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Keri Russell’s Trainer Shares How The Americans Star Got That Killer Bikini Bod—Get the Scoop!

Star's trainer reveals her bikini bod secrets

By Nicole Adlman Apr 10, 2015 6:58 PMTags
Keri RussellBrett Kaffee/Thibault Monnier, © Pacific Coast News

Two words came to mind when we saw Keri Russell's bikini body this week: Hot damn!

Russell was spotted taking a dip in the ocean while vacationing in Miami with her family and, while we're pretty obsessed with her floral, high-waist J.Crew bikini, we're equally as envious of her slim, summer-ready figure. The actress, who's currently starring the FX series The Americans, keeps in fit for her action-packed role with trainer and self-defense expert Avital Zeisler. E! News caught up with Zeisler to learn how Keri keeps in fighting (and bikini) shape.

"[Our workouts were all] based on real survival and hand-to-hand combat tactics that I would cover with any client," Zeisler revealed. "It is important that my students learn correct technique and concepts that are effective. I wanted her to come across authentic and showcase the combative training background that her character portrays in the show.​

"I developed her combative fundamentals, like her survival stance and striking technique, which I then incorporated into full body conditioning drills that would help ingrain the self-defense concepts so that they would appear second nature in her fight scenes," Zeisler added.

AKM-GSI

So what do these fighting moves consist of? Striking squats, lunges, self-defense push-ups and 360 kicks are all part of Keri's weekly fitness routine while filming for The Americans.

"We worked on a continuous flow of combatives—also known as strikes and kicks," Zeisler explained. "We would go through different combinations in a continuous manner so that every combative would blend into the next one. This is a challenging drill, especially as you fight for the proper technique as you increase your performance speed. ​Doing this is a great form of cardio and it's amazing to literally watch yourself transform into a weapon of combatives."

Zeisler recommends that busy moms like Keri, who shares two children, Willa and River, with ex-husband Shane Deary, make time to workout at least twice a week within a time period that fits their lifestyles and schedules.

We're totally on-board with incorporating combative moves into our workout routines, especially if the results are a physique like Keri's!