Helena Christensen, a model who hated exercise
Though now in her 40′s, Peruvian-Danish model Helena Christensen still turns heads wherever she goes–all despite the fact she never really worked out until she…
Helena Christensen seen at the launch party for Kipling’s new product line in collaboration with model Helena Christensen at Beach Blanket Babylon East in London. Christensen says she’s lived her life hating diets and exercise. It’s only recently that she’s had to get serious about hitting the gym. (Photo by Ki Price/Invision/AP)
Though now in her 40′s, Peruvian-Danish model Helena Christensen still turns heads wherever she goes–all despite the fact she never really worked out until she was in her 30′s.
According to Christensen, she still has to drag herself to the gym, and she’s always been paranoid about crossing the line between being fit and having an unhealthy-looking physique.
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“Theres a fine line between it looking alright and looking freaky. Thats what holds me back. Can you imagine waking up after having something done and realizing they had done just that tiny speck too much?” she asked the Daily Mail. “I think the best thing is to get dimmers on your lights and, when they dont work, switch to candles!”
When she does work out, Helena Christensen prefers to do her time in an old boxing gym located near her home.
“I’m certainly not a gym bunny. I box in a sweaty old boxing club, and that’s a workout that kicks ass, literally. It’s hardcore training but if I’m going anyway, I’d rather get instant gratification,” she said in an interview with Grazia Daily. ” I try to eat healthy and work out regularly. I’d say it works 50% of the time. Both the above makes you feel great, they’re just so hard to be disciplined and consistent about.”
The model explained that she is glad she waited to start working out routinely until her 30′s, because she suspects if she hadn’t she would have noticed more age-related changes.
“Im glad I didnt exercise when I was younger, as I think I would have noticed more changes. I started in my mid-thirties and it has kind of neutralized the changing period,” she said. “Now I exercise. I walk over there [an old boxing club she goes to twice a week] sighing and the hour goes soooo slowly. Like literally, I do a lot of exercises and look up at the clock and seven minutes have passed!”
Christensen, who’s mother is Peruvian, says she places more importance on how a person leads life as opposed to how they look, and this has led her to disapprove of compliments on how well she’s aging.
In this file photos Helena Christensen is in attendance for Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2008 Fashion Show, The Armory, New York. (Everett Collection/Shutterstock)
“Why would I suddenly go, ‘Oh, gosh, now I’m a year older. Now I’m 35, now I’m 37…’ I didn’t think about it when I was in my twenties and I’m not thinking about it now,” she told Times Magazine. “For a start, you never see yourself as a great beauty. And you look at yourself every day, so it’s not like you suddenly go, ‘Oh my God, my beauty is fading!’ and hide behind curtains for the rest of your life. I mean, my grandmother is 95 and she’s super-beautiful and really interesting, and I talk to her every three days for about 45 minutes, and those are often the most interesting conversations I can have for weeks.”
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Helena is grateful for her natural figure, however, indicating that her love of food would make it difficult to lose weight if she really needed to.
“Because I love and cherish food. I think it’s one of the most beautiful things. I realize how fortunate I am to not have those food issues. If I were overweight, it would be really difficult for me to stick to a diet and actually to lose weight.”
