“When you walk down that runway, you’ve got a bra and panties on. I want nothing moving that shouldn’t be moving. That means thighs, butt, arms, belly. Millions of eyes are going to be watching that,” David Kirsch told last year’s Victoria’s Secret Model Search finalists. Kirsch, who has trained Angels like Heidi Klum and actresses like Anne Hathaway, was responsible for getting last year’s hopefuls into non-jiggly runway shape. Private sessions with Kirsch and the trainers at his gym, the Madison Square Club, can run up to $150 an hour. But starting after Thanksgiving (yes, the timing was on purpose), regular folk can take classes in his gym for $30. The 45-minute session, ten-person max classes include many of the moves Kirsch created for last year’s aspiring VS runway models. For example: “Core Blast is a boot camp but with a David Kirsch flavor, very hottie specialized,” Kirsch told us. “We’re the master of the ass, so we got a lot of ass work in there.”
There is also a martial-arts-inspired “Kick Butt” class, run by a jiujitsu expert. “Shape Shifter” came about because “everyone has an area that they want higher, lower, tighter.” “Circuit Blast” is taught using gym equipment, and “Band Camp” uses resistant tubing and bands to build long lean muscles. None of the classes use dumbbells heavier than three to five pounds. “I think that what we always try to achieve is a long, lean, toned body,” Kirsch explains. “Models don’t want to look jacked. When they’re in a bra and panties, we want to make sure nothing jiggles.”
Kirsch outlined three fitness mistakes people tend to make most often. One is not doing the right exercise for their body type. “They watch somebody, they like the way they look, they see what they’re doing, they think, Oh I like the way they look, I want to look that way, too,” Kirsch says. Take spinning: “I love spinning, and everyone loves spinning. One of my issues is I got a lot of girls coming to me, great body, but [I tell them] get off the spinning — the quads are too big. If you’re genetically predisposed to having bigger, more muscular legs, spinning is definitely going to accentuate that, for sure.” Mistake number two is poor form and technique. And finally, Kirsch emphasized the importance of eating! “It’s true of models in general — I don’t think they eat and fuel properly throughout the day,” he said. “Eating is not a bad thing, it’s not a curse. And I think to have long, sexy, lean, tight muscles you need to feed them with good quality proteins and make sure you stay hydrated. Eat healthy carbs, like lentils and quinoa and brown rice.” Kirsch recommends eating five small meals a day, which might be a salad with grilled chicken or an egg-white omelet.
As for Thanksgiving, Kirsch recommends having a protein shake before the big feast to ward off binging. “The thing you want to do is moderate,” says Kirsch, who plans to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for twenty people. “I’m going to eat my stuffing — it’s the best stuffing in the world. I don’t add sugar and butter unnecessarily. The turkey is basted with olive oil and citrus. My mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes are not done with butter or cream; it’s done with chicken stock and some canola spread. If you’re going to have a piece of pie, have it. I love pecan pie — but it won’t be with ice cream, it won’t be with whipped cream.” And if he slips, he just works out extra.
David Kirsch’s group classes begin November 30 at the Madison Square Club located at 210 5th Avenue, 5th floor (between 25th and 26th Streets). Advanced sign-up is required by calling 212-683-1836. Go here for more information.
