How the Stars
Shape Up
10 TRENDS IN HOLLYWOOD TRAINING
BY JANET LEE
HAVING A CAMERA READY BODY IS PART OF THE JOB for marquee Hollywood stars - not just on the set. They are on display wherever they go - movie premieres, magazine photo shoots or any social event where someone might show up with a camcorder. So how do the people paid to make the most of their bodies get, and stay, in shape? Here we give the skinny on celebrity workouts, from Gwyneth Paltrow's favorite (yoga) tot he punch-throwing, roundhouse-kicking routines favored by Jennifer Lopez.
1 Yoga
Yoga Is Everywhere Yoga is about 2,000 years old. But at the beginning of this new millennium, the popularity of this "moving meditation" just keeps increasing. Among the most visible practioners are Madonna - who did some impressive pretzeling in The Next Best Thing and has practiced with Sting - and Gwyneth Paltrow, whom Madonna turned on to such yoga poses as downward facing dog. Trendy yoga classes run the gamut from spiritual sessions with chanting and candles to sweaty athletic workouts, says Nanette Pattee Francini, a cofounder of The Sports Club/LA in Los Angeles. Hollywood's yogis-in-training include Sarah Michelle Gellar, Courtney Love, Tobey Maguire, The X-Men's Hugh Jackman, Woody Harrelson, David Duchovny and Penelope Cruz. "I did classical ballet for 14 years, but now yoga keeps me in shape," says Cruz, who will star oppostie Matt Damon in All the Pretty Horses this fall. "It's a great full-body workout, and it helps get rid of stress, too."
2 Fun
Call of the Wild The more time people spend wired to their computers and glued to their cellphones, the more they seem to want to get outside and break a sweat, whether on a bike, on skates or in a kayak. L.A. trainer Michael George has sent Christian Slater and Meg Ryan hiking in Temescal Canyon. Many stars make time in their busy schedules for outdoor adventures. Kelly Lynch kayaks in Marina Del Rey; Jason Biggs snowboards on Mount Baldy outside L.A.; and Kristy Swanson snowboards in Aspen. "People are focusing more on quality of life," says George. "They want to work exercise into their lifestyle, and they want to have fun." Fun is the operative word. When asked how he stays in shape, Coyote Ugly star Adam Garcia says, "I love to dance, and I love to surf."
3 Combo
Beyond Cross-training Why settle for one workout when you can do two at the same time? Combo classes like Yoga Spin (yoga, Spinning), Yogilates (yoga, Pilates), Ballet Bootcamp (ballet, weights) and Karaoke Spin (Spinning and, yes, singing), along with all manner of boxing-martial arts hybrids have taken over gyms' schedules. "These classes appeal especially to people who've been working out for a while," says Dayna Crawford, the spokesperson for Crunch gyms, whose Karaoke Spin classes draw celebs like Tiffani-Amber Thiessen and Downtown Julie Brown. "They're looking for new ways to have fun." For ultimate workout diversity, instructor Bob Carreiro teaches a Circus Sports class at Crunch L.A. Jodie Foster, Bette Midler and Jeff Goldblum are among those he has pushed into somersaults, tumbles and trapeze work.
LISA RINNA combines lots of workouts to stay in shape. "I recently started getting back in dance - jazz and ballet," says the Melrose Place alum. "I haven't danced for 10 years! It gets you into awesome shape. Everything tightens up a little more when you're working every part of your body." She's also a fan of combination classes like Ballet Body ("it's more fun and funky"). Rinna, 35, who does yoga several times a week, works out at the gym she has in her Los Angeles home, which she shares with husband Harry Hamlin and 18-month-old daughter, Delilah.
4 Move It
 Get a Move On Gone are the days when personal trainers counted reps and yelled "Just one more!" Now they're saying "Faster! Faster!" in workouts that move quickly from one exercise to the next. Beverly Hills, California-based trainer Gunnar Peterson puts clients like Hank Azaria, Alyssa Milano, Jennifer Lopez and Kristy Swanson through workouts that alternate resistance-training exercises like medicine-ball work and weighted crunches with intervals of such cardiovascular exercises as sprinting on the treadmill, jumping rope, climbing stairs (Peterson built a set of 66 in his backyard) and such plyometric moves as a squat with a small jump. "It's a lot more efficient and effective," he says. "It keeps your heart rate up, which means you burn more calories."
