Blake Lively's fitness secrets could actually work for you

Usually celebrity workout regimes make me roll my eyes: How many of us are ever -- no matter how many crunches we do -- going to look like Angelina Jolie or Gisele Bundchen? Pretty much none of us, that's how many.

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But Blake Lively's workout routine, which her trainer, Bobby Strom, explains in Health & Fitness magazine, actually doesn't sound half bad. First of all, Lively, who embarked on the diet and workout regime to get into shape for the physical demands of her role in last summer's Green Lantern, had never really had a set fitness routine before, giving us perpetual exercise rookies hope. And second, the 25-year-old Gossip Girl star wasn't trying to shed a bunch of weight and look like a stick-figure model; she was going for strength, core, and … Okay, she did want to look a little more toned, too.

Who doesn't?

Strom says he didn't want to just give Lively a one-off for the film: He wanted the routine to be something she could sustain over the long term. "My philosophy is that exercise and proper nutrition are a lifestyle and not a movie role or a training period," he told the magazine. The fact that Lively's still carrying on with her routine, six months after the film hit theaters, seems like a pretty good sign.

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The routine combines exercises like the "reverse lunge with dumbbell press" (for quads, hamstrings, glutes and shoulders) and "side-to-side speed skaters" (fat burning, speed, power, stability, coordination). It also throws in special "T-Push-Ups" that build upper body strength - Strom says it's important to work both sides of your body, so you increase strength on the non-dominant side and improve balance and coordination, all without adding bulk. Plus it involves a diet heavy on blended juices, lean proteins, healthy fats (extra virgin olive oil, almonds, and avocado), and low-GI carbs, like quinoa.

But the most appealing part is that Blake's regime includes frequent massages! Okay, we can't all afford that (I, for one, can't) or the 60 to 90 minutes, four days a week, that Lively spends working out. But surely most of us can find the time to drink an extra few glasses of water, do some stretches, and snack on tabbouleh salad instead of that second bowl of pasta. And maybe, if we're really dedicated, we can save up and reward ourselves with a massage every once in a while.

Does Blake Lively's fitness regimen seem like one you could actually do?

Image via david_shankbone/Flickr

Written by Amy Reiter for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.

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