Body By Simone: The 8-Week Total Body Makeover Plan

256 Pages·2014·0.3 MB·English

by  Simone De La Rue

Dedication
For my mum.
And all those who
dare to dream.
Contents
Dedication

Foreword by Grace Hightower De Niro
A Letter from Simone
Setting the Stage
Chapter 1: The BBS Playbill
Chapter 2: A Reflection of You
Chapter 3: Warming Up
Chapter 4: Waiting in the Wings
Learning the Choreography
Chapter 5: Onstage
Chapter 6: The 8-Week Plan
Chapter 7: The Building of a Body
Chapter 8: Working Up a Sweat
Chapter 9: Stretching Your Limits
Fuel Your Fire
Chapter 10: Eat to Win
Chapter 11: The Guidelines
Chapter 12: My Cleanse
Chapter 13: Food for Thought
Chapter 14: The Recipes
The Performance
Chapter 15: Blocking the Steps
Chapter 16: Becoming the Dance
Chapter 17: Performance of a Lifetime
Chapter 18: Finale
Conclusion: Take a Bow

Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
Foreword
by Grace Hightower De Niro

When I came to Simone three years ago, I was heavier than I had ever been in my life.
Like so many women, I kept putting everything and everyone else in front of me. I was
busy to a fault, taking care of my husband and kids, and was preoccupied with
everyone’s needs except my own. I kept saying, “I will exercise tomorrow, I’ll get more
sleep tomorrow, I’ll eat better tomorrow.” And before I knew it I didn’t recognize
myself. Now, I am a curvaceous woman, and I know I can never be a Skinny Minnie,
but I wanted to put everything neatly in the right places for my body and my frame. I
wanted to lose weight and tone up; and, moreover, I wanted to feel better.
I had been doing regular gym workouts, but there was no motivation or incentive or
encouragement—the trainers just stood there, counting off repetitions, and I was really
tired of machines. I believe your body is a machine, and that is what you should be
moving and working, not some metal pulleys and handles. And I have always loved
dancing, so when a friend suggested Simone and her dance-based program, of course I
was excited. This could be the workout I was looking for!
And it was. Simmy’s personality was so amazingly upbeat and kind, and I
immediately connected with her. She literally did the workout alongside me,
encouraging me and motivating me. She was so full of energy that it was contagious,
and after I powered through the first session I was hungry for more.
But regardless of Simone’s bubbly attitude, for a long while I did not want to look at
myself in the mirror; I realized that I had not been loyal and true to myself for some
time. I had always been an athlete and had kept my weight within a certain range, but I
had gone way past my comfort zone. I avoided my reflection and was disappointed in
myself that I had allowed this to happen.
But Simmy was so patient and so encouraging, I really started to enjoy the workouts.
I gradually looked in the mirror more and more and found that I liked to watch how I
was moving. I began to feel the love I was giving to myself, and the more I felt the love,
the more I could look at myself in the mirror. Soon enough I saw myself transforming.
Of course there was the physical transformation: I lost weight, and my arms, legs, waist,
and shoulders got very toned. My posture improved tremendously and I was able to
wear the fabulous clothes I loved and had so much enjoyed wearing before. But beyond
the physical, there was also a significant mental transformation for me as well. I
reconnected with myself, and began to appreciate my body for what it could do and
how it was shaped. I loved to watch it move and groove and took pride in my curves
and tone.
These days I cannot go more than a day without doing a Body By Simone workout.
No, seriously, I can’t! It is my drug and my sanity. This program is freeing and
rejuvenating and simply fabulous.
And now this transformative program is available to everyone, right here in these
pages. This book is for you—mom, wife, girlfriend, and businesswoman. BBS is
something you can do for yourself that will make you look and feel better. Eventually,
like me, you will get to the point where you are empowered; you will be loving, loyal,
and true to yourself, because you are incredible, and that is all that matters. Simone and
her program can help get you there. You just have to open the book and go for it.
Best,
Grace
A Letter from Simone
LERMONTOV: Why do you want to dance?
VICKY: Why do you want to live?
LERMONTOV: Well, I don’t know exactly why, but . . . I must.
VICKY: That’s my answer too.
—FROM THE RED SHOES
I began dancing when I was three. I don’t know why I was compelled to do so—
perhaps I saw a tutu or some blush-pink ballet shoes in a shop and decided that I needed
