On The Couch: Do Yourself A Favour, Watch Damages.

In case you're not already familiar, it's a very clever show starring the divine Glenn Close and my current girl crush Rose Byrne (if you haven't seen her in Bridesmaids yet, get to a cinema stat). It's a legal drama and a phychological head-fuck, but I guarantee that from the first five minutes, you'll be hooked. So grab the DVDs and be prepared to put all eating, sleeping, working plans on hold...

On The Couch: Three Movies I'm Itching To See...

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.

Two words: James Franco. I would watch anything with him in it. (even a movie about a mountain climber who cuts off his arm with a pocket knife – ahem, 127 Hours.) But throw in a bunch of crazy apes on a rampage and it's on like Donkey Kong.

In cinemas August 4.



Crazy, Stupid, Love.

This movie looks divine. It has the most perfect cast (Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone and the gorgeous Ryan Gosling) and the trailer is equal parts raw emotion and laugh-out-loud funny. I already want to order the DVD and I haven't even seen it yet.

In cinemas September 29.



Green Lantern.

I wasn't sold on this movie – until I saw the trailer in 3D. Then I was all kinds of excited. I think that battle between good and evil fought in a galactic world really lends itself to an extra dimension. So don't skrimp, pay an extra buck for the glasses.

In cinemas August 11.

Man Vs Food.

The Daily Telegraph

I once had a friend tell me that there was a place in Sydney that would give you a prize if you ate a 1kg schnitzel and downed 1L of beer in under an hour. I thought it was an urban myth.

Now, thanks to this article, I know that such an eating challenge does exist, and in fact, it's not the only one. At the Killar Burger Grill, if you eat a 30cm wide burger, large chips, a soft serve and a litre of soft drink, you get your meal free, a T-shirt... and possibly a heart attack.

Apparently none of the Grill's staff have attempted it. I'm not surprised.

Roberto Cavalli Is Designing Exercise Bikes Now.

Robert Cavalli

I'm not joking. It seems even high-end Italian fashion designers have been inspired by the recent Tour De France. Mr Cavalli has teamed up with his friends at Ciclotte to craft a spin bike that certainly won't be an eye-sore in your living room.

The "no frills" design, which is estimated to cost in excess of $11,000, boasts a lightweight carbon, steel and fibreglass frame, four gears and a nifty erganomic design. Oh, and of course, a little leopard print.

And if you've still got change left from the bike, there's matching workout gear, too. Sigh.

Here's A Hardcore Gym Junkie.

And boarder-line nutcase. He was lifting weights when the recent bomb went off in Norway. Everyone was fleeing. But not this guy. "I was on my eighth repetition of a 165-kilogram benchpress... that's quite a lot of weight," he says. "Naturally, I finished my set."

Well, naturally.

New Move Monday.

Every Monday I share a new move I've tried, courtesy of a website, trainer or stranger at the gym...

Women's Health

This week it's the fitness ball mountain climber from Women's Health.

Place your hands on a fitness ball and extend your legs behind you in a push-up position, with your body forming a straight line from your neck to your ankles. Raise your right foot off the floor and slowly bring your right knee up towards your chest, then lower it. That’s one rep. Repeat with the left leg, and continue alternating until you’ve done 10 to 12 reps with each leg.

It's tricker than it looks and demands a lot of strength from your core. But as they say: no pain, no gain.

Tough Love From Gunnar Peterson.

Gunnar Peterson

 

Who? I hear you ask. Well, Gunnar is a celebrity trainer who has worked with stars like Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian. And when he gives advice, he gives it straight. No sugar coating. 

So when he was dishing out the tips on how to get toned like J.Lo, he advised hitting up the weights room. And as if he heard all the women out there start to whine about not getting big legs, he rebuffed, "The majority of women are genetically incapable of creating large bulky muscles... And squats won't make you big. Food makes you big." True that.

 

And if you're still in doubt about strengthening exercises, take a cue from Ashley Greene. 

 

 

The Twilight star has openly admitted that her figure holds muscle easily (some women's bodies just do), but she doesn't ignore strength training completely. Instead, she concentrates on mixing up her cardio with planks and squats. "A lot of people like to be super tiny," she says. "But I don't want a child's body – I want a woman's body that is extremely fit. It's so much sexier."

Amen, sister.