Trainer Megan Roup Tells Us How To Eat & Train Like A VS Angel

What the heck is in the water the Victoria’s Secret models are drinking?! Seriously, we’ve all wondered how they keep in such great shape, & we’ve all been dying to know their secrets (& give them a try ourselves). Well, here’s one of the biggest ones: Megan Roup. We got to talk to the VS model trainer whose virtual workouts help anyone anywhere become their best fit self.

“I honestly do with the VS models exactly what I do in class,” she says. “What I did with Elsa [Hosk] today is literally online at obé right now.” obé, which stands for ‘Our Body Electric,’ is an online streaming platform where you can take virtual classes with Megan & other top trainers, all from the comfort of your home. While dance has always been a huge part of her life, having studied dance at New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts and being a part of the Brooklyn Nets’ dance team, the Brooklynettes, Megan gets that some of us might not be as confident dancing in a public class. She says, “I think boutique fitness studios can be intimidating. That, plus dance cardio if you’re not a dancer will make you go, ‘Holy shit! I’m never going to that class ever again.” Her classes don’t just target all parts of the body, they target all types of people, regardless of dance experience.

Clearly a computer-savvy entrepreneur in utilizing the web to teach clients from all over, Megan also understands the power social media has on a career, especially when you reach that ever-sought-after “influencer” title. While she had grown a sizable following over the course of her career, she saw a spike once she began training Arielle Charnas of Something Navy having met through workout center & clothing company Bandier with which both were associated. “She has such a loyal following,” Megan says, “& that was major.” Aside from her presence on Instagram (where she also happened to discover this recipe that she eats four times a week), Megan gains clients, followers, & others in the industry through her side gig as a fit model. She admits that in the beginning, she would shamelessly Instagram direct message influencers & models offering them a free training session with her to help gain exposure. “Everyone wants a fitness class,” she says, “so it’s not too hard of a sell. Then I just ask them to post about it. It’s a small network & I knew once I got people in there, they would enjoy it.”

But what about the whole food part of it all? Good question, especially since nutritional biochemist Shawn M. Talbott, PhD, notes, “Weight loss is generally 75 percent diet & 25 percent exercise.” As a former professional dancer, Megan recalls, “I probably dabbled in every diet. In my early twenties, I was really overly obsessed with what I was eating. Now it’s more just listening to how I feel. I actually noticed a massive change when I made that shift. I like food too much.” Sure, if you want to eat like Megan & stay fit, you’ll have to sign up for two or three training classes a day, which isn’t very doable for most of us. And it’s tough when we go on social media & see a model who loves pizza, & we think we can eat like that & still look like them, but what we don’t see too often are the vigorous workouts & the steamed broccoli that they’re eating for every other meal. The number one question Megan gets asked on social media is about what she eats, but she wants her followers to know that they need to find what works for them, & that it might take some experimenting to get it right.

All her hard work in the gym & on social media to gather a following have led to her biggest opportunity yet: being selected to lead ‘Train Like an Angel,’ the training program for the VS models leading up to their famous fashion show. “A year ago,” Megan exclaims with a squeal, “I would have just died for that & then to see it happen—it was a pinch-me moment.” As much as she loves working with such high-profile clients as the VS models, Megan notes that she enjoys sharing her passion with all her followers just as much. She says, “It’s fun to go around the country, doing pop-ups & meeting these people who stream with me online or just aren’t in New York.” She’s so excited that she can work with some of the biggest names in modeling, then share those workouts with the world so that you, too, can train like an angel.

If you could spend the day in the kitchen with anyone, who would it be?

“I train [Food Network host] Katie Lee & she can cook a mean meal, so I feel like she could teach me a lot. [Author & TV host] Daphane Oz as well!”

Who is someone you’d love to train who you haven’t already?

Kate Hudson & Reese Witherspoon

What foods do you always have in the house?

Unsweetened almond milk, avocados (obviously), raw almond butter, honey, eggs, Ezekiel bread, & Kite Hill Chive Cream Cheese (for this recipe, duh!)

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