UPDATE:  Check out the video for this workout by clicking the link at the end of the post.

Kate Gosselin, star of TLC’s hit reality TV show ‘John and Kate plus 8’, has created nearly as much of a media frenzy over her body, as for her recent marital issues made public by the tabloids.

And while there are no shortage of websites and magazines flashing the latest juicy details of the Gosselin’s not-so-private life; in all of the drama, Kate’s secrets to transforming her body have remained just that; a complete secret.

Many women, especially moms, are dying to know how Kate has made such incredible changes to her body in such a relatively short amount of time.  Viewers have watched Kate transform from a frumpy housewife, struggling to shake off the extra layers of baby weight in the show’s initial seasons, to a fit and yummy mummy with a sculpted body that any women would be proud showing off at the beach.

So how does she do it?  What has Kate Gosselin done to get that sculpted body and those sexy arms, even after having 8 children?  While it’s no secret that Kate underwent plastic surgery to correct the excess sagging skin on her stomach that resulted from the carrying of twins and then sextuplets to term, (a problem that most moms won’t have to contend with) it’s not her stomach that has women all over the world wanting to know more about Kate’s workout routine.

Kate has literally re-created her entire body, not just her tummy.  She has clearly lost significant body fat, slimmed down her thighs and calves, shaved inches of her arms, toned her back and shoulders, and brought out significant muscle definition throughout her whole physique; something a tummy tuck could never do on it’s own.

On Kate’s most recent appearance on Oprah, when questioned about her workout, she stated that she gets up early everyday to do an hour on the treadmill or elliptical machine.  However, she offered little insight beyond that.  And while that may seem simple enough, most moms simply cannot afford an extra hour each day to workout when they’ve got little ones demanding their attention nearly 100% of the time.

How To Get Results Like Kate Gosselin, In Less Time
As a personal trainer specializing in women’s fat loss and body sculpting, I have helped numerous moms shed pounds of baby fat, sculpt and tone their physiques, and get their pre-baby bodies back (and often, better!)  One look at Kate Gosselin’s new body, and I can tell you from experience that cardio alone wasn’t enough to get the job done; there is more to the story than that.  The great new is, if you are busy mom and don’t have an hour per day to spare, you can still get results like Kate, and I can even show you how to do it in less time.

The Custom ‘Kate Gosselin Workout Routine’.
To get a total body transformation like Kate, the main goal should be to melt as much fat as possible, while revving up the metabolism so your body will easily let go of those extra baby pounds.  At the same time, you will want to be sculpting and toning the muscle underneath, so you aren’t left with any sagging skin after your weight loss.

My customized ‘Kate Gosselin Workout Routine’ utilizes a principal called the ‘Afterburn Effect’ that will allow you to get a workout that is as effective as Kate’s, but in far less time.  The Afterburn Effect is created by using shorter, interval style cardio sessions, with a short-rest, circuit-style strength training program that elevates the heart rate and keeps it up throughout the entire workout.

This routine can be done 5 days a week, and will hit every major muscle group in your body to bring out maximum tone and definition.  It puts particular emphasis on naturally lifting the breasts, giving the waist a more tapered and narrow look, and targeting the inner and outer thighs to create lean and sexy legs.

Cardio Portion – 12.5 minutes
Equipment:      Treadmill or Elliptical
Warmup:          2 minutes to bring heart rate up to 60% or higher*
Intervals:          3 x 90 second high intensity intervals at 80% or higher with 3 x 120 second low intensity intervals at 70% or lower
Cooldown:       None necessary – immediately start the strength training circuit below.

Strength Training Circuit – 17.5 minutes
Use a weight that allows you to achieve 8-10 reps for each exercise (but not too light that you can do more, or too heavy that you can’t get at least 7).  Complete one exercise immediately after the other without rest, and complete as many sets as you can in 17.5 minutes.  Record the number of sets you complete for each exercise, and try to increase one set for one exercise, each successive day, without increasing your workout time.

Exercise List
a) Plie Squat with Shoulder Press
b) Reverse Lunge on Bench with Dumbbells
c) Wide Grip Lat Pull Down
d) Wide Grip Horizontal Row
e) Incline Curl To Chest Press with Dumbbells
f) Narrow Width Bench Pushups
g) Seated Side Band/Cable Rotation

While this program will work wonders to kick-start your fat loss and body toning, and get you well on your way to transforming your body like Kate Gosselin, it is not recommended that you follow it for more than three weeks.  After three weeks you will get better results by switching to the Go Sleeveless © program, which will have you alternating between two different workout routines that will allow for greater muscle recovery, while avoiding any plateaus.

For video demonstrations for each of these exercises, check out Kate Gosselin’s Workout Video.

