Kailey Strachan for E!It's about time you learned to roll with the punches.
You've been given a brief introduction on how celebs get fit for red carpet season, but it's time to take a deeper look at one specific activity celebrities, supermodels (like Gigi Hadid) and bloggers alike have all taken up as a main form of exercise: cardio boxing.
Want to be a literal knockout? Celebrity trainer and owner of Prevail Los Angeles, Milan Costich, is in your corner. Note: This is the man responsible for Jamie Chung's wedding-ready body.
"Boxing is a great workout for anyone seeking purely functional muscles. That means toning of the body: No fat, no big/bulky muscle just streamlined long and lean muscles and ripped abs," said the pro. "Usually, to grow big muscle, people lift heavy weights for only a few reps—what we're doing is pretty much the exact opposite. We're doing 500 punches a class using two-pound weights—everything is at really high repetition because the goal is just to trim down."
When you think of boxing, you probably picture intimidating fighting gyms where the trainers "almost go out of their way to create a certain environment that's unwelcoming, to see who can stand the heat," noted Milan. That's absolutely not the case at Prevail Los Angeles. Here, you're greeted by a bright, Instagram-friendly space and sincere staff who understand your only goal is to get in shape. (This must be why Amanda Seyfried frequents the gym.)
Jab, Cross, Hook, Cross: These are the most basic punches you'd learn in your first class. "Bag work is a combination of things: It's toning your arms while strengthening your core and at the same time you're learning proper technique. If it's executed properly, it's a great full body workout as well as a cardio workout," claimed the trainer. "Boxing also keeps your brain occupied—it's challenging mentally because you have to remember all the combinations. I think learning the actual technique can distract you from how challenging the workout can be. A 45-minute workout, where you're burning 600-800 calories, flies by."
Around the World: In your basic plank position, while keeping a strong core, lift one arm, then the other, then one leg, then the other and hold each for 3-5 seconds. "Boxing and interval training helps burn and melt the layer of fat that goes over muscle, but this combination of core work is to purely develop muscle," noted Milan.
"So with this sequence of exercises, we're doing two things: Helping you build the muscle with the core work then helping you burn the fat, so all that hard work can actually be shown to the world," concluded the expert.