8 Health Trends That Need to Die, According to Celeb Trainers
by Rozalynn S. Frazier, Health.com
Everyone has an opinion when it comes to your well-being—whether that means what you should be putting in your mouth (quinoa, anyone?) or how best to sweat your way to a better bod. The problem, though, is that it’s hard to know which healthy habits are worth your time and which should be dumped like yesterday’s trash.
So we chatted up eight celeb trainers who are responsible for keeping some of Hollywood’s A-listers (Halle Berry, Megan Fox, Heidi Klum—you name it!) in tip-top shape, and got them to dish on the fitness, nutrition, and health trends that they wish would kick the bucket in 2015. Here’s what they said:
Kale (sort of)
“People need to stop focusing on one food as the end-all be-all, to the point where it’s so overhyped. For example, everyone is obsessed with kale, and it creates this sort of worry, where people start thinking, ‘Oh no, I’m not getting enough kale! I need to eat more kale!’ But there are other types of greens that give you wonderful benefits, and just fixating on the one that’s ‘of the moment’ isn’t healthy.”
—Tara Stiles (Brooklyn Decker, Jane Fonda)
Related: 19 Superfoods That Fight Colds
Juicing
“It’s a socially acceptable eating disorder. When you are on a juice cleanse, you are missing out on what I like to call the holy trinity of the metabolism—protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Juice is a natural treat, and it’s fine to have a fresh squeezed glass with brunch or breakfast, but not as an entire meal or even a snack. Instead, try blending—that way nothing is added or taken away.”
—Harley Pasternak (Katy Perry, Megan Fox, Lady Gaga)
Muscle stimulators
“I don’t believe in passive exercise, such as using muscle stimulators, to get fit. There have been all of these claims that it will get you six pack abs, but there is nothing to prove that these burn calories—or give you abs. A gadget like this will only make an already lazy population lazier.”
—Ramona Braganza (Halle Berry, Jessica Alba, Kate Beckinsale)
Piloxing
“The name alone makes me cringe. The modalities and energies of both boxing and Pilates just don’t lend well to a duo workout. Break the two up into separate classes at separate ends of the day, and they become way more effective. Piloxing “workouts” are frenetic and don’t make sense to me.”
—Ashley Borden (Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, Natasha Bedingfield)
Quick weight-loss methods
“Anything that promises a certain amount of weight loss in a short period of time, I’m generally not a fan of because the body needs time to acclimate, and most who lose quickly cannot maintain it. They also usually end up gaining it all and even more back. What saddens me most is people think there is a fast, quick way to transform your body. It takes dedication, will, hard work, focus and accessible goals to be successful!”
—Teddy Bass (Cameron Diaz)
Related: 10 Exercise Cheats That Ruin Your Workout
Lifting light + cardio only
“I wish the trends of lifting only light weights and only doing cardio, especially cardio without knowing your heart rate, would go away. Weight training is essential to increasing your metabolic rate and heart-rate based training for cardio makes it more effective.”
—Michelle Lovitt (Courtney Cox, Julianne Moore, Amber Valetta)
Excess everything
“Any trend is good as long as it is not done to excess. For example, if spinning is all you do, you are not engaging your body in the most effective way. You need to balance it out with a few exercises.”
—David Kirsch (Heidi Klum, Kate Upton)
Aerial workouts
“Those workouts with the hanging ribbons, where you’re swinging around. They just don’t work. Sure they’re a fun thing to do, and make sense for people in acrobatics or who want to join Cirque Du Soleil, but otherwise you’re not getting cardio or resistance training. Maybe it’s good if someone who broke an ankle and they’re still trying to move. But if you really want a workout like that, try pole dancing—you’re doing lots of squats and it works your abs.”
—Jackie Warner (Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway)
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