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Lizzo was already fit but wanted to get stronger
Although the singer has lost weight, fat loss wasn’t the primary goal, Calliet said.
“She came to me because she’s trying to get stronger, and a lot of people don’t realize the importance of strength, especially as we get older,” Calliet said. “The more muscle you build, the more fat you burn, the more longevity you have.”
Calliet said Lizzo mostly does high-intensity circuit-style training, emphasizing strength rather than cardio because she already had a high level of cardiovascular fitness.
“Lizzo, she’s an artist and she’s an entertainer, so I know she can move,” Calliet said. “So it was more weight training than just cardiovascular training.”
Lizzo hadn’t done much strength training before working with Calliet, he said, so they focused on proper form and movements with progressive overload, where weights and reps gradually increased.
“You don’t get rewarded with less weight when you get stronger; you get rewarded with more weight,” Calliet said.
Balancing longevity with aesthetics
Calliet said that he trains his clients — who include Michael B. Jordan and John Boyega — with health and longevity in mind, but aesthetic change comes with that.
“As the fat is burning off, the muscle is building,” Calliet said.
Calliet said his clients never do the same workout twice to keep training interesting for the mind and body. This also allows him to tailor workouts to how his clients, including Lizzo, feel.
“She may come in achy and sore, so I know I can’t do too many leg exercises. She may come in very excited, so I say, ‘OK, you know what? Let’s add,'” Calliet said. “So I never know, but I mostly break things down into three or four circuits, which consist of cardiovascular work and strength training.”
Lizzo is dedicated to training and is motivated by her results, Calliet said.
“She loves working out a lot, and also when you start seeing results and you’re feeling good — not just the results of the scale, it’s, ‘Oh, my back don’t hurt, my knees feel good, I feel loose, I can move around.’ That’s the results. That’s the things that get you excited because you don’t feel like you did before,” Calliet said.
A chef cooks Lizzo’s meals
Calliet said Lizzo has an “amazing chef” who cooks all her meals and is learning about how much food her body needs for her activity levels.
Eating a high-protein diet helps the body maintain muscle while losing fat, keeps you feeling full, and helps muscles recover after workouts.
Lizzo has always advocated self-love and body positivity, and to Calliet, losing fat and getting stronger is in line with that.
“It’s saying, ‘You know what? I’m going to love myself even more to make myself feel really good.’ So the way she’s doing it, the world is loving it,” Calliet said.