Marilyn Monroe was world-famous for her curvy figure. Despite her stunning hourglass figure, the modelling agency Blue Book that had signed her on noted that she was "too plump, but in a beautiful way." Elizabeth Hurley once stated, “I’ve always thought Marilyn Monroe looked fabulous, but I’d kill myself if I was that fat.”
There was a time when Marilyn Monroe set the standard for the dream figure, the perfect womanly shape. But that perception has been altered now. Fitness is one of the hottest topics right now. Fans admire lean and trim fitness models irrespective of whether they are movie stars, supermodels, or just a newbie on social media. A dream figure currently is one that's rock hard with toned arms and defined six pack abs.
So how do you get that athletic toned figure? We look to our celebrity fitness queens for the answers. While some of them are athletes who run for miles to build up their endurance and strength, others look just as good even though they follow different paths. So let's see how these 20 celebrity queens attained and maintain their stunning body shapes.
21 It's Part Of Adriana Lima's Job
Becoming Victoria's Secret model is no joke. But for an athlete like Adriana Lima, it's not that difficult either. Adriana Lima has been a Victoria's Secret Angel since 1999. She follows a strict workout routine all year round and is ready to walk the runway at any time.
"I'm always ready. That's why I've been in the business for over 20 years,"
she told the INSIDER during an interview. Michael Olajide Jr, a former middleweight boxing champion, has been Adriana’s trainer for around 10 years. Michael says, "I train her like a professional boxer getting ready for a fight." But According to Harper's Bazaar, Adriana says, "I love boxing, but more recently I’ve been doing a lot of circuit training and running."
20 Kate Bosworth Pushes Herself
Kate Bosworth rose to fame with her starring role was in the surf movie Blue Crush in 2002. She has since then starred in many movies, including her portrayal of Lois Lane in Superman Returns (2006). She has the enviably toned figure of an athlete. Though she struggled with being consistent in her fitness routines, her persistence eventually paid off. During an interview with the Hellomagazine.com, Kate revealed,
"I love to run now, but if I'm going to the gym, I run about two and a half miles. When I first started, I was like, ‘This is so hard. I don’t know how I’m ever going to get used to this. It’s impossible.’
But I also knew when I was done with it, I felt so good. "
19 Victoria Beckham Has An Intense Daily Routine
Victoria Beckham starts her day with a really long run every morning.
"I go for a three-mile run every morning and I work out for an hour with a PT, which gives me just enough time to get to the kitchen to puree Romeo's avocados,"
she told Vogue. She then does an hour of PT session with celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson at 6 o' clock each morning, five days a week. "I work out every day, six or seven days a week," Victoria told ELLE UK. Here's another tip this fitness queen revealed on Instagram "Every morning before having her breakfast, VB preps her gut for the day with apple cider vinegar. "Be brave! Two tablespoons first thing on an empty tummy!"
18 Felicity Jones Takes Her Roles Seriously
As made obvious by the rebellious Jyn Erso from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Felicity Jones is an expert on transformations. Her fitness routines especially have transformed her body into an athletic one that any women will covet. Felicity is more than just a fitness buff, she is a true athlete who prefers to run outside than rather than spending hours in a gym.
Since her character in Rogue One required her to be a tough person who could fight well, Felicity focused more on boxing workouts. But for her movie on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her fitness routine focused more on running.
In her interview with Bazaar, she called herself a magpie with fitness. "I am a bit of a magpie with fitness. I do bits of yoga, pilates, ballet, swimming, and then I like to go running outside rather than go to the gym," she told them.
17 Zoë Kravitz Works Out To Destress
American actress Zoë Kravitz rose to stardom with her role as Angel Salvadore in the 2011 superhero film X-Men: First Class. Her other well-known roles include The Divergent series and Mad Max: Fury Road. Good looks aren't enough to survive in the highly competitive world of Hollywood stars.
Having an athletic body like that of Zoë Kravitz is something that definitely helps balance those scales. Zoë revealed her fitness secrets to the Harper's Bazaar:
“I don’t have a trainer; working out is my alone time.
Depending on where I am, I go on runs or hikes or do the elliptical at the gym. I don’t get too fancy.”
16 Alicia Vikander Put On Some Major Muscle
Though Alicia Vikander won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the The Danish Girl, she is best known for her role as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. From being a trained ballerina, all petite and graceful, Vikander gained over ten pounds of muscle for her role.
"I did a lot of months of training, not only cycling but MMA training [too]. I did some boxing, climbing, swimming. I lifted more weights than I've ever done in my life,"
she told E!. Despite her impressive athletic body, she looks as graceful as ever. The way she runs in the movie has you feeling that endorphin rush too!
15 Gisele Bundchen Is Still At The Top
Gisele Bundchen was the highest paid model in the world from 2002 to 2017. Gisele ruled the roost until the age of 37, till 21-year-old Kendall Jenner got crowned as the highest-paid model. But even today, at the age of 38, Gisele Bundchen remains the second highest-paid model in the world, earning $17.5 million.