to wear them; perhaps it was something deeper. Who knows the mind of a child?
Thankfully, my mother indulged me, and I began taking classes immediately after I
voiced my desire.
Dance became my life. I lived it, breathed it, and was totally immersed in it to the
point that I was dance. I remember so vividly how it made me feel—joyful and free and
intensely alive. Every day after school when other kids would have playdates or parties,
I was at ballet. Or tap. Or jazz. When I got my first pair of pointe shoes at age thirteen, I
was so excited that I tucked them into bed with me and slept with them! I still
remember the feel of that bright pink satin, so smooth and shiny and perfect. Sewing on
the ribbons was a religious act, and putting the shoes on my feet transported me to
heaven.
While many kids grow out of activities, my dedication to dance only grew stronger
as I aged. My high school friends longed for Johnny Depp, but my locker was plastered
with photographs of Mikhail Baryshnikov. (Years later, when I finally got to meet him, I
was too awed to even speak. I am rarely starstruck, but he left me at a loss for words!)
At age eighteen I auditioned for the Australian company of Cats on a whim and
landed the part of the White Cat. From that point on, I became a musical-theater girl,
and spent years touring with various shows in Germany, Asia, London’s West End, and
Australia. I finally wound up in New York, dancing on Broadway. I spent countless
hours learning, rehearsing, performing, and then doing it all again the next day. I was in
heaven. I was doing what I loved and loving what I did.
While I watched many of my friends and colleagues become sidelined by injuries
over the years, I stayed consistently healthy despite the grueling schedule. It was not
luck, and I wasn’t shrouded in some sort of injury-repellent force field. Rather it was
my pre- and post-performance routines and rituals that kept injury at bay. Early in my
career I began practicing Pilates and yoga and studied human anatomy. I created my
own unique movements and exercises based on what I’d learned, and I did them
without fail before and after my rehearsals and shows. This routine kept me injury free,
flexing and strengthening my muscles and joints in healing ways, while simultaneously
developing a core of steel. As a happy side effect, this routine also gave me a very fit
physique: I was lean, strong, and in peak cardio condition.
Once I retired from performing, I began a career in personal training and used the
routines I had devised while I was a performer to help my clients achieve results. I
found that my method, which uses mostly body weight and a little resistance in the form
of bands and small weights, worked as fantastically for them as it had for me. They
soon developed lean, lithe, toned bodies.
In addition to their physical transformations, I also noticed that many of my clients
began standing up straighter, looking themselves in the eye in the mirror and connecting
to themselves in the present moment. This was something I had not been expecting, but
time and again, I saw women switch from averting their eyes from their reflection to
engaging with themselves and watching their bodies closely, carefully, and thoughtfully
as they moved and danced. These women were learning to love themselves and their
bodies while they were getting in shape, which sent me over the moon with happiness. I
absolutely love that what started for me as an injury-prevention plan has since turned
into the ultimate girl-power program, something that women can use to transform their
bodies and their attitudes all at once.
Today, I no longer have the desire to step onstage or hear the thunderous roar of an
audience that was my lifeblood for so long. Instead, I live to see that joy and self-
recognition in a class full of women doing a dance cardio workout, or the pride and
confidence that radiates from a client as she reaches her fitness goals. These things
inspire me more than performing ever could, and I hope that I can now reach you, my
reader, in this way, too.
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it for you,
and that you use it to learn and grow physically and mentally to become the best
possible you. Share it with friends and loved ones and become wonderful role models
for your children. Make exercise and healthy eating part of your life and teach those
around you what you’ve learned. Most of all, I hope this book can help you reconnect
with the joy we all experience as children when we move freely and unabashedly,
letting the music move our hearts and souls. Dance with abandon, and the world will
dance with you.
XOXO
Simone