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Backstage With the Victoria's Secret Angels: Alessandra Ambrosio, Erin Heatherton and More Dish on Diet, Fitness and Relationships

Lingerie models gab about relationships, health and beauty advice and more

By Jennifer Chan, Jennifer Cooper Nov 13, 2013 9:46 PMTags
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Elsa HoskJennifer Cooper, E!

It's that time of year again!

The Victoria's Secret Angels will be strutting down the runway in a matter of hours (tune in to the televised show on Dec. 10), and rest assured that this year will be just as dazzling and glamorous as you'd expect.

And obviously before the gorgeous girls take the stage, there's a lot of preparation that takes place behind the scenes.

We headed backstage this morning in New York City to take a peek at all of the primping and pampering the models go through hours in advance and also snagged some exclusive scoop from the beauties themselves.

"I feel like this show has been going on for the last three weeks, I am so exhausted! We all step it up a notch for sure before the show. I think it's so important for people at home to know that some of these girls are freakin' Olympians! It's a full-time job to prepare and we work really hard on our bodies and it's not something that will come from starving yourself. We all really take care of ourselves," emphasized blond beauty Elsa Hosk.

Jennifer Cooper, E!

With that in mind, we made the rounds and chatted with a handful of Angels to get the scoop on how exactly they prepare for this big event.

After all, it's no secret that the Angels are in superb shape, but when you're walking down a catwalk in lacy underpinnings, the pressure is on to look your absolute best!

"My workouts are always changing because your body is always changing. I always played sports growing up so I am very athletic and I have an athletic body type. For the show, you really want to look long and lean," Erin Heatherton explained. "For other girls that may be toning and building and there are lots of girls like me that have done Soul Cycle and high-intensity workouts to get there. I think the best thing is yoga and pilates and I also do Ballet Beautiful as well, plus lots of band work. I do incline walking instead of running…just make sure you're using your butt and not your thighs because you don't want to make that big!"

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Jennifer Cooper, E!

Alessandra Ambrosio and Behati Prinsloo also sang praises of regular pilates workouts, while a few of the other girls dished on fresh ways to tone up.

"I've been doing a lot of boxing recently that I love! I can't stand workouts that are boring like when you go to the gym and you're not learning anything or you're on the boring treadmill. With boxing you need to learn something like the footwork and the handwork," Hosk added.

As for diet secrets, most of the models admit they simply try to cut back and keep it healthy.

Hosk told us that she ate eight (yep, eight) eggs this morning for breakfast to rev up for the runway show, while Heatherton turns to her new juicer for everything she needs.

"I definitely drink more green juices. It's a lot of fun to make juices and I also drink lots of warm water in the morning with ginger, cayenne and lemon juice. It's a great way to clean your system right away," she said. "Today, it's all about making sure your skin is clear and you look your healthiest because health is beauty. When your hair looks good and your skin is clear you just glow and that's what we are going for. Just drink lots of juice and get lots of sleep. Oh, and no desserts before the show!"

Another cute tidbit we learned: Alessandra said the girls all like to dance and have fun backstage together during the show every year.

Now that's our kind of workout!

And finally, it wouldn't be a proper gab session with girls if we didn't ask about love lives, past and present.

Heatherton opened up about her new relationship and was all smiles when we asked.

"Everything is soooo good! I do have someone very special and it's really wonderful and it's nice to learn about yourself through relationships. My brother once sent me this Ted Talk about dating…and [I learned] that you need to know what you want and know what you need, so you need to experience different kinds of relationships. So I think I hit a good point!"

Intriguing!

Not surprisingly, she had only gracious things to say about her former flame, Leonardo DiCaprio, who just celebrated his 39th birthday.

"I did not speak to him but my happy birthday is going out right now! I wish you the best and I can't speak more highly of you. I wish the best birthday to you, Leo!"

Now that's what we call a class act.