Good genes are obviously on her side, but that's not all that has kept her at the top. Gisele leads an active lifestyle with a varied fitness routine.
From increasing her resistance power and endurance, Gisele runs for 45 minutes every day. This athletic fitness queen likes to add fun and exhilaration to her workouts. She plays Brazilian body surfing and water polo water aerobics, which includes swimming and underwater running. Gisele is also a fierce runner and kick-boxer.
14 Jennifer Lopez Works Hard For The Way She Looks
A Hollywood fitness icon for over 20 years, Jennifer Lopez still has fans marvelling at her famous figure, even at the age of 49.
Her caffeine-free, alcohol-free, high-protein diet is only part of her fitness secret. J.Lo looks stunningly fit and ageless because of her dedication to her workout routine.
David Kirsch and Tracy Anderson are her two trainers. “I like the balance that they both give me. They have two totally different approaches. I like switching it up with my body, I like to do a mix of cardio (running, dancing, Tracy Anderson’s workout) and weight training.” J.Lo told Hollywood Life. Now that's athletic indeed.
13 Jennifer Aniston Changes It Up
Outdoor runs and sun salutation yoga poses are what keeps 49-year-old Jennifer Aniston in tip-top shape. In her interview with Women's Health, Jennifer said,
"I have a lot of favorite workouts. Variety is the key for me."
Jeniffer usually exercises five days a week and takes Sundays off. She switches up her use of cardio machines, alternating between the treadmill, the bike and the elliptical. She advocates switching between low and vigorous intensities, (HIIT workouts) to build lean muscle, lose fat, improve heart health, and increase efficiency. Aniston told Harper's Bazaar that she's a fan of fitness programs devised by dancer Simone De La Rue. "It's so freaking hard," she said.
12 Kylie Jenner Is Super Dedicated
Before she had her baby girl Stormi, Kylie Jenner was enjoying her youth without much interest in working out or dieting. But post her pregnancy, Kylie turned to running for regaining her figure. She added in plenty of lot of HIIT (high-intensity interval) training to create her much-coveted figure.
Regaining your figure after a pregnancy and childbirth is no child walk. Kylie's athletic figure is the perfect example that diet and dedication do pay well to those who endure the hardship.
Life & Style revealed that Jenner's workouts included "a lot of weights, cardio, running, squats and push-ups." According to HarpersBazaar.com, Jenner loves joining her sisters for a family sweat session.
11 Beyonce Works Hard For What She Has
Beyoncé is best known for her killer style, a billion-dollar income, and of course, her amazing voice. Her much-admired hourglass shape is the result of her dedication to her health and fitness. In her interview with the Self, she confessed,
"I can't eat what I want, and I can't not go to the gym." Beyonce revealed that she trains 5 times a week in the morning with her personal trainer.
She starts off with 30 minutes of cardio followed by 45 minutes of strength training. "I'll put on a song that I really like and do biceps curls with five-pound weights for the whole song and just try to burn out," she said. Beyoncé also practises her choreography dance moves every single day for hours at a time.
10 Bella Hadid Takes Her Modelling Career Seriously
The youngest Hadid sister, Bella Hadid has a dream body that has even models drooling over. But Bella has worked hard to get it and even harder to maintain it. According to Harper's Bazaar, this model works out for hours a day, combining boxing sessions with cardio, butt-toning exercises, and ab-hardening activities. In many of her interviews, Bella has made it clear that she prefers boxing to yoga. In fact, you could say Hadid is obsessed with boxing.
"When I work out, I love to work out. I train and I work out hard for two hours. When time is on my side, I train with my coach for intensive sessions,"
she told Vogue Paris. When she was preparing for her first Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, she told People “I’ve been eating hard protein every day, and working out for three hours every day.”
9 Kendall Jenner Is Paid The Big Bucks For Good Reason
Kendall Jenner was crowned the world's highest-paid model of 2017. She raked in $22 million in the 12 months prior to June 2017. As we all know, great genes can get you only so far, it takes immense hard work and dedication to reach where she has. I'm sure the Kardashian tag helped too. Kendall Jenner’s fans are well aware of just how hard their idol works out to stay in top shape. Her Instagram profile makes it evident that she is totally obsessed with her abs.
In fact, the 22-year-old American supermodel confessed on her website that working on her abs is one of her favorite things.
Jenner religiously follows all the vigorous workout routines designed by her personal trainer, Gunnar Peterson.
8 Miranda Kerr Switches It Up
Miranda Kerr is not just another fresh-faced brunette from Australia. In 2007, Kerr was the first Australian Victoria's Secret model. Since 2008, Kerr has consistently ranked on the Forbes list of highest-earning models. Even at the age of 35, Miranda Kerr looks like a sleek and toned athlete. So what's her secret? The supermodel revealed that she does Pilates and yoga twice a week, and planks to strengthen her core.
"I usually work out four or five times [a week], and that involves Pilates, yoga, swimming, ballet, and resistance training,"
Miranda revealed to Elle US. She also said that she likes to work out in the morning, rather than the evening,
7 Taylor Swift Is All About Cardio
Considering just how hectic her lifestyle is, it seems like a wonder how Taylor Swift manages to maintain her perfect physique. She always looks so good no matter when or where she is when the paparazzi turn up to snap her photo.