5 Golf
In the Swing Tiger Woods has made the once impossibly fusty sport of golf hip. Now, Hollywood's movers and shakers have become swingers and putters, and lounging on the links or being invited to participate in one of the several celebrity tournaments held each year is even better than sitting poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Jack Nicholson, Celine Dion, Tea Leoni and Jim Carrey all spend time on the greens. Trainer Jim Barcena, from Ultimate Performance in Beverly Hills, California, routinely works with stars who are trying to better their game. "Some times you have to work indoors to enhance your outdoor activities," he explains. Golfers in particular have to work on strength and flexibility. Finally, Hollywooders are happy because they live next door to golf Mecca Palm Springs, where you can't whack a long drive without a course somewhere.
6 Pilates
Pilates for the People The Sports Club's Francini reports that the popularity of yoga has helped rejuvenate interest in Pilates, a decades-old discipline that emphasizes muscle control, stretching and strengthening all at the same time. Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman, Julia Roberts and a slew of supermodels have all subjected themselves to the deceptively easy-looking moves designed to build superstrong hips, back muscles and abs (called "core" in Pilates-speak). But the originator of the practice, Joseph Pilates, designed an odd-looking (and aptly named) contraption called the Reformer which utilizes a system of pulleys and springs to work the body's core muscles. Dancers have used Pilates for years, and new fans swear by the long, lean muscles the exercises give them. "I do Pilates four or fives days a week," says model Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. "I love it."
7 Balance
Life in Balance Balance is a word of the moment. Balanced eating (carbo/protein/fat), balanced life (work/play), balanced workouts (cardio/strength/flexibility). But balance training? "People don't realize that you lose your sense of balance as you age," says Jim Barcena. The personal trainer puts clients Angie Harmon, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Felicity Huffman and That 70's Show's Lisa Robin Kelly through regular balance-enhancing workouts at his cross-training center, Ultimate Performance, using boards, balls and other techniques that develop the body's symmetry and equilibrium. The Sports Club/LA's new ultra-exclusive gym in New York's Rockefeller Center has a 300-square-foot center solely dedicated to balance and flexibility workouts. Says Barcena: "Balance affects your performance, whether you're a beach-volleyball player or just want to look like one."
8 In Private
Do It at Home Celebs like Sela Ward, Julianne Moore and Robert De Niro prefer working out in their own homes. "If you've been on the set for 14 hours, the last thing you want to do is go to a gym and have people gawk at you," says Los Angeles-based personal trainer Michael George, who totes a training bag packed with exercise bands, dumbbells and martial-arts and boxing gear to the homes of those clients who would rather sweat alone. More and more, celebs are also calling on trainers like George and Rich Guzman, the owner and co-founder (with his wife) of L.A. ROX in Hollywood, to design made-to-order home gyms. Guzman built a boxing and circuit-training area for recording artist Seal. Why go to a trainer when you can make him or her come to you?
9 Fight
The Fight Club Tae-Bo creator Billy Blanks brought his kickboxing hybrid to the masses in 1997, and Hollywood exercisers have been kicking and screaming ever since. Paula Abdul, Jennifer Lopez, Brooke Shields, Queen Latifah and Sarah Wynter are among those who know how to throw a punch or deliver a roundhouse kick. Now gym schedules all over the country are loaded with variations on martial-arts workouts, including the Brazilian fight dance capoeira; spinning guru Johnny G's karate and tae kwon do combination workout, Jo Sand; teh Japanese-inspired sword fighting of Forza; and the Israeli combat workout Krav Maga. In Los Angeles, trainer Michael George mixes martial-arts drills with traditional fitness exercises. "My class includes kickboxing, boxing, kung fu and martial-arts stances combined with strength training," he says. "It's intense, effective and efficient." Along with a killer body, these exercises hone a killer instinct. Not a bad skill to have in Hollywood.
10 Jump
Jump! Jump! Today's top trainers are making stars jump through hoops - or maybe over hurdles and onto boxes. What are they up to? Plyometrics, which combines traditional strength-training exercises like squats or push-ups with explosive moves like a jump or a clap. The technique has long been used by football, basketball and hockey players as a way to improve agility and quickness, but chronic exercisers have recently discovered that the extra burst is a rapid way to tone muscles. "Lots of athletes use plyometrics because it helps them run faster and jump higher," says Rich Barretta, the owner of the sleek Duomo gym in New York, where Jennifer Grey, Tracy Pollan, Kyle McLachlan and Freddie Prinze Jr. jump to it. Barretta adds that the challenging workout is best suited to advanced exercisers.
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