Victoria’s Secret Model Workouts | Getting Runway-Ready

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has been happening annually since 1995.

It is known as “the Super Bowl of fashion shows”.

In fact…

These women have quite a few things in common with NFL players who play in the Superbowl.

I actually believe NFL players have it MUCH easier in the dieting department.

I’m not going to discuss diet here, but there is much less room for error in these supermodel’s diets.

How about their workouts?

I want to dig deeper into their aproaches.

Some of the younger models get away with brief workouts.

This doesn’t last long.

All of the veteran VS models put in serious work as they get older, have babies, etc.

I thought it would be fun to examine this in more detail.

…to highlight the workout routines of 5 retired and 5 current VS models.

After this, I will summarize what most of their workout routines have in common.

Alright, let’s start this off with the Michael Jordan of Lingerie.

Adriana Lima

I had to list Adriana Lima first since she was an Angel for the longest period of time. She was active for almost 20 years from 1999 – 2018.

Adriana Lima’s Workout:

• Likes to focus on one body part at a time with weight lifting.
• For cardio, she prefers jump rope and shadow boxing circuit training.
• Workout sessions last about 90 minutes.
• Trains EVERY single day without fail, for the two months leading up to a show.

According to INSIDER, she doesn’t like Crossfit.

“The model finds CrossFit, which is a full-body workout that includes cardio elements, broad and unfocused. Instead, she prefers to train one specific area of her body at a time.”

What is extremely impressive is that she had a daughter in 2009 and a daughter in 2012 and still did shows shortly after the birth of each child. She was married to NBA star Marko Jaric from 2009 – 2014.

Gisele Bundchen

Gisele Bundchen is the richest Victoria’s Secret model of all-time at $400 million. She is married to the best quarterback to ever throw a football, Tom Brady. She married him because he needed financial help, he only has a net worth of $180 million.

Gisele Bundchen’s Workout:

• Cardio 5 days per week (45-minute runs).
• Yoga 2 times per week.
• Kung Fu 3 days per week for 90 minutes.
• Mixes in water polo water aerobics which involves swimming and underwater running.

Gisele Bundchen has a funny story about how she was discovered.

She signed up for a modeling course with her two sisters, and only did so for a free trip to São Paulo. She was eating a Big Mac at McDonald’s in a shopping mall in São Paulo when she was approached. A scout for a modeling agency picked her out of 55 girls she was traveling with.

Gisele was a Victoria’s Secret model from 1999 – 2006.

Heidi Klum

I have to include Heidi Klum on this list since her nickname is “The Body”. What I like about Heidi is she got a later start as a model. She was in her mid 20’s, which is older than when most of the other Angels got their start.

Heidi Klum’s Workout:

• Leading up to the annual runway show she was training 90 minutes per day.
• Cardio is done 3 times per week (more before the main VS show).
• Weights 2 times per week.
• She never lets a day go by without some exercise, but it isn’t always in the gym.
• She has 4 kids, so much of her exercise is doing activities like bike riding, hiking, or jumping on the trampoline with them.

She was married to the singer, Seal from 2002 – 2012.

I was kind of bummed when they divorced. It was cool seeing her walk on the runway while he was singing.

Heidi Klum was the first German VS model and was active from 1997 – 2009.

Alessandra Ambrosio

Alessandra Ambrosio doesn’t have quite the name recognition as someone like Gisele or Heidi Klum, but a very recognizable face. She was the first spokesmodel for the Pink line.

Alessandra Ambrosio’s Workout:

• “Triangle training method” which is a mix of cardio, Brazilian dance, and lower body sculpting moves.
• 60-90 minutes in the gym each day leading up to the annual show.
• Cardio every day, but sometimes that involves a hike with friends or playing volleyball on the beach.
• Began exercising more after the birth of her children.

Fun fact:

Casino Royale is my favorite James Bond film. Alessandra is in a scene (Casino Royale Bahamas Scene) where she plays Tennis Girl #1, she turns and checks out Daniel Craig in a flirty way as he gets out of his car.

Alessandra Ambrosio has never been married but her current boyfriend is Nicolo Oddi. Nicolo is the CEO of the Milan fashion brand, Alanui.

Doutzen Kroes

Doutzen Kroes is another less well-known name, but a recognizable face. She’s a Dutch supermodel who was a Victoria’s Secret Angel from 2008 -2014.

Doutzen Kroes’s Workout:

• During her stint as an Angel, she lifted heavy weights in the gym.
• The weight lifting would be followed with some type of cardio; spin, boxing, jumping rope, or dance workout.
• When she’s at home in Amsterdam she gets all the cardio she needs from biking around the city.

She has been described as a “bombshell”.

Although she is tall, almost 5’11”, she doesn’t look super tall on the runway. She has more traditional bikini model proportions. I mean that as a compliment. I think most women would love a body like this.

She has been married to Dutch DJ Sunnery James since 2010. They have two children (born in 2011 and 2014).

Candice Swanepoel

Candice Swanepoel is the Victoria Secret Angel I see in the most TV commercials. She’s been one of their top supermodels since 2007 and probably has the most intense workouts out of any of the models I listed on this page.

