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So, what is the average person to do when trying to squeeze into a Megan Fox-sized bikini? Let's look at some trendy celebrity workouts and some alternatives that might save your bank account from ruin.

1. Piloxing™

   Yes, it's the fusion of boxing and Pilates. As I wrote this, Joseph Pilates and Rocky Marciano both rolled over in their graves. The experience could be likened to Tae Bo® light and beginning ballet. It is a cardio-based workout, in a dance studio-type setting, where one alternates between punching the air and moving one's feet like a dancer. Classes can be strenuous, and most people will break a sweat, but the price tag is around $18 for every 60-minute class. Being that it's recommended that you do it three times a week, Piloxing can be a very expensive, and possibly ineffective, workout.

   Alternative choice: If you're looking for an aggressive martial arts workout, do a little of P90X®'s Kenpo X, followed up by P90X's Yoga X.

2. Tracy Anderson Method

   Tracy Anderson's various exercise systems have developed a cult-like following; by training celebrities like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, she became a celebrity herself. Her training includes Pilates-type reformer work, ballet barre work, mat classes, cardio dance workouts, and a rather interesting Thera-band® workout that involves lots of giant rubber bands that are attached to the ceiling. They suggest that clients work out for at least 2 hours a day, 6 days a week, and monthly memberships are required for many of the classes, at $575 a month. Should you opt for individual classes, mat and dance classes are $25 apiece, band classes are $40, and private training is $150. Should you have this kind of excess income, and an extra 2 hours a day, I'm fairly certain that your body would initially respond to the training. Because resistance is kept at a minimum (Tracy Anderson: "No woman should lift more than 3-pound dumbbells."), your body could eventually plateau.

   Alternative choice: Chalene Johnson (Turbo Jam®, ChaLEAN Extreme®) creates high-energy, dance-based workouts that'll keep you sweatin' for months—and you can buy her entire DVD collection for less than the cost of two weeks with Anderson.

3. Boot Camp

   Boot camp classes, camps, and retreats have been around for a long time, but still have a huge following in the Hollywood elite. They include calisthenics, plyometrics, push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and usually a lot of squats, lunges, and running. Classes range in size, length, and the number of weeks they would like you to commit to attending. The least expensive I could find in the Los Angeles area was $300 for one month. An "average" priced option was $720 for one month, with personal boot camps going into the thousands of dollars.

   Alternative choice: You want a boot camp? We got your boot camp right here, Shaun T-style. It's called INSANITY™.

4. SPX Fitness, RockIt Body™ Pilates

   SPX is a workout created by fitness guru Sebastien Lagree—performed on a machine called the Proformer—which combines Pilates, cardio, and strength training. Exercises are very similar to traditional Pilates exercises, but are performed to failure, which means the muscle group you are utilizing will cease to work. Classes are 50 minutes in length, and up to 12 participants are engaged with one instructor. A single class will cost you $39, while a month of unlimited classes begins at $249. Should you require a private session, an hour with an instructor will cost you $89.

   Alternative choice: P90X provides effective core, cardiovascular, and strength training—all without a fancy machine.

5. Mixed Martial Arts/Kickboxing

   Martial arts-based workouts have been around forever, with new crazes appearing every few years. Kickboxing, Tae Bo®, Muay Thai, and now Mixed Martial Arts classes continue to provide high-intensity workouts to the Hollywood elite. These classes tend to come in the form of a monthly gym membership, where for $150 to $200, you can kick, punch, and wrestle to your heart's content. If you are looking for individual attention, which most celebrities require, private coaching can cost you the same amount, per session.

   Alternative choice: See Piloxing.

6. Private Training

   Private training can be an incredibly effective tool for the beginner and the unmotivated. The goal of the trainer should be to educate the client, so that fitness becomes part of that person's everyday life. Celebrities are known to use trainers to prepare for upcoming roles, the red carpet, and their third marriages. For the average person, training can run anywhere from $50 to $150 a session. Prices are so inflated for the rich and famous that it makes the rest of us actually happy to be normal people. Paying $350 to $500 a session for on-location training is not uncommon, which can be overwhelmingly expensive if someone trains several days a week.

