Francesca Allen, star of Love Island, is making confidence work for her. She posted two swimsuit photos this week—one in which she captioned a photo of her in a swimsuit from Dubai: “Gotta respect the chutzpah ✨Gift”—chutzpah being the Yiddish word for extreme self-confidence, or impudence—and another was a paid partnership with shopping site Cliud Eighteen in which she said “Sandy toes, sun kissed nose, she’s an Island chic.” How does she stay so fit while keeping so busy? Read on to see 5 ways Francesca Allen stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!
1. She Protects Her Skin
"I’ve tried so many different things for my skin, I feel like I’ve done things that are really bad, like I even started using sun beds and things like that, which were the worst thing I could have done, because they just scar your face. But now I constantly use a retinol and alway make sure in the morning, even in England, that I put a SPF on,” she told Heatworld. You should, too. What is SPF anyway? "So if you stand outside in a particular location and you're testing the sunscreen and it takes you 10 minutes to develop redness to the skin without the product on, but then you apply the product on a different area of skin and it takes 50 minutes for the skin to show redness, then that is an SPF factor of 50 over 10, which equals 5,” Dr. Dawn Davis, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist, says.
2. She Does Yoga
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"Recently I’ve been doing yoga which I never liked in the past. I’ve always done quite high-intensity things such as running, HIT training or boxing, but since lockdown and with me being home a lot, I’ve been doing yoga before bed and it just makes me sleep a lot easier. A lot of the time, when I lie in bed, I can just be thinking of loads of things I need to do tomorrow and doing yoga before bed really helps,” she told Heatworld.
3. She Lost Weight
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Allen lost weight and fans noticed. “I don’t get people being nasty in my DMs. Everyone’s really kind and I’m so grateful for my following,” she told the Daily Mail. “But I’ve had a couple of people messaging me about my weight and saying I edit it my photo. I’m like – hun – I’ve actually lost nearly 2st, so I am gonna look a bit different.”
4. High Intensity Workouts Can Burn Fat
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High Intensity workouts, or HIIT, can be a great way to get sweaty. Try doing exercises that are performed in superset fashion. This means that you will do exercises 1a, then move immediately to 2a; rest for one minute, then repeat 1a & 2a again until you have done each circuit 3 times. After one circuit is complete, rest for two minutes and hydrate before moving on to the next circuit. Here's an example, from trainer Mark Langowski:
1a. Split Lunge with Biceps Curl: 12 reps each leg. For Men Use 15’s-25’s, For Women Use 5-10lb db’s.
Hold the weights at your side. Now, as if you were standing on a balance beam, with one foot in front of the other, separate your feet 2 feet apart. Inhale as you kneel down; your front knee should be at 90 degrees and back knee almost touches the ground. Sit down into the glute of your front leg. Exhale as you press back up to the starting position. Do 12 reps on that leg. Then repeat with the other leg.
2a. Chin-ups. If you can do at least 8 chin ups in a row: Do three sets of chin-ups, each set to failure.
If you cannot do at least 8 chin ups: Use the squat rack and do three sets of body rows. Position the bar at about chest height and grab it with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart. Scoot your legs forward until your body is at a 45-degree angle to the ground and your weight is resting on your heels. Now pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar, then lower yourself back down. 12 reps.
5. She Feels “in Tune” With Herself Like Never Before
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“2021 I’ve never felt this in-tune with myself like I do currently, I know who my friends are I know what my goals are and I feel empowered for it! I’m sure like me, many of us have lost ourselves time to time but I can promise without struggle there is no success and you can’t enjoy the good if you have never experienced the bad,” she has said.