do 50 of each, then swap to working another body part.”Working another body part.”

Celebrity motto Mix your abs work with cardio for brilliant results.

BEST ARMS: DEMI MOORE

FULL marks to 41-year-old Demi for displaying a lithe, toned pair of arms in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. The debate about plastic surgery rages on, with the star accused of having £250,000 worth of work done, but you can’t fake muscle tone like that, made for the moves in her fight scenes. She says: ”It was very empowering, exciting and fun.”

Celebrity motto Fight yourself to firmness.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: MADONNA

IT’S got to go to Madge, who’s inspired us with her unrelenting dedication to fitness throughout the decades. We’ve watched her prove just how much you can change your body, from curvy to muscular and now to svelte and streamlined. It’s all thanks to a mix of Pilates and ashtanga yoga, which she does ”every other morning to music”. She’s bendier than even the top yoga gurus.

BEST BODY OVER 40: SHERYL CROW

AT 42, has a would exercise looking helped lift her moods and pull her out of a recent bout of depression.

Her sport of choice? she loves to surf, and says it’s “the one thing I’m addicted to.” Celebrity motto Find a fitness fix that’s fun.

BEST TRANSFORMATION: UMA THURMAN

JUST weeks after giving birth, Uma went into training for her sword-wielding assassin role in Tarantino’s Kill Bill. She says: ”Getting back into shape was like climbing a mountain. I was trained from nine to five, five days a week for three months. I’d go home and every part of my body hurt.”

Celebrity motto Focus on your goal.

BEST BUM: BEYONCE KNOWLES

TRUE to her own word, curvy Beyonce is utterly ‘bootylicious’. She keeps her bottom toned on the treadmill, but is determined to keep her curves. ”I think it’s important to let people know you don’t have to be skinny to be beautiful, ” she says. Hurrah for that.
Celebrity motto Work that butt.

BEST LEGS: NAOMI CAMPBELL

THE secret of gorgeous Naomi’s killer legs is achieving the right balance of moves, according to her trainer Matt Roberts. He said: ”She does skipping and kickboxing, squats and lunges. It’s all about getting the right mix, because she doesn’t want to build up any one area of her legs too much and wants to keep a balance between the muscles at the front and the back.” Celebrity motto Mix up your moves to develop shape not bulk.

Article by Georgia Williams
Source: Daily Record