WASHINGTON 鈥斕齀t鈥檚 awards show season, and social media, magazines and TV shows are full of perfect bodies walking the red carpet. Personal trainer Josef Brandenburg says that while some of those physiques are the result of hard work and healthy living, there鈥檚 a lot more behind the scenes that you might not be aware of.
Picture perfect: Retouching, contouring and other tricks of the trade
Fact: Red carpet photos are usually retouched.
Flipping through the pages of a glossy gossip magazine, readers are presented with one toned, tanned body after another. Brandenburg says it鈥檚 getting tougher to tell the difference between true fitness and Photoshop. 鈥淭he technology and the artists that are doing this for celebrities have gotten so good that it鈥檚 almost impossible to tell how much is being retouched and how much is this person鈥檚 hard work. With all that you can create an illusion that looks completely real,鈥� he says. 鈥淗owever, if you鈥檙e seeing an image published anywhere, with 99 percent certainty that photo has been retouched to some extent.鈥�
Fact: You can fake muscles with makeup.
Believe it or not, Brandenburg says there are even specific makeup kits for different parts of the body. 鈥淥ne of the things I鈥檝e seen marketed towards men is abdominal kits that allow you to have the contouring and the shadowing. Under most lighting, it really looks like you鈥檝e got abs,鈥� he says. For women, there are plenty of facial contouring tutorials available on the Internet. There are even contouring tricks for cleavage, legs, arms and necks.
Fiction: Waist trainers and muscle stimulators get lasting results.
鈥淭he previous generations of electric muscle stimulators, as well as the ones available now, have had a lot of lawsuits brought against them because the machines have given people third degree burns,鈥� says Brandenburg. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 a potential negative side effect.鈥� But aside from the possible injuries, those things really don鈥檛 do much. 鈥淛ust putting electrical stimulation on the muscle and having it contract a whole lot won鈥檛 develop that muscle,鈥� says Brandenburg. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not going to change your shape either.鈥�
Waist trainers, or anything without the electrical part, are pretty much a stronger form of shapewear, says Brandenburg. 鈥淲aist trainers are like beefier, more aggressive versions of Spanx. They鈥檝e got metal or other hard materials with a lot of structural tension in it.鈥� Brandenburg cautions that while some celebrities may swear by them, these 鈥榯rainers鈥� are really just sleeker versions of the corset. And that comes with a number of dangerous side effects. 鈥淭hey make it hard to breathe, which can lead to you passing out,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey can put pressure on your organs in a way that may not be good for them.鈥�
Bottom line: 鈥淭here鈥檚 no garment you can wear that will literally change the shape of your body beyond that day,鈥� Brandenburg says. There鈥檚 no shortcut for fitness.
听Quick fixes: Are there safe ways to slim down before a big event?
Fact: 45 minutes of strength training is more effective than hours on the treadmill.
Celebrities, especially actors and actresses, are filming for many hours a day, and don鈥檛 have time to waste on a treadmill. Brandenburg says celebrity trainers like Valerie Waters, who trained Jennifer Garner and Richard Gere, among others, focus on strength and interval training. 鈥淧er minute of time investment, strength training is going to give you the highest return on the time you鈥檝e invested in your workout,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e shooting 12 to 16 hours a day, you don鈥檛 have time to spend hours and hours on the treadmill. You鈥檝e got 30, 45 minutes and you want great results for that little bit of time.鈥�
Fact: Kettlebells are a good multipurpose workout tool.
