HEALTH - Key Son

GLAM GAMS
In the quest for lithe, summer-ready legs,
RACHEL HEINRICHS works out the
supermodel way: walking instead of running
I N THE DEPTHS OF TORONTO’S SOUL-CURDLING WINTER,
I gave up on using my legs. Instead of biking to work, I spent my
commute playing Candy Crush Saga on the subway, and threw
a fiscally irresponsible sum at cabs. I traded my outdoor runs for
hot yoga classes heavy on corpse pose. By spring, I had emerged 10
pounds heavier, with disturbingly doughy stems.
So it was with a twinge of longing that I clicked through slide
shows of the latest leg-baring styles: Altuzarra’s sexy high-slit skirts
(page 44), the tailored short-suits at Rag & Bone and the high-waisted,
swingy A-line minis from Carven. At five-foot-five, with a long torso
and stocky legs, I’ve accepted that I’ll never have the lithe gamine
gams of, say, Alexa Chung. Nor will I ever carve out a chiselled set
like the ones Jessica Simpson recently unveiled via Daisy Dukes after
her Weight Watchers–assisted slim-down. But I can reasonably hope
86
PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN-PAUL PIETRUS/ART + COMMERCE (LEGS), ANTHEA SIMMS (SHOES).
H E A LT H
Do These
Shoes Make My Legs
Look Stubby?
to achieve modest athletic
10 days.” In one swoop,
curves and, if I’m diligent,
Son has nixed every
those tone lines that run
shank-toning ritual I’ve
up the sides of buff calves
practised for the past decand thighs—the ones that
ade and defied the hardSenior style and market editor Truc Nguyen weighs the
make legs look long(ish),
core ethos of such ruling
long and short of this spring’s footwear trends
even if they’re not.
fitness fads as Tabata
The hunt was on for a
and CrossFit, which are
legs-centric exercise plan.
based on heave-inducing,
I came across The New
high-intensity intervals.
York Model Workout by
Like the Tracy
Key Son, a sports mediAnderson Method, which
cine doctor and trainer of
espouses a no-more-thanthe coltishly leggy Daria
three-pound-weights philWerbowy. The e-book,
osophy for women, Son’s
really more of a no-frills
school of thought has its
manual in the tradition
critics. Mark Hendricks,
MULES leave your
FLATFORMS
For ANKLE
of those ’80s Thin Thighs
for one, the regional
legs bare from
might seem too
STRAPS , stick to
delicate ones and
the heel upwards,
heavy for shortin 30 Days pamphlets,
group fitness manager for
avoid the chunkier
creating a long,
limbed ladies, but
provides a mat routine of
Equinox Toronto who put
bands that create
continuous line up
they actually add
tiny movements (things
me through an extreme
a harsh horizontal
the back.
height and look
like low-fi squats and
cross-training workout
cut-off above
fresher with spring’s
lunges) repeated dozens
earlier this year, flat-out
the foot.
micro-minis than
too-sexy stilettos.
of times. Done in comdisagrees. “Science has
bination with walking,
proven that full range of
the workout, Son explains in the book, without increasing size.” But, he says, I
motion, with a heavier load and high
don’t have to start with a model’s sylph- intensity, activates more muscle fibres
“gives a long, lean and well-balanced
like frame to see a difference. “Circuit
look … Muscles are sculpted but not
and, in turn, burns more calories and
training is great for anyone,” he says,
bulked.” Yahtzee! This could be the
fat,” he says, sounding as though this
“because it’s the most efficient way to
antidote to my winter of neglect.
conversation has caused him to break
work out without getting bored, and you a sweat. The high-versus-low-impact
I call Son at his NYC studio and
explain the many ways my body differs end up burning calories afterward.”
debate has raged for years in the fit“For you,” he continues, “I’d limit
from a New York model’s, neurotically
ness world, and I tend to lean intuirunning and recommend walking at
acknowledging that I don’t expect to
tively toward the hardcore—if I’m not
a moderate pace two to three times a
develop Daria-perfect pins. He laughs
drenched and tomato-faced, I feel like
week for 45 minutes with zero incline.
and agrees that his strategy is designed
I’m not working hard enough.
to achieve a very specific shape requested Just keep your strides small, so you
But I’ve also skipped dozens of pundon’t use your outer quads. Limit any
by modelling agencies (he’s trained
ishing classes because the thought of
other exercise that works your outer
more than 150 models) and film castsprinting till I want to vomit is dauntquads, like full squats and lunges. And
ing directors: “They want structured
ing. Walking to work and doing microdon’t use strength-training machines.
shoulders, really slender arms, a narlunges is a lot less intimidating and
I’m pretty sure you’ll see a difference in seems infinitely easier to stick with.
row waist, and long, lean legs—toned
Fake It Till You Make It
We asked Katie Quinn, the body makeup artist who contours Victoria’s Secret Angels for the runway and the
founder of Kona Tanning Company, how to create the illusion of carved gams with a bottle of self-tanner
1
Apply a base of tanner
and let it soak in. Lift
one knee in the air
and turn the leg out
to the side so you
can see the line where the
fat hangs off the muscles.
