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How to Workout Like a Runway Model
In order to get ready for New York Fashion Week and the fittings that proceed it, many models are feeling the pressure to quickly tone up.
As a model, while you may be beautiful and walk as if you were Naomi Campbell's prodigy, you cannot reach supermodel stardom without booking a lot of jobs, and in order to do that, you have to fit the clothes.
Unlike a retail store, the racks of clothes hanging in designer show rooms all have the same measurements: sample size (34-inch chest, 24-inch waist and 34-inch hips). For designers, consistently producing this size allows them to use the smallest amount of fabric, making it the cheapest way to go. There are stillsome industry vets that argue, aesthetically, clothes look better on a tall, thin models.
This results in models literally shrinking themselves into the 34-inch hip width of the sample size.
Celebrity fitness instruction John Benton has a healthy and very effective way to do this, which is why he has Victoria's Secret Angels and top models as clients.
"Everything that I do is based on hip and waist measurement reduction," he told E! News, while going through his workout routine at the Hollywood Roosevelt. "All of my clients, they are trying to get their hip and waist measurements down so they can book more jobs or they can sign with modeling agencies."
His workouts are unique in their avoidance of building muscle, a goal for many gym regulars. In his clients' cases, muscle build-up defeats their purpose, which is to fit sample clothing. For example, the long strides of running fast will cause you to get stronger and wider in the hips, so his clients jump rope instead.
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They also opt out of eating certain foods.
"Since we're trying to burn some body fat off and at the same time we're trying to not build up any bulky muscle in their hip measurement area, I tell all of my model clients to not have any protein after they workout, that way they are not building up any muscle in the areas that we are trying to get smaller," he shared, taking a small sip of his Essentia Water.
There are people in the fashion industry that are trying to alleviate models of this pressure and create body diversity on the runway, for the sake of models and consumers.
"I'm just fighting a fight for the women who don't want to be placed apart from other women because of the size of their hips," model Ashley Graham told E! News last year.
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Other models like Jordyn Woods and designers like Chromat and Christian Siriano share the sentiment, and have been creating new standards surrounding who is celebrated on the runway.
While they are making an impact and the body diversity movement is gaining momentum every season, as of now, casting agents, a.k.a. the HR of the modeling world still say hips don't lie and size matters. And, models still have trainers like John to help attain their career and body goals in a healthy way.
Stay tuned all week for more updates, celebrity looks and how-tos fromNYFW!
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