Many years ago, when I first moved to Sydney, a large percentage of my personal training clients were fashion models, both male and female.
At the time, training the guys was easy. The majority of them simply wanted to achieve a strong, lean and athletic physique, which meant I could train them the same way I would a Tactical or Sporting Athlete. The women however were an entirely different kettle of fish. When I asked one of my new female clients what they were hoping to achieve from their training, the answer usually sounded something like this “I want to be skinny. Especially my legs, arms and bum.”
Now, if I simply took the models at their word, and put down Skinny as the primary objective of their program, then I probably could have just handcuff ed them to a treadmill for a few hours a day, and made them eat nothing but tofu and water. Trust me, at the time; this was in fact what many female models were doing, (minus the handcuff s).
Needless to say, within a month or two, I went to the agencies to which I consulted and explained that for the time being I would no longer be accepting any female models as clients. I said they were welcome to keep sending me male clients, but until their girls stopped wanting to look like 12 year old boys, I wasn’t interested in training them, as it was truly detrimental to their health.
What was particularly upsetting was the fact that this 12 year old boy waifish look was the ‘ideal’ being reflected by fashion magazines, marketing campaigns and many movies. This meant that it became more and more popular amongst females to aspire to be skinny.
Much to the delight of many in the fitness and medical professions, early in the new millennium there was a return to the golden age of the Amazon. This led to a clique of fabulous female models that formerly included such legendary forms as Claudia Chiff er, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and of course THE BODY herself, Elle McPherson. Next the charge was being lead by such health conscious models as Heidi Klum, our own Megan Gail and the uber athletic Marisa Miller.
Women were starting to realise what men have known all along – that fi t, strong, feminine women were undeniably appealing. Best of all, it was being refl ected in the shape of our leading ladies of fi lm and television. The women voted ‘most desirable’ by men and ‘most inspiring’ by women, included the likes of Jessica Beal, Alyssa Milano and Jessica Alba.
As a trainer, this was a very exciting time. At last the media and western culture as a whole, was starting to support the push towards achieving aesthetic beauty by maintaining overall health and fi tness. Women no longer asked us to make them skinny. More and more were asking to drop some weight, tone up, and finally get fitter. Finally trainers could do what we were really certifi ed to do – and that was to improve people’s fitness.
“Professional athletes like Anna Kornikova (Tennis), Malia Jones (Surfi ng) and Australia’s Stephanie Rice (Swimming) were testament to the fact that high intensity, athletic based strength and conditioning led to some seriously sexy results.”
The next great evolution in women’s fitness came as a result of smart marketing by sports managers across the world. Suddenly both male and female professional athletes were taking the place of professional models and actors as the face, or more oft en the body, of major fashion campaigns.
Professional athletes like Anna Kornikova (Tennis), Malia Jones (Surfing) and Australia’s Stephanie Rice (Swimming) were testament to the fact that high intensity, athletic based strength and conditioning led to some seriously sexy results.
Once again professional trainers embraced the knockon effect of this shift , and they started to incorporate more and more athletic based training methods into their sessions. This included speed and agility work, and ballistic exercises.
With so many of my online clients being based in the US, it’s no surprise that I started to field more and more requests to help them achieve the kinds of physiques sported by their favourite local athletes. Though there were many that I learned of, the two names that came up again and again were professional Triathlete Lokelani McMichael and Jenny Fletcher.
Lokelani McMichale Stats
For those who may not know, Lokelani McMichale was the youngest female ever to finish the gruelling Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon, at the age of 18. She completed the 3.9km Ocean Swim, 180km Bike Ride and 42.6km Run in under 11 hours. She has since gone on to compete in over seven consecutive Hawaiian Ironman events.
As we all know, a triathlete can clock up literally hundreds of kilometres a week on the bike, road and in the pool. What many of you may not realise though is that they also undergo high intensity speed and strength training sessions that not only have a dramatic eff ect on their athletic performance, but also helps to shape those incredible physiques.
Here is an example of one such session that I use with many triathletes. Though the session has an obvious strength and speed component, due to the overall duration and the rest : recovery ratios, it will also help to improve the athlete’s muscular cardio-vascular endurance.
CHIEF’S TRI-BODY WORKOUT
THE WORKOUT
Set Up:
- Lay out 8 cones in a straight line, with 5 large steps between each.
- Run 100 steps straight out from the last cone in the line, and place down one more.
Description:
- Start your stationary exercises at the first cone in the line.
Complete one full round of the following exercises before starting your run:
- Swing Snatch x 8 – 12 reps on each arm.
- Pistol Squat x 8 – 12 reps on each leg.
- Clean & Press x 8 – 12 reps on each arm
- Single Leg Dead-lift x 8 – 12 reps on each leg.
As soon as you complete the last rep on the Dead-lifts, go straight into your Sprint Ladder.
SPRINT LADDER
Sprint as fast as possible from the first cone (base cone) to the second cone in line. When you get there reach down and touch the ground with one hand, then turn and sprint back to the base cone.
- On the next run, run past the previous cone to the next one in line.
- Continue this pattern until you have run to the sixth cone in the line and back to the base cone.
- Now sprint as fast as you can all the way out to the lone cone down the field.
- Once you reach the far cone, turn and jog back to the base cone, and start the next round of exercises.
Complete as many sets of this workout as possible in 40mins.
Clean & Press
Swing Snatch
=
Pistol Squat
Single Leg Deadlift
Suicide Sprint
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