Taylor seems to think highly of Australian trainer Simone De La Rue and she is often spotted at the Body By Simone studio. The dance-cardio classes at Simone's are renowned for being sweaty and toning, for creating long and lean physiques.
Other than these dancing workouts, Swifts exercise routine includes running for miles every morning and using the elliptical machine.
According to her, consistency is the key to getting results.
6 Lady Gaga Focuses On Different Muscle Groups
Lady Gaga is world famous for many things including being a superstar singer and songwriter. She is also much admired for her petite, lean, and really toned figure.
“I work out a lot, I do the VersaClimber and sing while I do it, "
Gaga revealed on Good Morning America. Lady Gaga likes having variety in her workouts. She prefers to do low-impact exercises that target multiple muscle groups at a time and such workouts have clearly helped shape her strong physique. Decked out in her Super Bowl costume, she was seen performing bodyweight exercises on the TRX bands, just before the 2017 Super Bowl.
5 Jenna Dewan Is Always On The Move
The 37-year-old Jenna Dewan has such a ridiculously toned body that it's hard to believe she was once fully pregnant. The Step Up star's daughter Everly, with her then-hubby Channing Tatum, is now 5 years old. If you have watched any of her videos, you will definitely be aware that Jenna is a seriously talented dancer. Whether it's dance or workout, Jenna is all about getting them down to beats. Jenna mostly trains with LA-based trainer Jennifer Johnson who designed the JJ Dancer Method. In an interview with Health, Jenna said,
"She’s a trainer who is also a dancer and she makes it fun for me. If it’s not fun, I won’t go. We dance, we do routines for 45 minutes to an hour, whatever time we have."
As for the frequency of her workouts, Jenna says, "It depends on the week, but if I get one or two workouts in, I’m happy."
4 Gal Gadot Is Wonder Woman, Through And Through
Wonder Woman! What does it take to create a body like that? Though Gal Gadot was crowned Miss Israel in 2004, her figure was slim and delicate rather than the powerful athletic build that wonder woman needed. Gal Gadot had been a basketball player and a hip-hop dancer before becoming a celebrity. She had even served as a combat instructor for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for 2 years.
Even though she had Hollywood's finest trainers and nutritionists guiding her, it took over six months of intensive health and fitness training for Gadot to prepare for this role.
To get her Wonder Woman figure, Gadot revealed on Live with Kelly and Ryan, "I did two hours of gym work, two hours fight choreography, and two hours horseback riding, which is super hard."
3 Gigi Hadid Was Told She Was Too Big To Be A Model
Did you know that before becoming an international sensation, Gigi Hadid was rejected by various model agencies for being too fat! “When I first went to visit different agencies in New York, a lot of them were like, 'You have to lose a lot of weight,'" she told MailOnline in an interview.
“I would cry at night and my mom would be like, ‘We’re going to find the right people.'”
Despite it all, she managed to become a model for Victoria’s Secret and she has continued to work hard to create a near-perfect figure which she carries off with great oomph, style, and attitude on the runway. Now people are ready to kill to learn the secrets behind her stunning figure.
In an interview with the ELLE, Hadid revealed, “My biggest thing is just to eat healthy and work out,” says Hadid. “I was a volleyball player for 12 years, I rode horses my whole life, and now I box every day.” While crunches and sit-ups do lead to a toned tummy, cardio is what helped her get those hard-earned six-packs to finally show through.
2 Khloe Kardashian Is Motivated Like No Other
When Kardashian is the topic, gorgeous figures are naturally synonyms you can associate with the name. Khloe Kardashian is no exception to the list, especially since she enlisted the help of Gunnar Peterson. Gunnar Peterson is notorious for his celebs ass-kicking workouts.
He is the very same man responsible for helping build, not just Kim Kardashian's world-famous figure but also that of Sofia Vergara and Jennifer Lopez. Peterson told the Women's Health,
“Khloe’s work ethic is second to none. There’s no such thing as quit in her world.
The drive, the determination, and the execution are something I wish I could bottle and pass out to people as they walked in the gym.”
1 Miley Cyrus
Though Miley Cyrus does lead an incredibly busy lifestyle, she makes sure that nothing stops her from being consistent with her exercises. That Cyrus is an avid yogi became evident when she went on to show Jimmy Fallon how to execute some tricky Ashtanga yoga poses.
"Got to do yoga not for my body, but for my mind! Do yoga or go crazy!"
she posted on her Instagram feed. Ashtanga yoga is a physically demanding yoga style that helps with core strength. Miley, with her dedication and practice, has managed to increase both her strength and flexibility doing these complicated yoga sessions. Whoa! Did you really think yoga was easy as sitting in one place, taking deep breaths, and relaxing?! All it takes is a look at Miley's gorgeous figure to understand just how powerful yoga is when it comes to sculpting toned bodies.
References:thisisinsider.com, dailymail.co.uk, prevention.com, harpersbazaar.com.au, people.com
