Celebrity fit club

If you want arms like Madonna, a butt like Elle Macpherson, or Billie Piper's bod for sin, London has the A-list trainer for you. Eveie Longdon lunges with the best of them

THE 'BODY' BUILDER
Who Handsome trainer James Duigan, 35, developed his Bodyism system, which promises to create 'long, lean, athletic bodies', 15 years ago. His process combines nutritional advice, which includes a range of supplements and a health drink, with exercise. Encouragingly, he promises to 'strip fat', as well as enhance health and improve posture.
Star power Elle Macpherson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
Where A quaint gym in a three-storey mews house in South Kensington where James's team of eight trainers are based. It's an open-plan hive of activity and instead of my usual feeling of intimidation going into a private gym, I felt as though I was visiting a friend at home.
The workout James has been the man behind Elle 'the Body' Macpherson for the past 15 years (he even goes on holiday with her to keep her in shape), so I knew I'd be in good, strong hands. I warmed up with Dalton Wong, who specialises in rehabilitating damaged muscles and ligaments. For me that meant an exercise that saw me on all fours, raising alternate legs to work my glutes. After what felt like 200 sit-ups, but was actually only 15, I moved to the cross-trainer for a fast five-minute blast, before some mat work. This was the start of the workout proper - I was instructed to do 20 push-ups, squeezing my buttocks as I pushed off the ground. James advised me on my breathing, inhaling as I pushed up, and exhaling as I came down. He then introduced me to what he called my 'new best friend', a rubber exercise band that can be used in numerous ways to stretch and tone. Easily portable, it would be brilliant for holidays (Elle always packs one for early-morning workouts) and comes in three different tensions, depending on the degree of resistance required. As I began something James calls 'disco lunges', which involves lunging forward while wearing the band around your thighs, he distracted me from the aching in my muscles by talking me through my goals (to tone my legs before bikini season), and then walked me through some simple exercises to do at home.
The result I left feeling invigorated and energised, much to my surprise. I think half of that was down to James making it so much fun.
Cost £200.
Elvaston Mews, SW7 (020 7581 1243; bodyism.com)

THE ROYAL KNOCKOUT
Who Nadya Fairweather, 37, is the woman who got Princess Beatrice ready for last year's London Marathon, and the results were so good that the young Royal has stuck with her ever since. Nadya set up U-Shape in 2006, with a team of four, and could well be the nicest trainer in London - I've certainly never laughed my way through a workout before. Nadya specialises in boxing training, stability ball work and nutrition counselling; a mother of two, she is also brilliant on pre- and postnatal fitness. She believes that exercise is for anyone, however fit or unfit, and says men like to work out with her because she's less intimidating than a 'big, burly' male trainer.
Star power Princess Beatrice.
Where There's no gym involved - training is done in the open air, usually in a park, or at a client's home, with the trainer bringing all equipment to you. Nadya is based in Battersea but she and her team of trainers visit clients across London.
The workout I met Nadya in Battersea Park after work. Being in the open air kept the session feeling relaxed and provided a welcome breeze. We warmed up with skipping and step-ups on a park bench. Nadya then got me doing 'dynamic stretching' to work my hamstrings, chest and back, before several boxing circuits, combining hitting with jogging and jumping. In spite of my feeble punches, she encouraged me constantly. Then it was straight into squats and lunges before a thorough upper body and core workout using resistance bands. I then found myself in a 'plank' position, further working my weak core muscles, before a set of crunches. Finally we worked on my posture with more resistance band exercises, followed by balancing on an air disk. Then Nadya helped me cool down, stretching out my tired muscles as I lay on the ground, gazing at the sky.
The result It was a strangely enjoyable hour and though I skipped merrily home, when I could barely walk two days later I knew it had really worked.
Cost £65 per hour; minimum booking five sessions.
(07909 841 313; u-shape.co.uk)

