That's Fit

Celebrity trainer Gregory Joujon-Roche shares on MSNBC's The Fit List some techniques he'll be using to whip his clients into shape for Sunday's big Oscar extravagana. To prime yourself for your own red carpet event, you might want to borrow a few of these. You must first be a regular exerciser, though, says this trainer guy who likes to kick things into high gear. It's all about burning fat. Skip the Pilates, he says. It's time to sweat.

• Aim for an hour of cardio every day. Make it intense and sustained cardio and keep your target heart rate to 85 percent of your max. To calculate a general target heart rate, take 220 minus your age and multiply by .85. If you don't have a heart rate monitor, count your pulse for 6 seconds and multiply that number by 10.
  
  
• Exercise first thing in the morning and go for another round of cardio later in the day. This is called "split training" and is one of Joujon-Roche's secrets to dropping pounds.
  
  
• Don't focus a lot on intense strength training if slim and trim is your goal. Stick with basic body-weight exercises such as crunches, planks, lunges, and squats. Keep your focus on aerobic activity. Keep the sweat flowing. If you do want to pump up a bit, do circuit training and skip the rest breaks so you keep your heart rate up. And do 50 push-ups every day (not necessarily all in a row).
  
  
• Watch your calorie consumption. The wrong diet can easily undo the calorie burn from all that cardio. Eat veggies, veggies, and more veggies. Add some lean protein such as white fish or salmon.
  
  
• Let your body restore. Every other day, take 30 minutes or longer to sit still by yourself with zero interruptions. Simply stretch, breathe, and be. Clear your mind and remind yourself of what an amazing person you are.

I wish it were simply in my genes to be sleek, slender, and fit. It's not. I have to work for my body. If I work at eating a lot and exercising not a lot, my body responds -- with extra pounds. If I work at eating right and exercising with a vengeance, my body rewards me with a more toned and trimmed look. That's just the way it goes, for most of us anyway. Not for Oscar winner Hilary Swank, who recently credited her slim, toned body to nothing more than good genes. Damn her!

"I think I've been blessed with my father's metabolism," says the 33-year-old actress who does enjoy some benefits of working out. She really loves power Pilates, and uses the exercise primarily for stress relief. Ultimately, though, it's dad who gets the credit.

"I try and get out as much as I can," she says, "but I think in the end I really have to give it up to my genes."

Ah, to be Hilary.

Today on Oprah, new Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson took the spotlight dishing about her victory the night before. She also chatted about her new fitness habits. Since her role in Dreamgirls, Jennifer has lost a considerable amount of weight and admitted to doing it the old fashioned way.

It seems that many Hollywood beauties seem to spend time telling the press how they can eat anything they want, and never gain a pound. Hudson was real, and I think that's great for normal women everywhere. She didn't say exactly how much she has lost, but she did tell how she's doing it. She wakes up at 4:00AM to run for an hour, followed by an hour long workout in the gym with her trainer. She didn't mention it, but I'm positive she is modifying her eating habits as well.

It's nice that Jennifer shared the details of her efforts with the world. Too many people do very little and expect very big results. Knowing that a real woman like Hudson can run for an hour will probably motivate many more to do the same. I care very little about the Oscars, so today I think I'll give Miss Hudson the Fitzness Role Model Award for inspiring others to become more fit. Congratulations on your big win!