*Detailed explanation for how to calculate your target heart rate zones can be found in any of the Go Sleeveless © programs in the ‘Calculating Your Target Intensity Zones’ section.

Is it possible to reverse sagging skin naturally?  Is it possible to get rid of all that flapping skin and wrinkles without supplements and surgery?  What happens if you’ve already lost all the body fat you can lose and you still have sagging arms?  Then what?

I get questions like this emailed to me on a constant basis, and it doesn’t surprise me.

The plastic surgery and cosmetic industry love to perpetuate the myth that sagging and wrinkled skin is irreversible naturally; that the only way to get rid of it is to slice it off, tuck it, and slather it in moisturizing lotions and expensive creams.

They’ll tell you that skin sags with age, and it wrinkles.  They’ll also tell you that you are just one of the unlucky ones who has bad genetics that makes your skin droop.

Let’s clear this up once and for all….

First, genetics is not involved. I’ve read numerous identical twin studies where they’ve looked at the difference in skin condition, and found there to be incredible differences in elasticity, complexion, wrinkles etc. Some of the photos I’ve seen, the twins look decades apart in age, and the only thing that can account for that is differences in the ‘environment’ both internal and external.

The biggest problem is the way weight loss is achieved. For many folks, they lose weight through caloric restriction, lots of cardio, and low-weight high-reps strength training (biggest loser style). This is hard on the body, lowers the metabolism, creates nutritional deficiencies, and reduces muscle mass.

Here is a big point: If you don’t build any lean muscle, and instead focus on just losing fat, the problem of flapping skin is going to get MUCH WORSE! You must focus on serious strength training and developing firm and toned muscles underneath the flab, so when the flab is gone, the skin has something firm to adhere to.

Another major issues is hydration and nutrition. Hydrated cells are plump and firm; you must get enough water, and you must stop dehydrating yourself with excessive sun exposure, tanning beds, caffeine, and alcohol.

As for nutrition, if you are eating lots of junk food and aren’t getting enough fruits and veggies, you are causing cellular damage through excess oxidative stress. This damages the cells, and can actually destroy their ability to hold water properly. Many Dr.’s say that as you age the skin cells lose their ability to hold onto water and this is why wrinkles form. This is only partly correct. This is not from age; this is from repeated exposure to oxidative stress. It just happens that if you’ve lived a life where you haven’t taken care of yourself as well as you should have, you have had more opportunities to damage the cells. However, this can be combated with a healthy diet high in antioxidants, but sadly, most people are seriously lacking on this end and prefer to use cosmetic procedures or creams and lotions to band-aid the problem.

Another important point is that many people assume that aging is going to bring sagging skin and wrinkles. But here’s the trouble with this logic…all of the skin cells in your body are replaced every 7 years or so. If you are 50 years old, your skin cells might only be about 5, so how can it be that your skin seems to sag and wrinkle with age?

The problem is the environment these cells are being ‘re-grown’ in. While our bodies are very resilient, if you expose them to punishment long enough, there is bound to be trouble.

Here’s an analogy…

If you planted a garden in toxic and contaminated soil, never watered it or weeded it, and trampled all over it, how do you think it would grow? If it grew at all, it would probably look pretty sickly and deformed. The same goes for your skin cells. Give them a perfect environment to develop in, and you will have beautiful, radiant, and firm skin for many years.

Okay, so if you have sagging and wrinkled skin, what do you do about it? First, you have to start eating a diet designed to detoxify your cells naturally and gently (I’ve designed the Daily Detox Diet, exactly for this reason). You also need to start drinking a lot more water, and decrease any substances that are diuretic in nature (caffeine, alcohol, etc).

Next, make sure you start a targeted strength training program designed to build and tone the underlying muscle while you burn away the fat on top (Any of the workout programs in Go Sleeveless will take care of this). Also, forget the long marathon cardio sessions. Start doing high intensity interval training cardio that will help bring out even better muscle definition, and boost your metabolism (again, the Go Sleeveless cardio workouts are already designed to solve this problem).

It’s really not a complex process, but if you lose weight without following these basic steps, you could end up with a lot of excess sagging skin that can be troublesome to correct. However, even if that’s the case, put this plan into action and you can reverse the damage.  Depending on how much sagging skin you have to correct, obviously the time it will take to completely reverse it will vary.  However, I can guarantee if you follow the principles in Go Sleeveless, you are going to make incredible progress in 6 weeks and you are going to see a great reduction in your sagging and wrinkled skin.

Coach Rylan

PS.  Don’t forget my E-Book ‘Body Firming Secrets That Plastic Surgeon’s Don’t Want You To Know”, included in the Elite Package at www.GoSleeveless.com that is packed full of cheap and free secrets for how you can start naturally reversing sagging and wrinkled skin – like my special foam roller technique.