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SHOUT OUT TO MY EXERCISE
Get toned like Little Mix as Jade Thirlwall and Perrie Edwards’s personal trainer reveals their workout secrets
LITTLE Mix might be multi-million-selling pop stars but they have struggled with insecurities over their bodies just like the rest of us.
Now personal trainer Danielle Peazer, 32, reveals to The Sun how she has helped two of the girlband’s stars, Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall, tone up and feel more confident than ever.
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The social-media influencer has been friends with Perrie, 27, since meeting on The X Factor in 2011, when Danielle was a backing dancer and Little Mix became the first group to win the show.
Today Danielle is sharing the two-week fitness regime she created for Perrie to boost her body confidence ahead of her holiday to Ibiza.
Perrie recently told how she picks herself apart when she is photographed in her bikini and has even been reduced to tears by “post-holiday pics”.
But after her trip to Spain in August with footballer boyfriend Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Perrie thanked Danielle for putting her through her paces and helping her overcome her insecurities with a jokey nod to the film Frozen.
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She says: “For the first time, I didn’t cry, I didn’t pick myself apart and in the words of Elsa, I’m learning to ‘Let it go!’”
Danielle, who dated One Direction’s Liam Payne for two years until 2012, tells The Sun: “I’ve known Perrie for quite a few years and she texted me just over two weeks before she was about to go on holiday. Over 14 days, I saw her 12 of those days. It was intense.
“It was about how she felt in herself. She wanted to feel her best, feel her most confident.”
The former dancer, who has performed with pop stars including Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, has built up a successful fitness business, The Danielle Peazer Method, which integrates dance exercises into workouts.
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And her promise to train her clients “like a dancer” has previously helped Perrie’s bandmate Jade, too.
While she focused more on abs and lower-body exercises with Perrie, Danielle says Jade was a pro with strength and weight training.
She says: “I think it helps that Little Mix are so disciplined.
“They are so hardworking in anything they do.”
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Danielle says the secret to quick results is sticking to workouts you enjoy, combining short bursts of cardio with ab workouts, leg exercises and stretching.
She worked almost daily with Perrie in the run-up to the singer’s holiday but says the ideal amount is three workouts a week.
Each session lasts from 45 minutes to an hour and Perrie performed each exercise for around 30 to 45 seconds, with a rest, before repeating them.
Danielle jokes: “I said to Perrie at the very start, ‘You don’t have to like me over the next few weeks, you just have to do as I say!’”
Here, Danielle demonstrates a full-body workout similar to Perrie’s — and also gives her top tips for a healthy diet.
Dance cardio
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Danielle typically starts her training sessions with ten to 15 minutes of cardio.
And in Perrie’s case, they used her spacious garden to change up the routines.
Danielle says: “For me it would be a dance cardio with things like jumping jacks.
“I also do burpees and my own version of a side tap, where you extend your leg to the side and drive the knee up into your chest and repeat. Balance yourself by swinging your arms as if you are running.
“If you’ve got quite a big garden I might make you run a few laps.”
The fitness pro pushed Perrie hard at first but says the singer never refused to do any of the moves – and would exercise outside of the scheduled workouts too.
Danielle adds: “She was shocked the first day we started. I wasn’t about to pussyfoot around it – we went straight in.”
Squats
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Following the cardio, Danielle usually focuses on the leg muscles and lower body areas.
She says: “I always start with the biggest muscles, so the legs and the glutes.
“We would do squats, glute bridges on the floor, and I’m a big fan of a resistance band for certain workouts.
“That was something Perrie was fairly new to using.”
Demonstrating the glute bridge, Danielle lies on her back with her feet on the floor, knees bent and bum in the air, before slowly extending each leg out, keeping the band in place throughout.
The resistance band can also be used for the squats and Danielle says: “With each squat, you want to keep the knees over the toes and push the bum right back.”
The plank
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Perrie really came into her own with abs and core exercises and Danielle reveals the Little Mix singer was a natural when it came to the plank.
She says: “We would move on to abs, with exercises like the plank and regular sit-ups. Then there are a lot of side planks so you work the obliques.
“By the end of our training sessions Perrie was able to hold the plank for two minutes.
“There would be a couple of moans at me but she was adamant that she was going to hold it.”
In-out presses
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It is not just ab exercises that work the core and Danielle says she also incorporates a bit of boxing into her routines.
She also ensures the arms get a full workout with some press-ups – Perrie’s least favourite part.
Danielle says: “We are working on it! It’s my least favourite part too but she has a very strong core.”
When Danielle was training Jade previously, she focused more on weight training, such as lunges while holding dumbbells.
She says: “Jade is surprisingly very strong. I also remember her being really good at squats. She’s a tough one.”
The personal trainer also works on “in-out presses” with her clients, where you are positioned on all-fours and extend your straight leg upwards, before moving down into a press-up.
You should do ten to 15 on one leg, before swapping to the other leg.
These can also be combined with tricep dips.
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Stretching
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With high-intensity workouts – short bursts of intense exercise with recovery periods – Danielle says it is very important to stretch and roll out your muscles at the end, something she has paid particular attention to with Perrie.
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The pair now plan to incorporate some yoga into Perrie’s fitness routine to improve flexibility.
Danielle says: “We would always finish with some stretching, bringing the heart rate down and in doing so, relaxing the body.”
Healthy diet
Danielle believes a good relationship with food is essential, so she doesn’t tell clients to dramatically overhaul their diet.
She says: “I definitely think exercise is more important. But it’s good to have an awareness of food, of course.”
As someone who loves a quiet night on the sofa with Domino’s pizza and a wine spritzer, Danielle insists that as long as everything is in proportion, there is no reason to give up the things you love.
Just make sure your combine them with fruit and vegetables.
She says: “Perrie is a smart woman so she knows ‘more green, less beige’ as a general rule.”
The Little Mix singer has previously told how her guilty pleasures are “stodgy foods” such as “curries, pasta, mince and dumplings”.
Meanwhile, bandmate Jesy Nelson caused a stir when she shared a picture on Instagram of her “dinner” – a small portion of chicken and carrots.
But Danielle doesn’t advise cutting out carbs altogether or following a strict food plan.
Instead, she preps quick-and-easy meals the night before when she is on the go.
She says: “I’ll cook pasta and some tuna sweetcorn mayo with it, or I might make some couscous and have that with a salad.”
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