The New (Gentler) Victoria's Secret Model Workout

What do Doutzen, Lily, Lindsay and Erin have in common besides hitting the genetic jackpot? Religious Ballet Beautiful workouts leading up to their big reveal. By Nicole Catanese

The annual, and much anticipated, Victoria's Secret show will be taping one week from today (and airing on Tuesday, December 10th 10/9 C on CBS). And many of the main girls, aka the Angels, the likes of Lily Aldridge, Doutzen Kroes, Lindsay Ellingson, Erin Heatherton have been getting in hour-to two hour-workouts, six days a week, at Ballet Beautiful. We went to the Soho studio to test-drive the unparalleled toning (and yes, we saw Doutzen on her way out) and to talk to Mary Helen Bowers, New York City Ballet veteran and creator of the ballet-inspired workout.

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Harper's Bazaar: Why is Ballet Beautiful the perfect workout for the girls leading up to the show?

Mary Helen Bowers: The muscles that are used in Ballet Beautiful are similar to those used in classic ballet. They're also muscles that don't get used very often, which is why it burns so much. But it's also why your body will really start to shift. And just like for a model, as a dancer, you have to be so careful when you workout. You can't afford to pick up a workout that, although it may be fun, it completely changes your body shape.

HB: What are the overall body benefits of Ballet Beautiful?

MHB: Imagine if you did this workout four days a week, for the last six or twelve months. You would have a lot more strength, control and stamina. This is not your average workout. I love it because your whole body gets hot-you're just torching calories. The entire time, you use your abs, and that's where your control is going to come from. That's the thing with ballet, everything comes from your center. We focus on butt, but always the center of the body and the waist, too. When you lift your leg, you use your abs. We also focus a lot on the outer and inner muscles of the leg. And when you tighten the outside part of the hip, it just completely elongates and stretches out the leg, and it also really helps with cellulite. Also, posture is so important because it communicates confidence, and strength. It really makes a strong physical statement about who you are and how you carry yourself. Ballet opens up the chest and the arms and elongates the body, so you carry yourself straighter. That's so important for a model. But also every woman.

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HB: How does Ballet Beautiful differ from other popular workouts?

MHB: I think most people don't need as much cardio as they think they do. In the past, I was doing so much cardio and I was much heavier than I am now, and my muscles and my body looked totally different. For women, it's about building lean muscle and that's how you speed up your metabolism. So, we have cardio aspects in class as well as in the new Cardio Fat Burn DVD. But those are short, 6 to 10-minute intervals that are combined with toning moves. I find that the thing that makes every body look the best is great toning, and really, really targeting the muscles, and low cardio' where you're sculpting and getting your heart rate up but not beating yourself up. When it comes to working out, you don't have to kill yourself. Your workout should make you feel energized. It should make you feel beautiful, hopefully. It should make you feel better about everything, and be something that you look forward to. It shouldn't be about burning off whatever you just ate or what you did last night. One of our goals is to help people get into a lifestyle where they're enjoying exercise and it's a regular part of their lives, and they're eating better and enjoying themselves. Everything loops together and it really changes the way you look and feel.

HB: Over the past few months have you seen that the models are much stronger than when they first started?

MHB: It's funny but with the workout, most people see results really quickly. It's so targeted and you're using muscles that are just so dormant that you notice a change right away. The girls at Victoria's Secret, the way that they train, they're like professional athletes. They take their body so seriously and they train so hard, so they're really fun to work with. They're eating really well, taking good care of their hair and skin, and body. It's the whole package. They're really toned. They're tough.

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HB: Now that you have streamline workout on your site, are the VS girls coming in or are they doing the workout at home, too?

MHB: It just depends. If they're traveling, then they're doing it online. If they're here, they're coming into the studio. But that's what's great about it for everyone' our clients are all over the world. We're in over 80 countries. It's a completely portable workout. And that was the idea behind it, initially. When I was dancing with a company, I needed something I could do backstage and that I could do when I was home. When I first started my training business, I would go to my private clients' the workout was always made to be portable, and to be done at home, which I think is the ultimate luxury. So, when we started our online videos, we wanted it to feel like you were having a one-on-one, even through a DVD. Most fitness DVDs have a team of people, crazy music, voice-overs and lots of stuff happening. We just wanted it to be more intimate.

HB: What will the final week of workouts look like for the Angels?

MHB: Now it's just about the final tweaking, because everybody, even the models, have their thing that they want to work on. And that's one of the really nice things about this workout. That it's so targeted. And I'm a big believer in targeted workouts, that's what this whole program is about and it's what really changes the body.

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