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This Exercise Is the Key to Kelly Ripa's Shredded Abs — It Sounds CRAZY Hard

25/06/2018 - 08:15 PM


Image Source: Getty / Jon Kopaloff / FilmMagic [1]

In case you missed it, Kelly Ripa has an absolutely bangin' bod. Her arms rival that of an ancient Greek sculpture, her legs make me want to do leg lifts [2] in my sleep, and her abs could likely grate an entire wheel of parmesan cheese. Every time the 47-year-old mother of three [3] puts her toned physique on display while walking the red carpet [4] or posing for an Instagram snap [5], our jaws practically hit the floor because she looks so darn fit.

Needless to say, Kelly works out a lot to maintain her muscular figure — four to five days each week, to be exact. We touched base with the talk show host's personal trainer, Anna Kaiser [6], to get all the juicy details about Kelly's fitness routine, and honestly, we started feeling a bit winded just hearing about it — and inspired to hit the gym, too!

Kelly Ripa's Weekly Workout Plan

Anna, the founder of AKT In Motion and an international fitness expert, has been training Kelly for 10 years now, and they've got her routine down to a science. Anna does the same exact workouts with Kelly that are taught in her studios and through her online fitness program, AKT On Demand [8], so anyone can train just like the Live With Kelly and Ryan star from the comfort of their own home. Kelly rotates between four different workout styles, detailed below:

  1. Dance Class: Dancing is Kelly's "favourite" type of workout to do, and she now knows a whopping 75 different choreographies, Anna told us. During these classes, Kelly alternates between dance and strength portions that target her upper and lower body, as well as her core.
  2. AKT Sweat Dream: A circuit-based interval class, this one combines a box and resistance bands for one high-intensity total-body workout. It also alternates between strength and cardio portions, like the aforementioned dance class, except it swaps dancing for more plyometric and explosive movements.
  3. 4Play: This "power workout," as Anna calls it, involves doing four exercises for four circuits (hence the 4Play nickname). The bootcamp class is described as "the quickest and most effective way to build lean muscle while improving your overall strength and power." Sign us up!
  4. Cardio + Toning: Lastly, Anna combines a cardio session with a toning section, the latter of which aims to strengthen Kelly's entire body in 45 minutes. Anna describes this one as "pilates meets barre meets sports conditioning."
"It's not about working out longer or harder — it's just about changing the workouts to make sure you're constantly challenged and engaged."

The content of these four different workout classes changes every two to three weeks, which Anna says is the key to Kelly's continued fitness success. "We're constantly challenging her differently," she told us. "It's not about working out longer or harder — it's just about changing the workouts to make sure you're constantly challenged and engaged." Ain't that the truth! We seriously couldn't agree more.

Kelly's Go-To Core Exercise


Image Source: Getty / Mike Franklin / FilmMagic [9]

Of course, we couldn't resist asking Anna about how Kelly's abs are so sculpted, and the trainer graciously shared her favourite ab exercise [10] with us. Below is a step-by-step look at how to do it at home:

  1. Get into a plank position with your legs balanced on top of a swiss ball or physio ball. The ball should be somewhere between your thighs and your calves. "The higher the ball is on your body — the closer it is to the hips — the easier the exercise is," Anna added.
  2. Keeping your legs straight, tap your right foot down on the floor and bring it back up on the ball. Do the same with your left foot, and that counts as one rep.
  3. Do 10 reps and repeat for three sets.

Anna admitted that the sequence is "very hard," which explains why Kelly's midsection is so darn ripped. "You have to try not to let your hips or shoulders move. You want to keep everything as still as possible," Anna told us. BRB, buying an exercise ball so I can try this one in my apartment ASAP — Kelly Ripa-esque abs, here I come!


Source URL
https://www.popsugar.co.uk/fitness/Kelly-Ripa-Weekly-Workout-Routine-44980931