Bob Harper, "The Biggest Loser" trainer and master of all things CrossFit, stopped by the studios at Us Magazine to talk bikini bodies. Well, one bikini body: Jessica Alba's.
The magazine featured the video as part of its "Hot Bodies" issue, which features Alba prominently on the cover. But rather than simply rave about the actress's enviable figure, Harper used the moment to talk a little bit about how a lay person can achieve a better bikini look -- on her own terms.
"Here's the thing you have to remember when you look at celebrities that you want to have their body," Harper says. "Their body is their livelihood. That's their job: Their job is to look a certain way."
"If you have to go to your office job for eight-plus hours a day and then run home to take care of your kids, you're not really going to have that kind of time," he went on. "But you can still be the best you that you can possibly be."
His prescription? Burpees and more burpees. (Here's how to do the perfect burpee).
It's refreshing to hear Harper talk honestly about what separates celebrity bodies from those of us on the desk-jockey grind. And this isn't the first time the trainer has talked about tempering expectations and feeling proud of your accomplishments, regardless of the larger culture's expectations. In fact, he can often be heard talking about how the daunting task of a celebrity body can sabotage our efforts to get healthy.
"Thinking 'I can't get in shape because I don't have two hours a day to exercise' is just another excuse for doing nothing," he told O, The Oprah Magazine. "Start small, because small can only get bigger. Starting big means burning out, blowing out, getting hurt -- another reason to stop."
Heady stuff for a magazine that dissects celebrity bodies in great detail. But that's why we're glad Harper's around to cut through the entertainment and give us some real tips we can use.
Tell us in the comments: Are you working toward a weight loss goal?
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