Apply self-tanner along
that line, using your fingers
to blend it downwards,
over the fatty part.
2
For the outside of
the leg, squat slightly
and twist your leg inward. That will bring
out the natural definition on the outside of the
thigh. Fill in that line, too,
right down to the knee.
3
To do the calf, start
where it connects to
the heel. Make the
base of the muscle
slightly darker. (This
helps hide cankles, too.)
Then blend the tanner up
the sides of the natural calf
muscle, leaving the centre
of the calf light.
87
4
Finish by using a
shimmery highlighter
on the surfaces
you want to appear
rounder—the shins,
the backs of the calves
and the quads. Quinn likes
Benefit’s Bathina “Take a
Picture … It Lasts Longer,”
but you can use any highlighter stick.
H E A LT H
A perfect
snack for
every craving.
Primp My Pins
The latest makeup for legs (yeah, it’s a thing)
AVON’s Skin
So Soft Satin
Glow Illuminating
Moisturizer, $10,
rubs in sheer and
leaves behind
faint iridescence
for Beyoncé-level
dewiness. Silica blurs
tiny lines and divots.
At home, with a mat, a resistance
band and an episode of Broad City on
in the background, I lay out the workout sheets Son emailed me: 10 moves
using my own body weight for resistance and six with a band. Some are
recognizable, like crunches, leg lifts
and knee bends performed so many
times the muscle being worked feels
like a stove coil on max. Others are
minuscule, like the single-leg squat, in
which I stand on one leg and bend it
only to 45 degrees—half of a normal
squat. (Son tells me Daria does this
to carve out the muscle above each
knee.) After 20 reps, my knee pulses
visibly. All totalled, the workout takes
an hour and induces as much sweat
as a hatha yoga class. But when I get
out of bed the next morning, my
glutes and thighs ache all over, both
good (assuming pain equals gain)
and bad (I have no idea if I’ve successfully excluded my outer quad).
I walk to work, albeit with
normal-size strides, and remember the de-stressing effects of being
outside, instead of hunching over
my iPhone between angry subway
riders. I arrive at the office more
refreshed and have tea in lieu of
stress-devouring a muffin and coffee, and later I stop at the veggie
stand because it’s on my route home.
The only wilful dietary change I
make is giving up dairy because, as
Son points out, it’s calorie dense.
After 10 days, I do notice a difference. I can see a dent at the top of
my knees and tiny tone lines up
both sides toward my thighs, and
I’m convinced my jeans fit better due to a two-pound weight loss
that, let’s be honest, could be water
weight. But the real difference is I’m
using my legs again. And in that
magical way that exercise begets exercise, I want to keep using them.
>> Watch a step-by-step video of Key Son’s top
model–training moves at flare.com
100
CALORIES
OR LESS †
* © 2014, Trademark of Kellogg Company used under
licence by Kellogg Canada Inc. † Per serving.
FLARE.COM
PHOTOGRAPHY: TK. EDITOR: TK. FOR WHERE TO BUY, SEE STYLESOURCE.
ESTÉE LAUDER’s latest
Bronze Goddess Shimmering
Body Oil Spray, $45, creates
light-reflecting sheen and
the sheerest bronze hue to
even skin tone (it also smells
like the beach in a bottle).
Like Spanx in
2000, PRTTY
PEAUSHUN Skin
Tight Body Lotion,
$40, exploded after
Gwyneth Paltrow
endorsed it last year.
She smothers the
tinted, water-based
goo on her muscles
for an enviable
#nofilter glow.
With avocado to
moisturize, grapefruit
wax to blur stretch
marks and green tea
to smooth cellulite,
it’s a cure-all cocktail.
PHOTOGRAPHY: IVAN ENGLER (PRODUCT, EXCEPT PRTTY PEAUSHUN).
ARTDECO’s
wash-off Spray On
Leg Foundation,
$18, can be applied
evenly all over for
a fake hose effect,
or targeted to
contour muscles as
per Quinn’s advice
on page 87. Use
sparingly on hot
summer days, as it
can run with sweat.