   Alternative choice: You're already motivated. You're a Beachbody® member with a plethora of resources at your fingertips. You may already have your Team Beachbody® Coach who believes in you, not to mention an arsenal of programs, gear, supplements, and online support. Take advantage of all that Beachbody has to offer, and go for it.

Acting is a job. Yes, it's one that comes with a lot of money and fame, but nonetheless, it's just like going to the office every day. Part of the job is maintaining a certain appearance, which for most people will require a lot of work. For many actors, 3 to 5 hours a day of monitored exercise and a nutritionist-controlled diet is often the norm. For those of us not walking the red carpet regularly, just squeezing in 45 to 60 minutes a day is often a stretch. Additionally, most of us don't have thousands of extra dollars lying around to waste every month.

That said, you do have all of the components for success right at your fingertips. P90X, INSANITY, and ChaLEAN Extreme can create faster, more sustainable results than even the most prestigious of Hollywood workouts. So Keep Pushing Play and, before you know it, those red carpet-walking stars will be envious of you.

Related Articles
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Got something to say? Chat with the writers and other readers on Monday, November 9th, at 8:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM PT, in the Team Beachbody Chatroom!

If you'd like to ask a question or comment on this newsletter article, just email us at mailbag@TeamBeachbody.com.

For example, even if you know that you can overtrain your abs, you probably aren't sure why or what leads to it. That's because discussing phasic muscles or angles of exercise doesn't make sexy copy. It's easier to show models crunching their ab muscles into oblivion because the concept is simple. But that's about as effective as training for the NBA by just slam-dunking a ball over and over. It's simply one aspect of a complex issue.

But don't let the complexity scare you. We handle that by creating programs so all you have to do is follow along. The goal of today's discussion is simply to enlighten you on the science behind RevAbs. Besides, as Hoebel tells us, "The most important thing to consider on achieving a six-pack (or even flat abs with lines down the side) is what you're willing to do for it."

"People think they can drink their way to a six-pack, or eat all the bread and pasta they want because they're training twice a week by running and doing crunches and using some nonsense ab machine or ab stimulator. They're just fooling themselves, and frankly, they know it."

Science aside, it still all comes down to one thing: desire. "You have to be realistic," says Hoebel. "Those 5-minute ab blast programs you see on TV, and all of those gimmicky machines, don't address the science; they are a cop-out. You have to be willing to change your diet and to train 4 to 5 times a week consistently. You have to do ab training, but you also need to do full-body strength training and cardio, because doing only one or two of them is not enough. Simply put, it all comes down to how bad you want it and what are you willing to endure."

That said, knowing the science behind the six-pack will help guide your training. This is where Hoebel excels. He's trained and studied with some of the biggest names in the business, such as Paul Chek and Charles Poliquin, and has years of trial-and-error experience in developing his reVamp® training method, which is the foundation for RevAbs. This unique background gives him insight you won't find with most trainers. For example, you'll rarely hear an explanation like this for achieving a six-pack:

"You have four abdominal muscles, but the rectus abdominis is divided into the six parts that most people think of as the "six-pack," he begins. "So building this muscle and its six divisions is key. But the other side of the coin is that you've got to burn the fat off the stomach. The best way to do that is to burn more calories by driving the heart rate up. And the key to this is your leg muscles, specifically the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. They are the biggest muscles in the body and can produce the most force and, hence, burn the most calories overall."

So training your legs is pivotal in seeking your six-pack. This is not exactly late-night TV copy, as those muscles aren't seeing a lot of use while reclining on the Ab Lounge®. Most ab programs we see advertised show a lot of midsection movements, mainly crunches. This led to my next line of questioning: Mainly, can you work your abs wrong and is more always better, as those shows would have us believe?

