Courtesy of David Kirsch
This week, style director Andrea Lavinthal finds out how many squats it takes to look like Heidi Klum. Spoiler Alert: She stopped counting after a zillion.
“Can I be honest with you?” David Kirsch, an A-list fitness and wellness expert asks me a few minutes after we meet at his exclusive private studio in NYC’s Madison Square Park. I nod my head, partly because I’m curious what the man who’s responsible for Heidi Klum and Kate Upton‘s incredible figures will say about my own less-than-supermodel-esque physique, and partly because he’s just not a person you say no to (that’s him in the photo).
Kirsch tells me (in the nicest way possible) that while I don’t need to lose weight, my core should be tighter, my arms, back and shoulders should be more defined and my butt should be, well, better. And that’s when the squats begin.
For 45 minutes Kirsch leads me through a modified version of his famous boot camp. And by modified, I mean that we have to stop every few minutes so I can catch my breath in between killer sets of squats, lunges, crunches, curls, push-ups and every other move you hated in gym class. I now understand how Klum famously returned to the Victoria’s Secret runway just eight weeks after delivering her second child while following his plan.
And while there were times during this intense cardio circuit training routine when I wanted to punch Kirsch (like when he’d yell “one more set!”), I really appreciated how much attention he paid to proper form. I’ll never execute a squat again without sucking in my core and sticking out my butt. Plus, he taught me a ton about food and nutrition. FYI: If you really want to go full Kirsch, get ready to say goodbye to coffee, alcohol, bread, processed carbs, sugar and dairy. Hopefully you like small servings of lean protein and are a fan of steamed greens and quinoa.
In a city where you can spin underwater or surf indoors, it’s refreshing that Kirsch believes in simple movements to strengthen and tone the core muscles and burn maximum fat, that can be done at the gym or at home.
I’ve always joked that I’m allergic to working out, but after just one session with Kirsch, I’m surprisingly motivated to exercise and eat healthier (I’ve become addicted to his line of protein bars, supplements and shakes). And if I ever lose that motivation, I’m pretty sure looking at this or this will help.
To get Kirsch’s insider fitness and nutrition tips for free, follow him on Twitter at @davidkirsch
