Elsa Pataky Workout and Diet

Elsa Pataky (Spanish actress, best known in the US for 2006′s “Snakes on the Plane”, and wife to upcoming Thor star Chris Hemsworth) is yet another beautiful actress making an appearance in this Friday’s “Fast Five” (April 29, 2011) staring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, and Sung Kang. If you want to know Elsa Pataky’s diet and workout secrets – then keep reading!

Elsa Pataky Workout

The only kind of exercise that Elsa Pataky reportedly does is yoga. I think that judging by the light muscle tone in her upper body (a great side effect of yoga) – this is probably true for the most part. I also think that Elsa probably adds cardio 2-4 weeks ahead of special events like photo shoots, and red carpet appearances in order to look extra tight and lean.

Can you just do yoga and build a body like Elsa Pataky?

Not likely. Yoga is a great way to relax, improve posture and flexibility (all which will help you look extra long and lean) – but a really inefficient way to lose weight and excess body fat. The calories burned in the average yoga workout are about comparable to walking. Not too bad, but nothing compared to cardio weight circuits or interval training (which can burn a ton more calories in 30 minutes…more on that in our earlier post on Gal Godot’s workout and diet…)

A Better Workout

Instead of spending 1 hr doing yoga 5 days per week, commit to spending 30 minutes 3-4 days per week doing weight training and smart cardio.

The Workout

Instead of doing the same exercises every day, 5 days per week (like most women do), you will have two workouts to switch between – “A” and “B.” Here’s how it works -
Monday: Workout A
Tuesday: Workout B
Wednesday: off
Thursday: Workout A
Friday: Workout B
Sat/Sun: off

Instead of doing a set number of reps, do 20-30 seconds (with the exception of planks – you will want to hold for 60 seconds) of each exercise as hard and fast as you can. Rest for 20-30 seconds, then go on to the next. Do all exercises 3-4 times through.

Here is an example of how everything would fit together from Holly at Fit Yummy Mummy -

Workout A

Push ups

Deadlift to row

Jump squats

Planks

Workout B
Push press

Chin ups

Note – chin ups can be difficult for many women. Consider doing assisted chin ups with a strap or reverse chin ups instead.

Medicine ball slams

(If you don’t have a medicine ball – no worries. Just grab a pillow as a substitute and throw as hard as possible. Or, you could do plyometric pushups against a wall or against some stairs.)

Single leg deadlift

The Cardio

After your workout is over, do 10-15min of interval cardio on the machine of your choice followed up by 15-20min of additional steady state cardio. If you are simply too tired, do this on your “off” days. (If you would rather do cardio on your off days, you could do a bodyweight circuit instead of intervals on a machine.)

Here is an example of a bodyweight fat burning circuit also from Holly -

I foyu want to know more about how to do fat burning interval workouts at the gym (even if you are a total beginner ) – then check out this post.

Elsa Pataky Diet

In interviews Elsa says that she avoids overly restrictive diets in favor of macrobiotic eating.

What is a macrobiotic diet?

A macrobiotic diet is one based on whole grains (40-60% of diet), Vegetables (20-30%), Beans (5-10%) with occasional consumption of fish, seafood, nuts, seeds, sugar, and fruits.

The macrobiotic diet also varies to the time of year. In the spring, the emphasis is on consuming lightly steamed, fresh foods, in the summer emphasis is placed on eating more raw foods and enjoying all the seasonal summer vegetables and fruits, fall focuses on eating root vegetables and grains, and winter emphasizes hearty root vegetables, pickles, grains, and miso.

A Sample Meal Plan:

Breakfast
Miso/vegetable soup.
Whole grain porridge.
Brown rice with squash.
Lunch
Soup – miso, bean, pea, noodle.
Steamed vegetables.
Fruit.
Dinner
Steamed fish
Brown rice
Broccoli
Root vegetables mixed with lentils.
Leafy green salads.

While a macrobiotic diet is healthy, this kind of diet is better for weight maintenance rather than weight loss. Most women will have higher success on diets that are higher in protein and lower in carbs, primarily because these kinds of meals are more filling while lower in calories. (More info on common dieting mistakes in our earlier post on Gal Gadot’s Diet and Workout…)

Also check out this post on how smart Hollywood stars get lean without resorting to crazy juice fasts.

Thanks for stopping by! On your way out you might want to check out Visual Impact or Fit Yummy Mummy – thanks!