Lifestyle and workout regimens of people who make Las Vegas beautiful

By Andrea Domanick

Monday, March 16, 2015 | 2:01 a.m.

From sinewy dancers to hulking bodybuilders, Las Vegas is home to physiques that turn heads. Some use their bodies to perform amazing feats onstage. Others inspire with unconventional beauty and confidence. For a few, strength is the ultimate reward. Whether they’re dazzling crowds, posing for judges or just gazing in the mirror, one thing’s for sure — getting and maintaining the look takes work. Sensible eating, an active lifestyle and a healthy dose of grit are just part of the regimens these athletes and performers follow to maintain their form.

Sami Eskelin

Chippendales dancer, master trainer

Hometown: Helsinki, Finland

Background: I’m on an everlasting mission to offer world-class male revue entertainment and am fortunate enough to do that at the best possible place — Chippendales Las Vegas. I also am a master trainer and fitness enthusiast. I’ve been working out since 1993 and training other people for 10 years.

Fitness routine: I don’t follow any specific workout regimen or routine. I like to mix things up and go with what I feel like. I might start my day with a run, hit the weights in the afternoon and do yoga, Pilates or boxing before shows. On the weekend, I like to go hiking at Mount Charleston.

Food: Ten egg whites and a quinoa-berry bowl in the morning; a smoothie or shake for a snack; some fish and quinoa for lunch, plus tons of veggies; a post-workout shake; chicken salad for dinner; chicken and green juice for supper.

Challenges: The biggest challenge to maintaining my body is my self-criticism. I always find ways to pick myself apart. I need to remind myself to keep everything stress-free and to create realistic goals for a realistic timeframe.

Tips: You have to think about what you want to achieve and what you are willing to trade to get there. Why do you want to get yourself in better shape? A lot of times, we don’t have that goal, or we’re covering it with more superficial reasons. Once we find the real “why,” we can find unlimited motivation to get there.

Chaun T. Williams, 29

Bodybuilder, dancer, wellness consultant, massage therapist

Hometown: Arlington, Texas

Background: I have been a professional dancer for 12 years and a men’s physique competitor since 2012. Self-care is the most essential thing we can do, and my job is to help individuals do it through proper diet, exercise, alternative healing therapies (massage, yoga) and alternative healing amenities (sauna, cold bath, steam room).

Fitness routine: I work out six or seven days a week. For cardio, I spend an hour doing steady state cardio on the StairMaster at a moderate pace, or I run for 3 miles on the treadmill. I weight train for at least an hour. Monday: Lower body/legs, cardio and abs; Tuesday: Deltoids and biceps, abs;Wednesday: Back and chest, cardio and abs; Thursday: Triceps and traps, abs; Friday: Deltoids and biceps, cardio and abs; Saturday: Lower body/legs, abs; Sunday: Rest day or auxiliary workout (usually a full-body, body-weight workout at a park or at home, consisting of pushup variations, handstand presses, body-weight dips, jump lunges, jump squats and stretching).

Food: I keep it very simple. My carb, protein and veggie sources change depending on what I feel like eating that day.

Tips: I don’t believe in an offseason, so I have cut all junk, fast food, candy, soda and excessive drinking and smoking out. I always eat clean whole foods and train with all I’ve got daily.

Kaleigh Jones, 28

“Jubilee!” showgirl/featured dancer

Hometown: Leeton, Australia

Background: I perform 10 times a week in the longest-running show on the Strip. I have trained in ballet and jazz since I was 4 and traveled the world performing revue-style and musical theater dance for 10 years.

Fitness routine: It takes a great deal of stamina to be a dancer. I am currently in eight numbers in the show — earlier this year, I was in 17 — and even offstage, running to and from cues, making costume changes and running up and down stairs can be a cardio workout. Each showgirl tackles over 1,000 stairs a night. No matter how long you have been in the show, you still feel that burn in your butt and thighs, especially when you are wearing a costume weighed down by jewels that weigh up to 15 pounds.

Food: Because my job is physically demanding, I don’t have to adhere to a strict diet to “keep in shape.” But I do try to eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Challenges: Fortunately, at Jubilee, the “showgirl body” includes many shapes and sizes, and as long as we keep looking fit and toned, our differences are celebrated. Despite that, I think my biggest challenge with my body is accepting it for what it is. You can imagine getting so insecure about the way you look when gorgeous, fit women who are practically naked surround you and you start to want to look a certain way.

