Kate Upton Lifts 225 Pounds — With Her Hips!
Kate Upton has revealed that she can lift an insane amount of weight — with her hips! The supermodel showed off her moves on social media over the weekend.
Kate Upton is living, breathing proof to never underestimate the strength of a supermodel. The fit 25-year-old recently shared a video of herself lifting a whopping 225 pounds. Not impressed? She did it with her hips!
While most of the world was winding down the weekend brunching with mimosas, Kate was kicking butt in the gym. "#SundayFunday #225pounds," she hashtagged the awe-inspiring clip of herself panting through her heavy weightlifting sesh with her longtime personal trainer, Ben Bruno.
"Kate Upton (@kateupton) crushes some '1.5 rep' hip thrusts where, like the name suggests, you do one full rep followed by a partial rep, pausing at the top each time. Strong!" Bruno wrote on his Instagram page.
He explains that Kate only does partial reps (reps done in a specific range of motion so they aren't as physically intense) to avoid stressing the lower back too much. "Now that Kate is easily using more than 225 pounds on hip thrusts, we've transitioned to "1.5 reps" as a way to get a good training effect with lighter loads so we can keep working the glutes with less stress on the lower back and hips," he continued.
Earlier this year the Sport's Illustrated Swimsuit Issue poser/actress opened up about her workout regimen and how she is obsessed with weight training. "To me, exercise is about working really hard in the gym to be healthy and feel good and confident about my body," she told Shape. "Weight training helps me do that the best. Lifting heavy weights leans you out if you do it the correct way."
In addition to her high-weight hip thrusts, she has grown accustomed to pulling 500-pound weights (with her whole body) at the insistence of Bruno. "When I started training with him, he would say, 'Let's put 500 pounds on the sled,' and I would immediately say, 'I can't do that.' So he started standing on the sled so I couldn't see how much weight was on there. Now my attitude has changed completely, and I'm always pushing myself to do more," she said.
Weight training has also made the whole experience of staying in shape a better mental health experience for her because it's more about being strong than looking good. "I changed the battle inside my head to be about strength and having balance in my life instead of fitting into a pair of jeans," she said.
Some women shy away from lifting heavy weights because they are afraid of "bulking up," but Kate is a great example of the potential benefits. Pumping iron can help women add muscle mass, increasing their metabolism and preventing weight gain.
In addition, it's great for weight loss because it prevents muscle loss and ensures the weight you do lose is fat. It can also reduce the risk of depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or high cholesterol and reduce the risk the bone-thinning condition osteoporosis. Awesome, right?
Before you attempt to lift massive amounts of weight like Kate, you might want to enlist the help of a trainer: Weightlifting can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing, so make sure to talk to a professional. Now get to lifting!
Read more: How Beyoncé, Chris Hemsworth, Kate Upton and Other Celebs Get Their Hot Bods
What Do YOU Think?
Are you surprised by how much weight Kate Upton can lift? Do you lift heavy weights? What, in your opinion, are the best health benefits of weightlifting?