Madonna workout: Get a body like Madonna
Madonna, pop queen and some-time movie actress has for over 3 decades sported one of the most sort after female bodies in the world. Over the years Madonna's workout, fitness, exercise and diet has been the talk of celebrity magazines and TV programmes dedicated to developing the perfect celebrity workout and body.
The Madonna workout: The basics
The Madonna workout includes many elements. Over the years Madonna has been seen jogging around with a huge entourage of security men. But more recently the Madonna workout has included Astanga Yoga, Power Plates strength workouts and other forms of fitness exercise, including, of course, high impact dancing for her huge on stage productions.
The Madonna workout: The importance of Yoga
"Yoga is a metaphor for life. You have to take it really slowly. You can’t rush. You can’t skip to the next position. You find yourself in very humiliating situations, but you can’t judge yourself. You just have to breathe, and let go. It is a workout for your mind, your body and your soul.” Madonna.
Madonna's preferred form of Yoga is Astanga Yoga, a dynamic form of Yoga which also includes smooth transitions between each pose. Due to the dynamic nature of Astanga Yoga there are huge cardiovascular benefits, which help Madonna keep in shape.
It has been reported that Madonna began to practice Astanga Yoga after the birth of her first child Lourdes, in 1996.
The form of Astanga Yoga practiced by Madonna typically takes between 90 minutes to 3 hours to complete per session.
The Madonna workout: Muscle tone
It could be argued that Madonna is as famous for sporting the leanest pair of biceps in pop. Her arm muscle tone is legendary. Madonna didn't get a pair of arms like this from avoiding strength work. Recently, it has been reported that Madonna has started to use Power Plates to develop her strength and muscle tone. Advocates of Power Plates suggest that users can maximise their muscle tone and strength by practicing movements and static holds on the vibrating platform of the Power Plate.
By performing movements on the vibrating plates the muscles work and contract much harder than performing exercises on the floor. This means Power Plate users can squeeze the equivalent of a 60 minute workout into a 10 minute Power Plate session!
Madonna workout: The exercises
In order to get muscles and tone like Madonna women should aim to complete the following exercises for 12-15 reps, 3 sets each two to three times a week:
- Bench press
- Cable crossovers
- Pull ups or chins
- Squats
- Leg curls
- Walking lunges
- Dips
- Bench dips
- Tricep press downs
- Alternate dumbbell curls
- Resistance band work
Couple this resistance workout with 30-45 minutes of cardio fitness exercise - swimming, Astanga Yoga, cycling, running or another form of cardiovascular exercise. This exercise shouldn't be steady state exercise. You should aim to perform interval training sessions, alternating bouts of intense all out exercise with periods of lower level exercise to recover before repeating the high intensity exercise.
For example, alternate bouts of all out running for 30 seconds with 90 seconds recovery jogging. Complete a number of intervals to complete 20 minutes exercise. Add a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cool down to this session 2 to 3 times a week and you'll soon be sporting a body Madonna would be proud of.
The Madonna diet
Madonna knows the importance of a high protein diet. Madonna famously used to request restaurants serve her plain chicken breast and salad, regardless of whether this was on the menu or not.
A high protein diet, coupled with moderate or very little carbs means the body conserves muscle mass whilst trying to maximise the use of body fat as fuel. This means that the body becomes leaner and the body fat level lowers - giving Madonna that lean and toned look.
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