Smart cardio and high intensity interval circuits are the KEY to Scarlett's look as the Black Widow in Iron Man 2.

Almost everyone wants a lean Hollywood style body – but no one knows how to get it. Most of the time, getting a great body like your favorite movie star seems completely unattainable because celebrities have unlimited funds (and time) to devote to looking hot. Who has the money to hire a top notch celebrity trainer or chef? And who has the time to workout all day and make elaborate meals with expensive ingredients? Very few people.

The thing is – getting into top notch shape isn’t really all that complicated (although its not easy.) Magazines make losing fat, sculpting muscle, and eating to lose weight seem much more complicated than it is. No one would buy a magazine that kept suggesting the same three ideas every month. Likewise, if everyone actually lost weight and got in shape, the entire diet industry would implode and then who exactly would be making money? No one. Well we can’t have that…

Take cardio workouts for example. It seems these days celebrities are either doing extreme amounts of cardio (upwards of 2 hrs per day like Gywneth Paltrow) or doing none at all (because now cardio makes you fat, right?) Both extremes are incorrect.

Ryan Reynolds wouldn't have a ripped 6-pack without cardio...and you can bet he's not doing 2 hrs of dance aerobics like Gwyneth...

You do need to do cardio of some kind to get lean. Virtually everyone from Ryan Reynolds to Kate Middleton is doing cardio to burn fat and reveal sculpted muscles. If you want a similar look, then you too need to start doing cardio but here’s the thing – you don’t need to spend hours per day doing boring cardio (and you don’t even need to jog or use a typical machine like an elliptical machine – although you can if you want…) 

The secret to losing fat (not your mind) while sculpting a lean body are -

Cardio Intervals

Kate Middleton may be genetically gifted, tall, and slender, but she also works out like a FIEND. But you know what? Her schedule is definitely too busy for hours of cardio...

The average person gets on a machine at the gym (or run around a track) for a set amount of time at more or less the same pace. Interval style cardio training is a little different – instead of going for the same pace the entire time, you switch between high and low intensity periods. This is essentially a cheater method to fool your body into working harder and burning more calories than you would normally be able to do.

Doing interval style cardio is also a REALLY useful technique for anyone who is short on time as interval workouts can burn the same or more calories in 15min as a 30-40min traditional cardio workout. Additionally, if you push yourself extremely hard during the “work” periods, you may also burn more calories for up to 18 hrs after your workout.

Most people think cardio must be done on a machine or involve activities like running or jogging (which can be impossible for people who are overweight or who have nagging foot/knee problems.) This is NOT true. What matters is getting your heart beat up high and then sustaining this high calorie burning level for 15-20 minutes. One great way to do this is to try cardio weight circuits.

Cardio weight circuits are essentially workouts where you quickly go from exercise to exercise (either for a set amount of time, like 30 seconds per station, or for a set number of reps – usually 10-12) without rest until you have completed every station. Then you rest for a minute or two, and then repeat the entire circuit up to two more times.

This is a technique that has become very popular among actors and actresses who need to get in shape quickly while spending a minimal amount of time in the gym (such as when you are filming 12+ hrs per day.) How are cardio weight circuits different from your current workout? Most likely this would be a more intense workout than you are used to (no slow 30 reps with 1lbs weights, no walking on the treadmill while reading a magazine, etc.) You either need to be doing low reps with heavier weights, fast paced reps with medium weight, or intense bodyweight plyometric exercises where you use a lot of force.

Daniel Craig worked out 5 days per week to prepare for Casino Royale - two of those days were devoted to cardio weight circuits, or metabolic resistance training. The other 3 days were spent focusing on muscle building, which is why he looks pretty big.

The best cardio weight circuits include a combination of full body exercises (think squat, deadlift, or lunge to overhead press), bodyweight plyometrics (think jump squats or lunges, burpees, medicine ball throws/slams), and high payoff body part exercises (meaning they work more than one muscle group although not your whole body) like rows and abdominal planks. If you wanted to, you could also add in high intensity kettlebell exercises in place of the plyometric exercises. This is good for people unable to take high impact. Example videos below for many of these exercises…

Together all of these exercises should work your whole body without over-training a single muscle group. The idea is that the whole body and plyometric exercises burn a ton of calories (although not in the same way, so you can still do the two exercises in the same circuit) while the body part exercises allow a little rest between muscle groups within the same circuit (and they work muscles that might need extra attention or would otherwise be missed.)

