Victoria’s Secret model trainer shocked by London’s obsession with high-intensity workout

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Justin Gelband, a New York-based celebrity personal trainer and co-founder of cult gym modelFIT, is best known for training Victoria’s Secret models including Miranda Kerr, Candice Swanepoel, Irina Shaik, Karlie Kloss and Martha Hunt.

He recently crossed the Atlantic to take up a summer residency at BXR London, a luxury boxing gym in Marylebone.

But during his visit to the English capital, he was not convinced by a trendy exercise that is taking over the city’s fitness scene: HIIT.

HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training. This technique, which combines cardio and resistance training, relies on quick, intense bursts of energy. Each HIIT session is therefore challenging but shorter than traditional workouts. One 7-minute workout routine, for example, that went viral, is based on HIIT.

Gelband, back on his turf, told Business Insider that “killing your body is not the right way to train.”

“London is behind the times and really needs to wake up,” he said. “People who sit at a desk all day have different bodies. They haven’t been taught how to handle cross-fit classes with burpees, deep lunges, kettlebells, etc. It’s very scary.”

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No miracle solution

Exercise is a personal thing that needs to be tailored to the individual and their lifestyle, Gelband believes.

The 44-year-old began his career helping women who were between 40 and 60 kilos overweight to lose their excess weight in a “sustainable” way. It takes between a year and a year and a half, he says.

“There is no miracle solution. You have to change your lifestyle.”

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“When you come to my gym, I spend an hour and a half analyzing you based on your posture, your form, your coordination, your past injuries, your lifestyle, your genetics. I make you take your shoes off to see how you walk, how you learn something. The analysis is very in-depth.”

“You shouldn’t go into a class where someone is reading a document, it doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I’d rather have 13 people in a class of 15 get angry because I didn’t insist enough than have two people get hurt.”

Gelband has been perfecting his training methods for 19 years. His famous training program focuses on small muscle groups, rather than overemphasizing large ones. The movements are smaller and based on real-world movements, he explains.

“In real life, you don’t just move back and forth. Think about the rotation of your spine, your pelvis, your shoulder, if for example you lean back to pass a pen to someone sitting at the next desk.”

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Exercise should not be associated with pain

He said one of the problems is that people associate exercise with pain – but they shouldn’t.

“I never thought it was a good thing to not be able to walk or move after a class. Maybe it is if you just finished a triathlon or a competition, but not after a class. You should go out and have fun afterward,” he said.

“I mean, why do women do push-ups and burpees — unless they’re rock climbing or barbell lifting or playing a sport — why?” He added, “Oh, and a walking lunge, why, when you can do a static lunge and teach them how to do it properly?”

According to Gelband, high-impact training in HIIT classes can lead to long-term problems. “By the time you’re 35 or 40, you’re going to be really sore,” and that, he says, can lead to misuse of painkillers, which can spiral out of control.

However, if you go to a class with Gelband, don’t be fooled into thinking that you will have an easy life.

“Some people just want to move their body, but you have to be willing to work with me. I always tell people that if it’s too easy, increase the resistance, do the exercise longer or shorten the movement, and really feel the exercise properly. You have to teach people how to do it, not force them.”

Admittedly, it is difficult to dispute his results.

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For those just starting their fitness program, he recommends full-on cardio.

“Swimming, walking, cycling, these are activities that are easy for the body to understand. Then you can do Pilates or yoga. The more you stretch, the better you feel, the better.”

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