Tips: There is so much variety out there of “fun” ways to work out. If you are doing something you enjoy rather than something you have to do to stay in shape, you will be more motivated to give it 100 percent.

Brynn Coseru, 34

Performer, “O,” Cirque du Soleil

Hometown: Santa Clara, Calif.

Background: I have been with “O” since 2006. Before that, I was one of the mermaids at the Silverton for two years. I have been a synchronized swimmer since I was young.

Fitness routine: My job is my workout. I perform two shows per night, five nights a week. Sometimes, we have training once a week, and I do conditioning for injury prevention two or three times a week — mostly hip and knee exercises. Outside of work, I keep after my 15-month-old.

Food: Breakfast: Oatmeal with cranberries or an English muffin with peanut butter. Lunch: Whatever is in the fridge ­— chicken soup, pea or sausage stew, turkey sandwich.

Dinner: Grilled or roasted chicken, vegetables, rice or potatoes, pie or cake for dessert. After work: Again, whatever we have in the fridge, and a chocolate chip cookie.

Tips: My body type is mostly genetic, I think. But I feel everybody should stay active. I think the most important thing is to have a consistent routine. It has to be part of your schedule. I eat what I want but don’t overdo it. And never cut something out of your diet completely.

Paul Matthew Lopez, 34

Performer, “Absinthe”

Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

Background: I play Fat Frank on the high wire in the final act, “The Frat Pack.” I am the comedic butt of the jokes in our act, as the fat character with two partners who are in top shape. I have been with “Absinthe” since its debut at Caesars Palace. I have been performing as a clown and acrobat since 2004, and on the high wire since 2009.

Fitness routine: I get most of my exercise while training for and performing the act. It requires a large amount of core and upper-body strength. Holding people on my shoulders, while on the wire, requires a more-than-solid core.

I have to avoid heavy cardio, or I quickly begin to lose the weight I need for the comedy to be at its best.

I use resistance bands at my strength level daily at the show as part of my warm-up. Three sets of 15 on shoulders, biceps, triceps and some minor resisted ab work.

I have also picked up boxing as a way to release stress and keep my cardio health up. I typically do it two or three times a week, punching a heavy bag for 20-minute sessions. The danger of keeping my cardio exercise light is getting too heavy. When I let myself get too comfortable in the role of Fat Frank, I begin to feel the weight in my joints, which is bad.

Food: I eat fairly healthy, actually, considering the weight I like to keep for the act. My diet consists of protein and green smoothies.

I do however get to cheat on this “diet,” probably more than most acrobats. I include fatty meats for dinner, such as steaks and pork chops, and incorporate high-quality bacon into my breakfast. I typically eat four or five meals per day to keep my energy and the calories up. I also choose beer when I drink, which is a sure way to put on fat.

Challenges: The biggest problems in my life tend to be the same as in my work: finding a balance. I have to balance being overweight at 230 pounds for the comedy in the show while still needing to maintain an athleticism that keeps me healthy on the high wire. My body in normal shape wants to level out somewhere between a very lean 190 pounds and a more filled-out 210 pounds.

Tips: Stay active, or the scales will tip out of control, and suddenly, you’re obese!

Ahmahd Thomas, 25

Performer, “Mystère,” Cirque du Soleil

Hometown: Thetford, England

Background: I’m an acrobat, specializing in bungee and Chinese poles.

Fitness routine: My workout every day before the show is a 15-minute warmup, a mid-body circuit, a short leg circuit and some specialist ring exercises from gymnastics. The majority of my training is body-weight training. I rarely use free weights or machines.

Food: I eat a lot of cereal. I try to eat a meal of rice or pasta and some chicken as often as I can bring myself to cook, but mainly I just snack all day on yogurt and fruit, particularly berries.

Challenges: My biggest challenge is being lazy and not having enough time.

Denise Bloom-Dinger, 52

Retired professional bodybuilder; master fitness trainer; owner of Dee’s Divas & Dudes fitness training studio

Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa

Background: I’m a personal trainer who specializes in fitness competitions. I am also a professional dancer and dance teacher. I also have a black belt in shoto-kan karate that I just keep to myself.

Fitness routine: I wake up at 7 a.m. each morning and do one hour of cardio on my bike at home, followed by a 15-minute meditation session. Then, I get ready for work. I come in and train a different body part each day.

