After a half-decade hiatus spurred by controversy, the Victoria’s Secret lingerie fashion show is returning to New York and the iconic, divisive, wing-clad models known as Angels will once again grace the runway.
Megan Roup, an Angel trainer and founder of The Sculpt Society whose clients include Karlie Kloss and Miranda Kerr, is on hand and wing with her five go-to moves for overall toning.
A former model and Brooklyn Nets dancer, Roup’s online fitness platform includes hour-long full-body workouts alongside five-minute quickies.
Earlier in her career, per the Daily Mail, Roup went to extremes in the name of fitness, “I felt I had to work out for hours for it to be worth anything. But the all-or-nothing mentality of, ‘If I can’t do hours a day, then I’ll do nothing at all’ causes you to be more sedentary.”
Roup shares that as she’s gotten older and developed The Sculpt Society program, she’s moved away from hard-core cardio and toward low-impact sculpting, noting that doing what you can in the time that you have can help you maximize results.
“I wanted to create a fitness experience that was accessible and fun and tailored to our different needs at different times. It seems counter-intuitive, but I work out less now than I ever did, and I’ve never felt better, both physically and mentally.”
Roup’s current mantra is “Commit to less, so you can show up more.” With that in mind, Roup shares the five moves and the five-minute workout that can drastically improve your overall fitness.
To see fitness meet fashion, livestream Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on October 15 at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video or the VS YouTube, TikTok or Instagram.
1. The side reach
To strengthen arms and open the chest and shoulders, Roup recommends the side reach.
Start by bringing elbows to the side of your body, palms up. Now, extend your arms to the side with your palms back. Roup suggests creating resistance by imagining yourself moving through water via the breaststroke.
Do 24 reps.
2. The split lunge
To strengthen the legs and the booty, nothing beats a lunge.
Begin by bringing the right leg back and curling your toes. Bend both knees, inhaling on the way down. Now, keeping the weight in the front hell, stand up, exhaling as you rise.
Repeat 12 times before moving on to the left side.
3. Cross-body plank
Start in a plank position, core engaged and booty down. Cross your knee to the opposite elbow and repeat eight times before switching sides. Roup says to continue with a ladder method, “bring it down to four times on your right side and four on your left. Bring it down again to two times on your right and two on your left. Finally, do eight singles – four on each side.”
Roup says this full-body exercise is great for building core strength.
4. The bird dog
Begin in a tabletop position, with your back flat and knees bent. Keeping your hips level, extend your right leg back while pressing your left arm straight out in front of you. Now, bend the right knee into your chest and bring your left elbow to meet it.
Repeat 12-24 times before moving on to your left leg and right arm.
The bird dog exercise strengthens the core and bottom, promotes posture and can help relieve low back pain.
5. Heel taps
Another great exercise for the core? Heel taps. Begin on your back with your knees bent in a 90-degree position over the hips. With your hands behind your head, lift your shoulders into a crunch. Tap your right foot to the floor and return it to hip height.
Repeat 12 times and then move to the left side.
