Just imagine having the body you’ve always dreamt of. What price would you pay and how long do you think that would take to achieve? Fitness trainer Christina Howells claims to help you achieve you dream body in a matter of weeks, as she understands how the female body works. Lets find out more on Christina’s body shaping tips for women.
Sceptical about such claims Charlotte Williamson from The Telegraph decide to meet Christina and find out more about her business BodySculpt and how she could help women overcome problem area when faced with losing weight and toning up. Working only with women Christina Howells really do understand a women’s body unlike most male trainers.
Sculpting The Perfect Womanly Shape
BodySculpt, the personal-training company she runs with her partner, Katie Sauerland, promises to create the perfect female body: strong, lean, yet with an undeniably womanly shape.
The aesthetic ideal has shifted in the past few years, moving away from the athletic bodies of the 1980s and super-skinny look of the 1990s and early Noughties to one that is more feminine and toned. Jennifer Aniston, if you like. (‘Yes, she’s my favourite,’ agrees Howells. ‘Not too skinny and with curves. She also looks happy in her body.’)
Howells believes this shape is attainable – she herself is a glowing example – and it’s all down to our ‘pockets of fat’?. These pockets are the tummy, bottom, thighs and lower back. Breasts are also ‘pockets of fat – but we won’t be getting rid of those’.
No woman wants to lose her boobs, something Howells knows. Neither do we want muscly legs. ‘I often hear women complaining that their male trainers have caused their calves to bulk out and they can’t get into their favourite boots. And their trainers don’t get it! Women want a certain streamlined shape to their legs. They also want soft, feminine arms that are nicely toned.’
I’m a guinea pig for Howells’s BodySculpt Express programme, a combination of diet, exercises to target my tricky areas, and lipomassage by Endermologie. This is a non-invasive technique involving suction from two motorised rollers that fold, then unfold, the skin, and will be done by Daniela Rulinski, before I exercise. The programme entails three lipomassage sessions a week followed by a one-hour gym session, and will last a month.
Howell’s approach to exercise is somewhat different to most personal trainers, keeping things interesting and mixing it up she makes great use of a ballet barre, to keep the movements controlled and more suited to a woman’s body. Staying away from the typical jerky gym movements, she likes to keep things soft flowing and graceful, perfectly suited to creating your desired body shape.
Following a month of going through the paces with Howell, Charlotte says she finally saw the results she wanted to achieve a more sculpted, toned body. Losing an impressive 3 inches from the tummy area Charlotte was happy to be able to fit into a dress from her teenage years, and the best part, five week later the results are maintained with regular exercise and a healthy eating plan.
Body Shaping Tips For Women Shared…
Bottom Lifter
Position
Stand behind your chair, both hands placed on the backrest.
Action
1 Bend forwards over the chair, pulling in your lower abdominals, and place your left hand on the seat (above), extending your right leg behind you as you bend. The right leg is slightly turned out and the knee is soft. Keep the foot flexed.
2 Return to the start, touching the foot back down lightly before moving forwards once again. Remember to engage the abdominals to support the spine. Repeat 20 times, building up to 40.
3 Bend the supporting leg and ‘pulse’ the right leg 20 to 30 times (lift and lower by 1in). Keep abdominals engaged and back flat.
Tip
Think of the movement coming from the bottom rather than the leg.
Inner thigh trimmer and core strengthener
You can use either gliding discs (from physicalcompany.co.uk) or some old hand towels on the floor.
Position
Place the discs/towels under your toes. Get into a plank position (from a kneeling position extend your legs out behind you in a push-up position but with your forearms on the floor, see below). Keep the elbows aligned under your shoulders.
Action
1 Split your legs away from each other, keeping the lower abs pulled in and the back flat. You should form a straight line from shoulders to ankles.
2 Return the legs together and engage the inner thigh muscles as you pull them together. Do two sets of eight to 15 repetitions.
Waist trimmer and tummy toner
Position
Using the discs or towels (see previous page), adopt the plank position on your forearms, or hands for a stronger position.
Action1 Draw the left knee towards your chest, pulling in the lower abdominals. Now twist the body as you take the left leg under the right keeping it as close to straight as you can (right).
2 Return the leg back in the direction it came as the body returns to the plank position.
Do two sets of eight to 12 repetitions each side. Original article and more tips here.
Achieving the perfect sculpted body will always come at a price, whether it’s in the form of money or shear hard work of sweat and tears. For me this sounds all to perfect to achieve such great results in a short amount of time, however if I had an extra £1600 I would happily give it a go.
In the meantime I will stick to my healthy eating and daily workouts of Jillian Michaels 30 shred, but will look at including some of the body shaping tips for women shared here to see if there will be further improvement to my body’s shape.
Have you heard of some new form of exercise to help improve your body shape? Please share you comments below or click the “LIKE” button if you like the article.
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