We all know how hard the Victoria's Secret models work ahead of the world-renowned lingerie show – they take on months of gruelling exercise sessions to hone and tone their bodies to look their best on the iconic runway.
Candice Swanepoel has long championed her boxing for honing her impressive physique. And for good reason – the sport can burn up to 1,000 calories in an hour, blitzing fat and increasing muscle mass. "Boxing is a great cardio and it builds strength," says Gary Logan, head of boxing at BXR London.
"Punching engages the upper body, and draws power from the core, hips and legs. "Martha Hunt, meanwhile, credits barre classes (which combine classical ballet moves with core workouts and elements of yoga) with toning and conditioning her body without adding bulk. "It's so targeted and specific, which is why it's great for sculpting," says Rhian Stephenson, chief executive of Psycle London, which offers barre alongside spinning classes.
"For example, the quad muscle is made up of four different parts. Squats are a go-to exercise for most people but a squat only focuses on the front of the thigh and can sometimes cause bulking," continues Rhian. "Barre engages every element of the thigh, including the abductor muscles [the inner and outer thigh], creating that long, lean effect. The same goes for abdominals; simple crunches won't engage all the muscles groups that a barre class can."
To get a feel for the Victoria's Secret-endorsed workouts, HELLO! Online tried out both classes. We're not going to lie – it was tough. We were shaking by the end of both sessions and the next day was pretty painful!
Boxing is so much fun but seriously intense – if you have the right technique, you should engage almost all of your muscles and it's a full body workout. You can work up a sweat within minutes. Barre, meanwhile, requires small movements that look subtle but are really hard to keep up – we were ready to tap out in seconds!
We have full respect for the Victoria's Secret models after our taster sessions and can totally understand why they're classed as athletes as well as models – this stuff is tough!
