Hitting the headlines daily simply for stepping outside the house, it’s safe to say that Kate Hudson is a Hollywood treasure we can’t take our eyes off.
Not only can she be found strutting down red carpet runways but the Golden Globe actress is most recently causing a stir for her sudden entry into the world of athleisure.
The star – who is the daughter of vintage superstar Goldie Hawn – co-founded active wear brand Fabletics in 2013 and since then has watched the company grow phenomenally, especially over the past year.
Inspired by a love of health and fitness (and a dream to escape the demanding long hours of the movie industry) the mother of two both models the clothes and has a say in the entire creative process.
Actress Kate Hudson’s personal trainer is revealing her workout secrets to keep your workout regimen on track
While one of Hudson’s all-time favourite workouts is pole dancing (as described in her lifestyle book, Pretty Happy: The Healthy Way to Love Your Body), the star is also a big fan of Pilates which she’s been practicing with celebrity personal trainer and Pilates instructor Nicole Stuart for the past eighteen years (Hudson is even Stuart’s son’s godmother).
Stuart is a big name among the A-list elite – famous for teaching celeb royalty and their families. Not only has she worked for a long time with Hudson but also with Goldie Hawn, Demi Moore and her daughters and Ana Faris among others. Based in West Hollywood, California, and trained by Pilates guru Mari Winsor, Stuart practices a creative style of Pilates that blends dance moves, yoga, stretching and cross-training.
Healthista caught up with Stuart to find out the tips and tricks that she uses with the stars. And she revealed the things that everyone needs to know when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle – the first one is not so much of shocker.
Kate (right) and her trainer Nicole Stuart (left) have been working together for years
GIVE PILATES A TRY
Celebrity trainer Nicole Stuart has trained stars including Kate Hudson, Ana Faris and Demi Moore
‘The stretching and strengthening involved in Pilates is the best thing you can do for your body as you get older. It’s something that people should add into their regime because it’s so effective.
You work so deeply in your body during these exercises that it’s a completely different way of weightlifting. You’re going to feel muscles that you don’t usually feel – muscles that you’ve probably never felt before if you’ve never done this type of workout.
If you don’t stretch out and strengthen, as you grow older you’ll create stiffness in your body. Pilates lifts you up and makes you stronger and longer and leaner.
I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I’m still seeing and feeling differences – I’m always getting stronger.’
DON’T LISTEN TO YOUR LAZY BRAIN
‘Sometimes if I’ve been working all day, I don’t feel like working out. I’ll start to hear that voice trying to talk me out of it. There are even athletes that I know that when they’re not training for something all they want to do is nothing.
‘But its during those times you really have to show up. There’s always that defensive mechanism in our minds telling you not to work out today. I think it’s just something that by nature, we will always have to work against.
‘You have to strengthen that voice inside your head that knows you need to get up and do something. I’m not saying if you don’t it’s the end of the world but find some moderation.
‘If you haven’t exercised in a week, come on you’ve got to get out there and do something, not only for your physical but also for your mental health.’
Kate loves Pilates and Nicole highly recommends it due to stretching and strengthening involved in the practice
EXERCISE CAN CHANGE YOUR BRAIN
‘For me, working out has always been more mental than physical and it’s really helped me through times of stress.
‘In the world today there’s so much stress and it’s a proven fact that exercise changes your brain function, releases endorphins and helps you cope better. That’s why any therapist will tell you to exercise. If you don’t and you’re chronically depressed, maybe you should.
You have to strengthen that voice inside your head that knows you need to get up and do something…not only for your physical but also for your mental health
‘I found that exercise really helped me with my depression – it changed the wiring in my brain. I was at a point in my 20s when I was seriously depressed and I would go running up in the canyons. It didn’t solve all my problems but just getting fresh air and walking up the mountains made me feel like everything wasn’t as bad as I thought.
‘I suddenly had a way of managing it and dealing with it as opposed to become so emotional, crying and feeling stuck. Exercise is such an important key to life, it changes so much.’
DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP FOR NOT LOOKING LIKE A MOVIE STAR
‘I trained Ana Faris for House Bunny and I was really proud of that because she looked amazing. I put her on a whole programme, she was literally on an 1100 calorie a day diet, I trained her five days a week and she was doing cardio as well.
‘She was young and fit so before every Pilates session she would run a mile before we worked out. And we’d see each other in the morning and then she’d do another 15 minutes after a session and then later that day I would have her go run or walk the hills for 30-45 minutes and then the next day we would do circuit training and cardio. So it was always changing it up.