HELL BOY
Who Jonathan Goodair, 44, is tough, but as Madonna's trainer he needs to be. His philosophy is '200 minutes of hell', that with 200 minutes of cardio a week anything can be achieved. He specialises in toning and muscle building.
Star power Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alison Goldfrapp.
Where The basement of West End members' club Home House. There's a cardio room full of top-of-the-range running machines and cross-trainers; a studio equipped with Jonathan's specially devised system of resistance bands; a weights room; steam rooms and a sauna. Entry to the changing rooms is via a hi-tech James Bond-style fingerprint scanner.
The workout Jonathan started by demonstrating the way in which his band system can be used to stretch and tone every muscle. These are the very bands that gave Madonna her terrifyingly well-toned arms (she's since had a set installed in her Hard Candy gym in Mexico City). They can work on multiple areas at once or concentrate on a problematic region, mine being my inner thighs. It looked easy, but after only a few stretches I was short of breath and could feel my glutes working away. We then moved on to the Garuda machine, which has inbuilt springs to create resistance. I performed a series of squats and lunges, which proved considerably harder than usual. After only a few minutes my arms, abs and legs started to ache. With a few words of encouragement (I bet Madonna doesn't need those) I finally managed an impressive 20. We finished with a quick cardio session that saw me skipping and doing squats on a running machine moving at 5kph. At last I thought I was free to stagger to the steam room, but before I could escape, Jonathan suggested changes to my diet including taking a supplement called L-glutamine to kill my dreaded 4pm sugar craving.
The result Being my most neglected area, my arms got the shock of their puny lives the next morning, but the nutritional advice was useful and I have since monitored my snack intake.
Cost £75 per hour.
Home House, Portman Square, W1 (07957 160 093; jonathangoodair.com

MINISTER FOR SIT-UPS
Who Matt Roberts, 37, set up his business 16 years ago and has fast become a favourite with London celebrities, thanks to his promise of fast weight-loss. He runs incentive schemes for clients, including a recent Fat Bankers challenge where the winner, from RBS, shed more than 18kg in two months. Matt likes to train his clients outdoors, running, stretching and doing squats in the park. His philosophy is to tone gradually through controlled diet plans and workouts.
Star power Samantha and David Cameron, Naomi Campbell, Tom Ford.
Where Four branches, in Mayfair, Hampstead, Chelsea and the City. I worked out at the Chelsea branch on Brompton Road, which resembles an underground bunker - all metal, mirrors and masculine grey tones. It's so cool that I found it hard not to strut as I made my way to the spin bikes.
The workout I did my workout with Rob Aitken, one of Matt's senior trainers, who started by running through my lifestyle, diet and usual exercise routine before taking my measurements and BMI. The results stated I would benefit from gaining more muscle in my upper body so we set to work on a few simple exercises I could do at home, including plank push-ups. I was exhausted after 15, so Rob gave me a foam roller to use on my legs - you lie on top of it and roll it into your leg using as much pressure as is bearable to help break down the lactic acid that builds up in the muscles, causing aches and tension. Used before and after a workout, Rob promised me that it is more effective than stretching (although it was painful, I did feel less stiff than usual the following day). We finished with some mat work using a gym ball as a resistance tool to help build core strength. Pushing it away from me on my knees without letting my upper body touch the floor was quite a challenge. I also did upper body strength exercises, hauling myself off the ground using straps attached to the ceiling.
The result I was really pushed in the session and Rob gave me lots of encouragement to keep going, but I felt the effects the next day.
Cost A course of 25 sessions (with up to one year to use them) with a senior trainer costs £1,865 (sessions last 60 to 90 minutes).
(mattroberts.co.uk)

THE PRO'S PRO
Who Mark Anthony has 14 years' experience. He's the man responsible for Billie Piper's rock-hard Secret Diary of a Call Girl body: she lost a stone in two weeks.
Star power Claudia Schiffer, Billie Piper.
Where Mark only recently opened the doors to his Notting Hill flagship (until now he has visited his clients at home) but it already feels established. At 9am on a Monday the gym was buzzing with ladies on the treadmills, cross-trainers and Power Plates, each with her own personal trainer (there are 30 in total).
The workout First up was a five-minute run on the treadmill at 9kph to assess my fitness. Next I managed five minutes on the wave machine to strengthen my core muscles. The machine creates the motion of being on water but you ride it in a squatted skiing position; I could feel every muscle in my legs working and after about two minutes I would have given up were it not for Mark's support. We then moved to the airy gym downstairs, bursting with the latest hi-tech equipment. What looked like a medieval torture rack turned out to be a weights machine, on which I managed 12 push-ups, lifting 20kg, which Mark assured me was impressive. My session finished with a tasty berry and protein shake.
The result I felt at ease with Mark; he pushed me in a way that made me feel positive.
Cost £150 an hour for a session with Mark.
57 Ossington Street, W2 (020 7221 8625; markanthonysuk.com)