Candice Swanepoel’s Workout:

• She trains for 75 minutes two times per day leading up to the big fashion show.
• Plenty of beach jogging pre-show, “without over-doing it”, as well as boxing cardio workouts.
• She likes to do pilates and weight lifting at night.
• Yoga about 2 times per week when she is feeling overwhelmed or stressed.

She thinks doing the VS runway show is terrifying.

The runway, I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I get more nervous every year!

Candice Swanepoel was born in South Africa where she studied ballet at a girl’s boarding school. She was spotted by a model scout at the age of 15 when she was walking around a flea market in Durban, South Africa.

Behati Prinsloo

This is the best video on this page. It starts with Taylor Swift singing the song “Trouble” and Behati Prinsloo walks in at the perfect time. Her proud husband, Adam Levine, is sitting in the audience blowing her kisses.

Another thing I like is how star-struck Taylor Swift is in the beginning. Just a fun video!

Behati Prinsloo’s Workout:

• She claims the pre-show training is rigorous.
• Before a show, it is traditional weight lifting and cardio in the gym.
• The rest of the year she likes resistance band workouts and dance cardio called “Body by Simone”.
• Most of the year she will workout 3-4 times per week, but increases to daily workouts before the big show.

How she met Adam Levine?

The same way Paulina Porizkova and Ric Ocasek (main singer of The Cars) met. He was looking for a pretty girl for a music video. It was love at first sight.

They broke up for 2 months and realized it was a huge mistake. They got back together and have been an awesome couple ever since.

Sara Sampaio

Sara is a Portuguese supermodel who has been a Victoria’s Secret model since 2013. I guess she walked at the show in 2013 and 2014 but wasn’t announced as an official Angel until 2015.

Sara Sampaio’s Workout:

• She has a pretty extensive 3-part workout she follows daily leading up the annual show.
• She begins the workout with floor work like planks, lunges, etc.
• Next, she goes to a pilates class for strengthening.
• She finishes with a long treadmill cardio session.

I believe she is one of the shortest Victoria’s Secret Angels ever. She’s 5’7″ and the majority of the models are closer to 5’11”.

Romee Strijd

Romee Strijd is a Dutch supermodel who has been a VS model since 2014. I wasn’t familiar with her name but noticed a bunch of youtube videos of young women trying the Romee Strijd ab and butt workout routine. Here’s what I have found.

Romee Strijd’s Workout:

• Before the main VS Runway show, she trains daily.
• Dumbell workouts followed by HIIT then running for 30 minutes.
• On the road, she runs for 30 minutes, jump rope for 15 minutes and works abs for 15 minutes.
• Her ab routine is a circuit training plank workout where she alternates between planks, flutter kicks, jack knives, and Spidermans.

Although she is young, she still believes in hitting cardio hard to stay lean. Running keeps the fat at bay and the weight training makes sure the weight loss comes from fat and not lean muscle.

Taylor Hill

Taylor Hill is one of the youngest Victoria’s Secret models, so most likely has a much easier time staying lean than some of the models who are in their 30’s and who have had kids, etc.

Taylor Hill’s Workout:

• She trains somewhat hard, but not as intensely as the older Angels who must do so out of necessity.
• Does a lot of pilates and floor work.
• Read in an article that she “refuses to conform to the restrictive diet required of models”.
• She is young and will most likely have to train more frequently and diet harder as she gets older.

She has been with VS since 2014. She was born outside of Chicago and was a gymnast before becoming a model.

What can we learn from the workouts of these supermodels?

I’ve trained fashion models on and off for 10+ years.

All fashion models should do their best to stay within about 10 pounds of their “Runway Fighting Weight”.

Make no mistake about it, it IS a fight!

Here are some patterns I’ve noticed…

Women in their early 20’s tend to stay lean with diet alone and that diet doesn’t even really need to be dialed in.

They still need to do some type of resistance training.

But…

This can be yoga, pilates, floor circuits, etc.

I’m not talking about getting ripped.

They need resistance training to maintain muscle to keep those sexy feminine curves.

Speaking of curves, here’s an article on increasing the size of your glutes without getting bulky thighs:

5 Exercises That Grow Your Glutes NOT Your Legs

I also believe cardio is a woman’s best friend for getting this slim feminine look.

ALL of the older Victoria’s Secret Model’s focus on cardio.

As a woman ages, cardio can help her stay lean even with declining hormone levels.

Here’s an article I wrote about the ideal cardio intensity:

Steady State Cardio vs Interval Training | For Max Fat Loss

One last thing.

The Victoria’s Secret workouts are intense and the women only look this way for the yearly show.

They look like that for a day or two max. Don’t be under the mistaken impression that this is a normal thing.

Just use some of the principles to get in better shape for events, etc.

If this article gets a good amount of views I’ll cover runway model dieting strategies in detail in a future article.

Cheers,

-Rusty Moore

As a former fitness coach to fashion models, I can teach you how to increase muscle definition without adding size.

Click Here to check out my premium courses.