‘This programme is not livable for the rest of your life. This kind of programme is for when you’re shooting something and you’re wearing a bikini in every scene.
‘It wasn’t easy, she really worked her ass off to look the way she did. She listened to everything I said and it worked. We were on a strict programme for about two to three months and she was highly motivated and it.’
Kate’s trainer suggests counting calories instead of going on a strict diet and using social media as a tool for inspiration. Kate’s personal favorite workouts are pole dancing and Pilates
BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF
‘If you’re not seeing the results, who are you blaming?
‘You’re blaming your past, your ex-husband or you’re blaming your trainer for the fact you’re not losing weight. All of these people aren’t the reason.
‘Ask yourself, did I drink three cosmopolitans last night? You’ve got to be really honest with yourself if you want to feel good and lose weight.
‘I’m not saying go overboard and be super crazy like a model but just be really honest with yourself about what you’re eating, what you’re doing and the type of lifestyle that you have.’
DON’T DEPRIVE YOURSELF (BUT DON’T OVERDO IT)
‘Don’t deprive yourself. It’s really all about moderation.If you really want ice cream, don’t deny yourself of all your wants because the people that do diets that way crave really bad food and then they just end up bingeing.
In the world today there’s so much stress and it’s a proven fact that exercise changes your brain function, releases endorphins and helps you cope better
‘I’ve known clients like that. I do know moderation isn’t easy for people who like to binge. They can’t just eat one, they’ll have a whole box.
‘I had a client like that who would always eat the whole box so I told her to just go buy one thing at a time from the grocery store (instead of the whole box).
‘This is where being honest with yourself comes into play again. If you know you’re going to eat the whole box then just buy one. Don’t go into the grocery store knowing you’re going to eat the whole box, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.’
KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR CALORIES
‘If you’re not seeing result there are a list of questions you should ask yourself but I’d say that more than half the time, the diet is the problem.
‘Are you eating too many calories in a day? I’m a big believer in calories. Not ‘this diet’ or ‘that diet’. For me, it’s always been about asking myself how many calories I’m eating and if I’m burning that amount during the day.
‘There are so many apps now that you can buy to add up your calories for you. Have a food diary and really keep track of what you’re eating, get out of the house and walk two miles or walk around the block. There is so much information on Google and YouTube and all of these places.’
FIND THE DISCIPLINE WITHIN YOURSELF
‘There was a young girl who would lose weight with me every summer when she came home from college but then she’d go back to school and put all of the weight back on.
‘She’d lose 15Ibs and then put it straight back on – we did this for three summers and she finally came home and graduated. Then she started to work out with me six days a week.
‘At first, nothing changed. She wasn’t losing a single pound, it was so strange. Eventually, the weight started to come off and I asked what she was doing differently.
‘She told me that she was eating light but most importantly she stopped drinking drinks at Starbucks and stopped drinking beer and alcoholic drinks all the time – it was transformational. Finally, the light switched in her head and she found the discipline within herself.’
Nicole took to Instagram where the two posed together after a Pilates class
One of Nicole’s biggest tips is to ‘be honest with yourself’ and not blame others for your results
USE INSTAGRAM AS A TOOL FOR GOOD
‘You see some people who are super crazy fit and there are some people on Instagram that are super intimidating because they look so perfectly in shape, I guess this could really affect some people.
‘But we are all able to find people who inspire us. I’m not super ripped myself so I feel as though I inspire people who are closer to my shape and less extremely athletic looking.
‘You gravitate towards people you identify with, you find the people that you like the look of that are doing the exercises you can see yourself doing – that can be really inspiring.’
JUMP ON THE DIGITAL FITNESS WAVE
‘There is so much information out there for anyone that is new to the game but I think that everyone is pretty much in the game now.
‘In the 80s there was a big bubble of fitness and Jane Fonda was the queen and aerobics came out – I feel like we’re in that place again. It took a while to come around but we’re here.
‘I think that with things like YouTube and apps, fitness and exercise is so accessible for everyone right now. I think that’s partially the reason why fitness has blown up but I also think people are getting smarter – they know they feel better with exercise.
‘There’s more and more evidence that fitness and exercise make you healthier. It’s not some crazy, far off thing that it was for someone in my mom’s generation. Nowadays it’s becoming more integrated into people’s lives from childhood.’
This article was originally published by Healthista