Candice, Miranda, Rosie. For so many of us, these names conjure images of long, lithe limbs, honeyed skin and the most pert of bottoms. In short, physical perfection. Victoria’s Secret models represent the ideal body for so many; ask any Exe girl dragging herself up the hill to the gym why she bothers, and chances are she wants abs like Alessandra’s. HCX sees nothing wrong with having fitness role- models, and wanting to be healthy. However, not only have the ‘angels’ hit the genetics jackpot, the extremes these models go to, the excesses their bodies are pushed for the goal of flawlessness can sometimes be shocking, and if nothing else, should certainly be kept in mind next time you lament that your stomach could never look like Adriana’s.
For the Victoria’s Secret models, their body is their job- if they put on a few pounds, they won’t land that big campaign. Therefore, it’s perhaps understandable that the girls’ trainer David Kirsch has compared his clients to professional athletes, the end of year fashion show, their Olympics. He claims that he pushes their bodies so hard, they scream, with the models working out twice a day in the lead up to the show. However, with deadlines, lectures and TP to be hitting up, this workout seems pretty unrealistic for the average student to be following, and evokes the question, is it possible to have a normal life and be so dedicated to the gym?
Let’s play a guessing game. Can you tell whose workout belongs to whom? One is favoured by VS beauty Adriana Lima, the other Olympian Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world.
A) Starting at 9 a.m., A’s twice-daily workouts included 20 to 30 minutes on an exercise bike, followed by 20 to 30 minutes of core work and a “quick-reflex” shadowboxing routine created by a former middleweight boxing champion. Next, A would don real boxing gloves and practice punching combinations to learn speed and power, followed by glute and leg sculpting exercises, and a rigorous jump-roping routine finished with stretching. “I’d head home …then, pow! I’d come back that night from 5 to 8 p.m.”
B) B trains six days a week, and spends an hour a day in the gym, primarily on weight work.
Can you guess? A is in fact Lima’s pre show workout routine, just highlighting the extreme lengths the girls go to to look their best.
In fact, Lima recently admitted that nine days before the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, she sticks to liquids, and 12 hours before the even she stops even drinking water in an effort to lose the most possible weight. This is undoubtedly very dangerous for the body- dehydration causes tiredness, low energy and headaches, perhaps explaining why Naomi Campbell gets so tetchy. Heidi Klum followed the New York Body Plan diet, where alcohol, bread, dairy products and sweets are forbidden, and the maximum intake of calories allowed is 1200, 800 calories less than the recommended daily allowance.
Of course the ‘angels’ do promote a healthy diet. Miranda Kerr swears by fresh, organic produce, saying “I live by the philosophy that beauty starts from within and I make a conscious effort to fill my body with nutrients through the food I eat’, debunking the claims that models don’t eat. However, in the run up to the famous fashion show in particular, the VS angels are pushing their bodies to the limits, exercising to the extreme, and not eating enough to counter balance this. Overtraining can led to mood changes such as irritability, depression, and the inability to concentrate at the most basic levels, all of which are not ideal when you have an essay due or are trying to plan a night out with the girls.
It’s great to have fitness aims, and aspiring to look like the ‘angels’ who plaster our magazines can be a great motivator. The problems arise when you start to feel disheartened about the way you look. On the 2012 Victoria’s Secret fashion show aired on YouTube, there are comments including ‘I feel ugly now’ and ‘rip to my self -esteem’, highlighting the importance to remind those who might feel a little down about themselves of the punishing and unrealistic measures the models go to to look the way they do. Victoria’s Secret is a fantasy, and it’s important to remember that.
Image Credits: fitceleb.com, webwombat.com.au