How to get a body like Cheryl Cole

It's not easy staying slim and athletic-looking when you're only 5'3". Just ask singer Cheryl Cole, who has to work hard to stay looking so deliciously hot. Pack on too much muscle and you appear stocky, like a rugby player. Get too skinny and you are in danger of disappearing altogether, and indeed Cheryl has at times been criticised for being too skinny.

The trick is to strike a balance, says personal trainer Gavin Walsh: "Cheryl Cole obviously looks after her body and is admired by many of us for having a slim, toned figure without being overly muscular.

"Because Cheryl has a petite figure both muscle and fat can be an issue. If she has too much fat it will show far quicker than on a taller person and if she has too much muscle she will look slightly stocky. Neither of which is a good look, especially if you live your life in the public eye."

How our Cheryl trains
Training to suit your body type is essential, but squeezing sessions into a packed diary is easier said than done, especially if - like our Geordie songstress - you're constantly jet-setting between LA, London and other glam locations.

Walsh has this advice: "Cheryl no doubt has a very hectic lifestyle so ensuring she gets a decent workout can be tough. Of course, practising her many dance routines will help keep her in shape, but when it comes to working out, she makes use of toning exercises in the gym as well as aerobic dance workouts.

"Like many women, Cheryl is conscious of becoming too bulky and worried that certain exercises might make her legs appear bigger. Although this "bulky" look is difficult to achieve for most women unless you're lifting heavy weights consistently for several months like Jodie Marsh has."

Our Cheryl often spends long periods in the gym, something which doesn't appeal to everyone. If the very thought is enough to bring you out in hives, then fear not, it's intensity rather than duration that matters. Walsh says: "Cheryl apparently recently trained an hour and a half a day, six days a week, for 30 days to get in shape for a tour. This is not something most people have time for, including myself, but fortunately you don't have to do hour-long workouts to get great results. That's not to say it's easy, it just means you have to train harder with the time you've got available. For example, if you've only got 30 minutes a day to spare, you could rotate your workouts between high intensity cardiovascular exercise and toning exercises in the gym or at home."

Working up a sweat
Of course, not many of us get paid to sing and dance for a living (not yet anyway!), but it's not hard to find exercises that closely mimic the workout Cole's getting while up on stage. "Dancing is very much an aerobic exercise and so any exercise that gets your heart rate up and your lungs working will replicate this type of exercise," says Walsh. "That said, if you can't resist the urge to move your feet, then look for local dance classes. It's a lot more entertaining than plodding along on a treadmill."

You could also try interval training, signing up for a boot camp, or spin class, taking up tennis or even trying a martial art to get your heart pumping.

That's the cardio side of things taken care of, but what about those muscles? Walsh says: "In terms of toning exercises, it's best to focus on full body workouts that target as many muscle groups as possible. For beginners, body weight exercises like squats, press-ups, lunges and tricep dips will be very effective in toning those wobbly bits and improving metabolism.

"For those that have mastered the body weight exercises, I would recommend using some form of weight training to further their progress. If you're still worried about becoming bulky, simply use a tape measure to keep an eye on the circumference of parts of your body. If you need to lose a bit of weight to begin with, the inches will come off with a combination of toning exercises and card."

Where there's a celeb, there's a strict diet regime, and Cheryl is no different. Walsh says: "In preparation for her recent tour Cole had to tweak her diet to ensure she was looking her best. This involved cutting out junk food and eating plenty of greens and protein and cutting back on starchy carbs such as bread, pasta and cereals. Although, you will be glad to hear she does enjoy the odd chocolate bar."

The good-for-nothing footballer ex-husband and regrettable tattoos are, of course, optional.