Food: I’ll wake up and have a protein shake with egg whites, liquid aminos, liquid vitamins and glutamine, then do my cardio. Then, I’ll eat one whole egg and three egg whites, four ounces of sweet potato and half an avocado. At noon, I’ll eat chicken salad with four ounces of chicken and quinoa. At 3 p.m., I’ll eat an apple with a protein shake. At 6 p.m., I’ll eat steak with broccoli, and at 9 p.m., I’ll drink a protein shake.

Tips: My motto is, “Tell the mind, and the body will follow.” Be consistent. End of story!

Benjamin Tucker, 27

Company dancer, Nevada Ballet Theatre

Hometown: Evert, Mich.

Background: I am a ballet dancer, and this is my seventh year as a professional, but my first with Nevada Ballet Theatre.

Fitness routine: Dancers try to have long, lean bodies, so body-weight exercises like pushups and situps are best. I also try to use resistance bands or free weights whenever possible, rather than machines, and focus on doing several reps with lighter weight. I start every morning with 25 pushups and 50 situps. I ride my bike to work for some easy cardio, then I do 30 minutes of Pilates. After we finish class and rehearsals, I ride home and go for a 20-minute swim. For my nightly workout Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I work out my chest and triceps, then complete four sets of bench presses and flies, then four sets of dips, followed by four sets of kickbacks and as many pushups as I can do until the total reaches 100. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, I concentrate on my back, shoulders and biceps, complete four sets of rowing, three sets of shoulder presses, elbows out, and three sets of shoulder presses, elbows in. For biceps, I do three sets of 21’s and three sets of hammer curls followed by 100 pushups in as few sets as possible. Sunday is my rest day.

Food: Monday through Saturday, I eat basically the same thing: a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast. For lunch, I have a protein shake and two bananas. For dinner, I usually eat beef, pork or chicken, and a salad. For snacks, I love Slim Fast shakes and Cliff bars. Sunday is my “cheat day,” and I eat whatever I feel like, which normally involves a lot of pizza rolls.

Challenges: The hardest part of maintaining my body is the fact that I love junk food — the more fattening and more salty, the better. So it is always a challenge to not let my “cheat day” turn into a cheat week.

Mary LaCroix, 30

Company artist, Nevada Ballet Theatre

Hometown: Marine City, Mich.

Background: I have been a professional ballet dancer for 12 years, and this is my sixth season with Nevada Ballet Theatre.

Fitness routine: At NBT, we dance Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., which includes daily ballet class for 90 minutes and then rehearsals for the rest of the day, with an hour break for lunch. So that workout schedule alone is pretty intense. In addition, I arrive at the studio early to do warm-up stretches and a few ab exercises, usually 100s followed by bicycle crunches. Depending on the intensity of my rehearsals, I cross-train with Pilates, yoga, swimming and running on the elliptical machine.

Food: I like to change up what I eat a lot, but it is usually something like this: Breakfast is one or two eggs with toast and coffee with cream and honey. For a snack, I have a spoonful of peanut butter with a banana or some berries. Lunch is a sandwich of deli meat, cheese and veggies, with a handful of fruit or crackers. For dinner, I rotate between chicken, fish or beef, with lots of veggies and either rice or pasta.

Challenges: The biggest challenge for me is maintaining my body and fitness level during our off-season. We are off from mid-May to mid-August, and in those months, I go to the gym probably four to five days a week to take yoga, swim or run for 30 minutes on the elliptical. I also will take ballet class four or five days a week in the summer and do Pilates.

Tips: Whatever you do for fitness, work hard and ask more of yourself than you did the day before. I think that always reaching for more, and always refining yourself, helps you achieve goals you didn’t know you were capable of. We are all so much stronger that we realize.

Luciene Medeiros, 42, and Licemar Medeiros, 44

Performers, “Zumanity,” Cirque du Soleil

Hometown: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Background: We are acting clowns who perform as the Botero Sisters.

Fitness routine: We do 30 minutes of Pilates once a week, do body conditioning for 30 minutes twice a week and walk every day for 20 minutes.

Food: In the morning, we eat toast and eggs or yogurt. (Licemar also likes granola and coffee.) For lunch, a protein shake or bar and fruit. For dinner, soup.

Challenges: What’s the biggest challenge to maintaining your body? Age.

Tips: Luciene (front): No one wants my body type, LOL.

Licemar (back): But you have to to try to be healthy and happy the way you are.

Photos by Christopher DeVargas and Adam Shane. Grooming by Natasha Chamberlin using MAC Cosmetics.