"You can work your abs wrong," he states. "And you can work them too much. In fact, overtraining them is the number one problem there is. People do too much of the same ab exercise/ab angle too often, and they also don't give their abs a chance to rest. They end up overtraining their abs, which usually results in their hip flexors and other muscles doing the majority of the work instead of their abs."

"The abs are like any other muscle group in that they need to rest," he states emphatically. "You can train your abs several days in a row, but you need to make sure and mix up the angles of training on the different days. If your abs are too tired from training, you’re in jeopardy of injuring yourself. They are major muscles in your core region and are involved in stabilizing many parts of the body during other movements. Oftentimes, injuries that happen during other exercises are a direct result of overtrained abs."

Then we get into the crunch mentality, where Hoebel blows the lid off what many of us are taught about ab movements. Traditionally, since most of your ab muscles have a higher percentage of red (or slow twitch) muscle fiber than other muscle groups, the common sentiment is that they are best trained with high volume and low intensity.

"More reps and sets are not always better," he says. "In fact, the rectus abdominis is considered a phasic muscle that should be fatigued in less than 60 seconds. It is strengthened mainly by heavy loads with longer rest periods. Doing hundreds of sit-ups with little to no rest for 10, 15, or 20 minutes would be opposite to this. You should stick to doing exercises that are hard enough, and loaded heavy enough, to fatigue your abs in 60 seconds or less for three to five sets. If you were to do, say, 12 reps for five sets it would be 60 reps total, not hundreds (like some of those programs advertise)."

This leads straight into the next common question about ab work: Should it be done daily?

"No," he states flatly! "The abs are like any other muscle and need to rest. As I said, you can effectively train them several days in a row, but only if you make sure and target different ab angles on the different days. If you are even able to train your abs every day it means that you are not training them hard enough, heavy enough, or correctly on the other days."

Finally, Hoebel sums up by simplifying the scientific process. "If you really want it, and if you’re willing to do the work and pay attention to what actually works, the rest will fall into place."

Related Articles
"Introducing RevAbs™!"
"Demystifying RevAbs™!"
"Shop Your Way to a Six-Pack"

Got something to say? Chat with the writers and other readers on Monday, November 9th, at 8:00 PM ET, 5:00 PM PT, in the Team Beachbody Chatroom!

If you'd like to ask a question or comment on this newsletter article, just email us at mailbag@TeamBeachbody.com.

Check out our Fitness Advisor's responses to your comments in Steve Edwards' Mailbag on the Message Boards. If you'd like to receive Steve Edwards' Mailbag by email, click here to subscribe to Steve's Health and Fitness Newsletter. And if you'd like to know more about Steve's views on fitness, nutrition, and outdoor sports, read his blog, The Straight Dope.

1. False: An avocado has half as much potassium as a banana. Avocados contain 60 percent more potassium than America's go-to source. So the next time a charley horse wakes you up in the middle of the night, remember: Go for the guac!
2. True: Avocados are a healthful addition to baked goods. Mashed avocado can be used to replace up to half of the fat in muffins, quick breads, and some cookies and brownies. This increases their nutritional value by adding nearly 20 vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Do keep in mind that light-colored baked goods may turn pale green (whether that's a bug or a feature is your call).
3. False: Avocados are high in saturated fat. Avocados are high in fat, with 22 grams in a 1-cup serving. But 19 grams of that comprises the kinds of fat you need in your diet. Don't go too crazy, though; you can meet your daily requirement for the nutrients in fat easily, so scratch those plans for an all-avocado diet. (Or was that just me making those plans?)
4. True: Avocados are a good source of fiber. That same 1-cup serving will cover 40 percent of your daily fiber needs.
5. True: Eating avocado with spinach actually makes spinach healthier. Avocado increases the body's ability to absorb fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha- and beta-carotene and lutein. So it's not only delicious and nutrient-dense; it's magic!

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