鈥淜ettlebell training is attractive to celebrities because you can get a lot done in a very short period of time and you don鈥檛 need much,鈥� says Brandenburg. 鈥淵ou can do a lot for your fat loss, your conditioning, your backside. A lot for pretty much every part of your body.鈥� However, he cautions, you need to know how to use them. 鈥淛ust because a contractor shows up at your house and he鈥檚 got a screwdriver, doesn鈥檛 mean he鈥檚 going to do a good job at fixing stuff.鈥�
Fiction: Body wraps are a way to drop pounds in a day
Body wraps are dangerous, period. Whether it鈥檚 a treatment in a spa or a sweatsuit at the gym, it鈥檚 a bad idea. Brandenburg remembers seeing overweight guys in full bodysuits on the treadmills as a teenager. 鈥淲ith those, basically you鈥檙e exercising in a sauna. The more you cover, the more you put yourself at risk for overheating and having heatstroke.鈥� Using wraps to lose water weight may give the appearance of instant weight loss, but the effects don鈥檛 last and the process is more harmful then helpful. Brandenburg says even fitness magazines resort to dehydration to get the lean, muscular look for photoshoots. 鈥淏esides starving themselves, oiling up, tanning, shaving, contouring, besides the perfect lighting and retouching, people in the magazines will dehydrate themselves to the point where it gets dangerous.鈥�
听Josef Brandenburg鈥檚 top three tips for getting fit fast
1. Make a big change in your diet.
鈥淭ake a look at your carbohydrates, like pasta, bread and sugar. Replace them all with vegetables and some fruit. That will reduce your carbohydrate intake considerably. Make sure you consume plenty, and you won鈥檛 be depriving yourself of anything you need.鈥�
Why: 鈥淔or a lot of people, refined carbohydrates are going to make your insulin levels go up, and high insulin levels are something that makes your kidneys retain extra sodium. And if you retain extra sodium, you鈥檙e also going to retain extra water. For some people that鈥檚 an extra 5, 10 pounds of water weight. Cutting back on carbohydrates is a quick way to drop some legitimate body fat and get rid of some of the extra water your body is holding onto.鈥�
2. Drink more water, less calories.
鈥淲hatever you weigh, cut that in half and drink that in water every single day. It should be just water, not flavored water or anything like that. Here鈥檚 a simple rule of thumb. Don鈥檛 drink your calories. Coffee is a great example. On the one hand, coffee can be great. Plain black coffee or coffee with a little bit of Stevia won鈥檛 add a lot of empty calories. However, when you go get your fancy blended drink at Starbucks or McDonalds, you can get the caloric equivalent of one or even two milkshakes.鈥�
Why: 鈥�Because it鈥檚 liquid, those calories don鈥檛 make you feel very full. It鈥檚 very easy to drink them and accumulate all these extra calories in your diet. Your brain doesn鈥檛 really register that you鈥檙e full. Thinking about high-calorie drinks, it鈥檚 juice, soda, fancy coffee drinks, sweet tea and others like that. Replacing those drinks with their non-calorie-heavy counterparts is a great way to not only take weight off in the short term for an event, but it鈥檚 also a great way to keep it off as well.鈥�
3. Streamline your workout
鈥淔ocus on strength training. Focus on your entire body three days a week.鈥�
The RAMP UP 鈥� 5min听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 sets 听 听 听 听 听 reps 听 听 听 听 听tempo听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 rest
1A. 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 1 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 1ea 听 听 听 听 听 30sec 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 none
1B. 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听1听听听听听听听听听听听听听 1ea 听 听 听 听 听 听30sec 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 none
1C. 听 听 听 听 听 听 1 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 5ea 听 听 听 听 听 听 slow 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 none
1D. 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 1 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听5 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 slow 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听none
Strength, Core and Power 鈥� 20min听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 sets听听听听听听听 reps 听 听 听 听 听 听 tempo 听 听 听 听 听 听rest
2A. 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听4 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 6 听 听 听 听 听 听 听moderate听听听听听听听 0sec
2B. 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听4听听听听听听听听听听听听听 6 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 moderate 听 听 听 听 0sec
2C. 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听3 听 听 听 听 听12ea 听 听 听 听 听 moderate 听 听 听 听 0sec
2D. Jump rope 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 3 听 听 听 听50-100 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 1-2min
3A. 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听4 听 听 听 听 听 6ea 听 听 听 听 听 听 moderate 听 听 听 听 听0sec
3B. 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 4听听听听听听听听听听 6ea 听 听 听 听 听 听 moderate 听 听 听 听 听 0sec
3C. 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 3听听听听听听听听听听听听听 1听听听听听听听听听听听听听 30-60s each 听 听 听 0sec
3D. Mountain climbers 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听3 听 听 听 听 听 听 20ea 听 听 听 听 听moderate 听 听 听 听1-2min
