In our search for better fitness results, many of us are tempted to see what workouts and fitness products our favourite celebrities are using in order to achieve their successes. Whether it’s an elite athlete or a celebrity with “perfect” body, it can be appealing to try and follow along with the steps they’ve posted on social media or in a magazine. Unfortunately, this can lead to a lot of disappointment.
When I talk about celebrity workouts, I’m referring to the following:
- Celebrity workout DVDs (yes, these are still a thing);
- Superhero movie transformations (any celebrity transformations actually);
- Elite athlete strength and conditioning sessions;
- 1-minute snippets of workouts on reality TV shows;
- Cover model/Influencer workouts;
- Use of fitness products advertised or endorsed by celebrities.
Note: I’m mainly discussing the practical implications today, but trying to emulate someone else just because of their status or success can be harmful to your self-image and wellbeing. This article about your source of motivation may give you something to think about.
Why You Shouldn’t Copy Celebrity Workouts
1. Celebrities Are Outliers
If someone has achieved a level of fame or success for their appearance or abilities, then it stands to reason that they have less in common with the majority of the population that you do. It’s quite likely that your favourite celebrity is above average in one or more of the following:
- Genetic potential – muscle mass, bone structure, etc;
- Economic status – access to training/surgery/drugs, ability to take more risks, dedicate more time to appearance/performance;
- Connections – to break into industries such as acting/modelling.
Call me jealous or say I’m a hater, but these factors definitely play a role in a celebrity’s success, and cannot be transferred to you via a workout or product. It’s important for you to maintain a sense of context in order to set realistic expectations about your fitness journey before you follow that celebrity workout.
The celebrities you follow have absolutely worked hard to get their bodies or skills. But if hard work was the only factor, there would be a lot more celebrities in the world.
If a celebrity is starting out from a totally different place than you, with totally different resources, opportunities or potential, you cannot expect the same results from the same level of work. It’s a harsh pill to swallow, and it doesn’t mean you can’t get good results with consistent work, but it does mean you need to adjust your expectations.
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2. Do They Really Do That Workout?
Any celebrity workout is a promotion for that person’s brand. There’s no guarantee that the celeb does that workout regularly. Like any promotional material, there is a degree of artistic licence.
Exercises will be chosen for the way they pose or pump the body, or to convey a sense of skill, aggression, sensuality or wholesomeness. They may be used to show off a particular skill that celebrity has, especially if they’re a sports star. This doesn’t mean that copying the workout in the video will give you the looks or abilities of the celebrity in question.
3. One Workout Doesn’t Make a Celebrity
Even if we reduce someone’s appearance or performance down to just the workouts they do, that still leaves us with thousands of workouts to choose from. Assuming your celebrity actually does the workout you’ve seen, you’re still only capturing the tiniest essence of their training journey, and the smallest fraction of the habits that back it up.
Expecting to get celebrity results this way is like following a cooking recipe whilst missing half the ingredients.
Take Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for example. He has always been revered for his physique and his training attitude, and often posts with details about his workouts. However, that doesn’t mean you can just follow the workouts he shares.
The Rock’s history of training is far longer and more extensive than many other celebrities. Even with that level of credibility, he’s still only talking about one workout, or one phase of training. You don’t know how the exercises, sets, and reps progress from one workout to the next or from one month to the next.
4. You May Not Need to Do What the Celebrity Does
By the time someone is famous enough for you to be wondering what workouts they’re doing, a celebrity might have clocked in months or years of training time. When this the case, the amount of training stimulus your body needs in order to change will have increased significantly.
This can be a real training challenge, and it can be why celebrities turn to advanced, exciting and questionable methods in their search for an edge over the competition. Chances are, you’re not at that level yet.
The good news is, you can probably get noticeable results for a lot less work. Very simple training approaches can deliver results for a very long time, and you’d be crazy to miss out on them because you’re rushing to get to the advanced stuff.
It’s like buying a Ferrari straight after passing your driving test: unnecessary and risky. Focus on consistency, gradual overload, and good recovery.
“You wouldn’t use a grenade to do the washing up…You don’t need to use “advanced training methods” until it’s needed. Save the grenades for when the problem requires it.”
Jordan Webster
5. Your Celebrity May Be Dishonest
In recent years, celebrities have been caught endorsing weight-loss products that they have not even tried. On top of that, the supplement industry is rife with athletes and celebrities advertising products only for it to come out later that they were also taking steroids or other performance-enhancing substances. And we haven’t even gotten started on Photoshop!
It’s not unheard of for a celebrity to sell their workout DVD or fitness product on the premise that it’s how they got in shape, only for it to turn out to be false. Unfortunately, people who make a career of pursuing fame and fortune at any cost will rarely be the most reliable people to follow.
Conclusion
The real problem with copying celebrity workouts comes from our understanding of the fitness journey. Since the dawn of personal training, people have believed that following the person they deem to be in the best shape will get them the best results – typically the largest bodybuilder in their gym.
This is probably less common today, but only because bodybuilders make up a smaller percentage of our fitness icons. Unfortunately, this gap has been filled by influencers trying to promote the latest Thor workout or reality star juice cleanse. Most people are still looking for someone to copy who will unlock all the secrets of getting a six-pack, or becoming a sports star.
Achieving fitness results has never been about finding the silver bullet that solves all your problems, or finding one person to follow blindly. It’s about building a relationship between your body, your lifestyle and your values. That’s why it takes time – and it’s also why you can’t expect a celebrity stranger to give you the answer. If you’re ready to move away from celebrity workout fads and want to try doing things the sensible way, get in touch for a free consultation below!