How to Do High Intensity Cardio Intervals at Home

Anna Paquin shows tons of skin on True Blood every week - you can bet she does her cardio!

Cardio intervals are a great method for anyone who wants to lose fat fast. Just so you know – men and women can pretty much do the same cardio workouts, but if you like targeted advice here are great explanations from two of my favorite trainers – on how you can do cardio intervals anywhere.

First, here’s Holly from Fit Yummy Mummy - Holly explains what intervals are and how they work (plus this is how you would do them at home without any expensive gym equipment.)

Your interval “work” periods can include ANY activity that gets your heart rate up really high – this can be sprints on a treadmill or bike, boxing circuits, high intensity exercises like kettlebell swings, or bodyweight callesthenics like burpess, jumping jacks, or squat jumps – meaning you can do these kinds of workouts at home, any time, no excuses.

Here is an example of a 5 minute circuit from Holly that you would ideally repeat two more times:

Chris Evans also does metabolic resistance training to stay in shape in between movie roles...

Second, here’s a video by Craig Ballantyne explaining how to do Metabolic Resistance training-

Metabolic resistance training is essentially fast paced cardio weight circuits. While these workouts can be done without weights, usually dumbbells or kettlebells are used.

Here is one of my favorite metabolic resistance training circuits  -

For best results, do metabolic resistance training 3-4 times per week – ideally on nonconsecutive days (example Monday-Wednesday – Friday.)

How to Do Interval Cardio at the Gym

Sometimes you have to add additional cardio into your weekly workout routine in order to take your fat loss to the next level. This means you have to add a different type of workout than just high intensity cardio weight circuits. Doing the same workout every day would just be boring and put you at risk for injury.

This is where spending some time doing machine based cardio begins to make sense. In order to get the maximum benefit from your interval workout you will want to combine intense interval and steady state cardio. Why? Essentially high intensity intervals (you know you are doing high intensity intervals as you can only maintain max effort for under 30 seconds and your face starts to flush red) break down your fat stores and send them into your blood stream where they wait to be cleared out by your body. What clears these free fatty acids out of the blood stream? Moderate steady state cardio which uses your free floating fatty acids as fuel. What doesn’t get burned, gets stored again.

So just to make sure we are on the same page – high intensity intervals can be effective even when the workouts are very brief, because they burn lots of calories and release free fatty acids to be used as fuel. Following up with steady state cardio then makes sense because it works like a garbage collector to remove fatty acids from your blood stream (even though on its own steady state cardio burns fewer calories.)

Here is a 4 week break-in program to get you doing high intensity intervals from Rusty Moore (creator of Visual Impact Muscle Building and Visual Impact for Women):

If you are a total beginner, don’t jump into to doing crazy high powered intervals. You wont be ready and you will injure yourself or burn out quickly. Instead for week 1 spend 20-30min walking or jog/walking at a steady pace three times per week – ideally after your workout.

By week 2 you should be ready to try some moderate intervals for at least two of your workouts. Get on your favorite cardio machine and alternate between 4min of higher intensity and 3 minutes of walking for 30minutes.

By week 3 you will be ready to try beginner high intensity interval training. This will boost your fat burning hormones naturally.This workout uses a treadmill but you could use another cardio machine if you prefer…

• Walk for 1.5min at level 3.5
• Jog 30 seconds at level 7.0
• Walk for 1.5min at level 3.5
• Jog 30 seconds at level 7.0
• and repeat for 20-30min.

By week 4 you can also start adding up to 20min of moderate cardio (just simple steady state) after you interval workouts. This will help your body burn additional fatty acids that were released into your system during your high intensity cardio workout. (If you are looking for an awesome 12 week progressive program, then I definitely recommend you check out Rusty’s programs.)

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out Holly’s Fit Yummy Mummy program, Craig’s Metabolic workouts, or Rusty’s Visual Impact for Men or Women if you want more information on these types of programs!