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Denise Austin Interview
Barnes & Noble.com: Let's talk first about your Mat Workout Based on the Work of J. H. Pilates. Is there any difference between the VHS and DVD versions? Denise Austin: For both versions I did a whole little talk about how to do the positions right, because when you're doing exercises you never want to stop and think about it, because you blow the motivational aspect of it that way. So it's sort of like a personal training session, where I talk about how to do the exercises properly for maximum effect. There's also a special section on the DVD for toning your hips, thighs, and buttocks -- since those are the areas most women are concerned about. And there are also some of my favorite recipes on the DVD, because fitness is really all about exercising and eating right. B&N.com: Yes, the pasta salad sounds yummy. But you put the other ingredients into the water with the pasta while it's cooking? DA: Yes. Boil it up and put it all in! I'm a busy mom, and I want to make healthy dinners for my kids, and I want to get it done in 20 minutes. B&N.com: Is your book, Fit and Fabulous After 40, in any way related to your Pilates program? DA: The book is a five-part plan for how to turn back the clock, and that includes exercise, which is a whole section on Pilates. Pilates is a perfect exercise program for someone over 40 because it's not jumping and jarring like jogging. It's easy on the joints. It conditions the body without punishing the body. That's especially important if you haven't exercised in years; you don't want to jump into something that's hard on your joints, your knees, ankles, or lower back. Pilates strengthens the core of your body -- your abdominal, side, and back muscles -- so you'll eventually be able to move on and do fast walking or jogging. If the core of your body is strong, everything else can come together gracefully for you. B&N.com: But wait a minute, you don't look 44. DA: I just turned 44. I've been at this for 22 years! B&N.com: So, did you arrive in the Pilates school as a natural progression of physical maturity? DA: Pilates exercises to me are a bit like going back to what I did as a child in gymnastics. My coach would make us to a million "kick-ups" -- they're called "teasers" in Pilates -- and it was all about the abs. A lot of these exercises are sort of like a flashback for me, in a way. One of the things that affects us more as we age is bad posture. A lot of people slouch at their computers all day with their shoulders hunched over. What Pilates does is open up the chest and the rib cage because you need space between your vertebrae. When you're sitting, the vertebrae, especially in the lumbar (lower back) area, tend to crush and stay too close to each other. Pilates helps elongate the spine and keep the muscles strong, which is the base of support for the back. B&N.com: Are these exercises mainly for the over-40 set, or is this applicable to younger people, too? DA: It's important for everyone. Your abdominals are the base of everything you do, and that's what Pilates is. If you're athletic and doing sports, it is definitely beneficial. When you age, though, you want to find exercises that strengthen the body without the pounding shock of jogging or basketball or other sports. Getting back to younger people, though, it gives you longer, leaner legs. It can make you feel as if you've grown an inch. B&N.com: You got your first big break in 1980, when Jack LaLanne hired you to work alongside him on his TV show. At 87, he's still kind of buff. Does Pilates give you a shot at that kind of endurance? DA: You are as young as your spine. It's true, because if your back is all out of whack because you've been slouching over your computer, or if you twist the wrong way from pulling something improperly. Your strength comes from your abs, no matter how old you are. As you age it's smart to consider muscle-conditioning exercises. That's what it's all about now. One of the biggest things for women today, according to doctors I spoke to while putting the book together, is weight training. Keeping up muscle tone keeps your metabolism up. So if you lose muscle tone as you age, you're going to gain weight -- that's why muscle conditioning becomes so important. B&N.com: Let's talk a bit about Denise Austin, the early years. Were you drawn to athletics as a child? DA: Oh yes, I was a serious gymnast. I never made it to the Olympics, partly because I started late, at age 12. But I caught up fast and I went to the NCAA Finals in college, so I competed and practiced 4 hours a day from the time I was 12. I loved it. All through high school that was my life, and then I got a full scholarship to the University of Arizona. It was really a great opportunity, because they had just started their exercise-physiology department. B&N.com: Then, after graduation, you moved back to Southern California? DA: Yes, and I met Jack LaLanne and I said, "I want to be on your TV show!" My mother and I had watched his show for years! He said, "Sure." B&N.com: It happened so fast? DA: Well I had graduated in 1979, and had started my own business setting up fitness programs for companies all over Los Angeles like TRW, Hughes Aircraft, and Kaiser Hospitals. I would go in at 5:30 and lead classes for people just as they were getting off work. In 1983 I got my own show, on KABC in Los Angeles, Daybreak. Then I got married in 1984 (to sports agent Jeff Austin, brother of former tennis star Tracey Austin), moved to Washington, D.C., then I started on Today as a fitness expert, and that kind of took me national. Then I started on ESPN in 1986, and I've been on Lifetime since 1996. B&N.com: So, at home in D.C., do you have one of those fabulous photographic backdrops of say, buttes in Sedona, like the ones you have on the shows? DA: [laughs] I like to think of the shows as trim 'n' travel. On my TV show I always try to make it like it's sort of one-on-one with my girlfriend, trying to shape her hips, thighs, and buttocks. B&N.com: How often do you exercise? DA: I work out 30 minutes a day, definitely every Monday through Friday. I do it first thing in the morning, even before the kids wake up. I don't have to worry later in the day that I didn't get to it. Sometimes if I miss a couple of days, I begin to feel, not fat, but maybe sloppy. And I eat healthy foods, so that helps. B&N.com: How about junk food? DA: Fritos. Coke. Junk. I love, oh, pepperoni pizza. I love ice cream with chocolate syrup. B&N.com: Do you love ice cream to the point where frozen yogurt, even if it's technically better for you, doesn't quite cut it? DA: Some days it doesn't cut it, but some days it's perfectly fine. I go in spurts. I eat right 80 percent of the time, and I have complete junk 20 percent of the time, and that's why I keep my weight down; I never overdo anything. B&N.com: The DVD has a smoothie recipe. DA: I love smoothies. You've got low-fat frozen yogurt, and I get my fruit, and it's fast and tastes great. My kids love them, and I know it's good for them. B&N.com: With all you know about the body and health, do you ever think about going back to school to pursue a second career in medicine? DA: No I don't. I love what I do. I believe I'm more of a motivator. I'd say 80 percent of what I do is motivate people. My job is to make people feel good about themselves, and exercise is a great way to do it. |
