Blake Lively: exercise secrets

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She may be blessed with annoyingly good looks and legs that just won’t quit, but Blake Lively’s personal trainer Bobby Strom claims the Gossip Girl bombshell has to work at it just like the rest of us.

Hollywood fitness heavyweight Bobby, who helped previously gym-phobic Blake get in amazing shape for superhero flick Green Lantern with 90-minute sessions three to four times a week, says the keys to Blake’s lean muscles are unilateral exercises, repetitions and circuits.

Unilateral exercises
Instead of bilateral moves, like barbell squats and bench presses, Blake focuses on each limb working independently for a more effective workout. “For example standing on the left leg, then raising the right arm with a dumbbell,” says Bobby.

Repetitions
Weight training is great for weight loss, but you need to exhaust your muscles to get results. “With Blake, we’d do around 20 repetitions on each side with all these different sorts of movements,” explains Bobby. “I did them all pretty light, so the weight she used would be around 5lbs [2.3kg].”

Circuits
Circuit training combines resistance and cardio exercises. A good course will train all sections of your body. “We did circuits, so that [Blake] was continuously in the fat-burning zone,” says Bobby.

Where to try
An outdoor boot camp is a fun way to circuit train. See bootycamp.com.au or bootcamp.com.au for courses nationwide.