LIVLO 2.0

THIS TV AND YOGA DARLING IS BACK ON OUR COVER, BIGGER AND BRIGHTER THAN BEFORE. SHE TELLS ESTELLE LOW ABOUT THE BEST MOVES THAT HAVE SHAPED HER LIFE, AND CHEST.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel
My Reading Room

THIS TV AND YOGA DARLING IS BACK ON OUR COVER, BIGGER AND BRIGHTER THAN BEFORE. SHE TELLS ESTELLE LOW ABOUT THE BEST MOVES THAT HAVE SHAPED HER LIFE, AND CHEST.

It’s no secret – Liv Lo is rocking everything and she knows it. By everything, we mean her looks (check out her figure on the cover!), career and love life.

At 32, the newlywed, who recently tied the knot with TV heart-throb Henry Golding (and broke thousands of hopeful hearts), is in her prime.

She’s a Fly Entertainment artiste, yoga personality, Reebok brand ambassador and, now, two-time Shape cover girl.

For the record: There aren’t many who make it to the Shape cover twice.

When Liv first appeared on our cover in April 2013, she impressed us with her pan-Asian charm (her dad’s Italian and her mum’s Taiwanese), curves in the right places and winning smile.

Fast-forward to today, this picture-perfect Liv is still picture-perfect, with a lot more to offer.

She can’t wait to tell us about her fitness regimen, including her Reebok partnership and new found yoga style. She accepts a harrowing 34-question speed round interview, and agrees to our mystery yoga challenge before she knew what it was all about. (Download the digital edition of Shape to watch her in action!)

Life experiences aside, this girl has grown in other ways too. Her biceps are more pronounced, her body is more toned and, erm, her chest looks fuller than we remember.

Responding to our pervy gaze at her not-so subtle cleavage, Liv breaks into laughter as she says: “My boobs got perkier after I started doing certain exercises. People are asking my friends if they are fake! But, no, they’re 100 per cent natural, so I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Here, she shares the Liv Lo method of getting fit, healthy and successful. And, oh yes, busty.

Last year, i discovered HIIT [high-intensity interval training]. It exposed me to exercises i’d not done before. I’ve been practising yoga for 10 years now. yoga works my pushing muscles [chest, front delts, triceps] but not my pulling ones [back, rear delts, traps, biceps]. plus, it has no explosive movements. The HIIT exercises like burpees and push-ups really got me. after the session, i couldn’t walk for three days! now, i’m hooked on HIIT. i love how it kicks my ass. it’s part of my daily fitness routine. for instance, when i run, i’ll stop and do some body-weight exercises in an interval style before continuing. hiiT has also influenced my yoga style. i’ve introduced elements of it to the yoga classes i teach at yoga Movement.

Most girls are strong in their legs and hips.

We often overlook our arms, back, core and shoulders, which support us in an upright posture. Building a strong upper body gives you a good frame and makes your bust look fuller.

After focusing on upper-body exercises for a year, i must say my chest tone is much better. My lats [the huge muscles that run from your armpits to your back] are also bigger. With the muscle gain, my sports bra size has gone up from s to M. i’m more confident in sexy dresses and bathing suits. [laughs] another benefit of doing upper-body workouts: i used to struggle to hold inversion poses like handstand, but now it’s so much easier.
[Turn the page for liv’s go-to upperbody exercises.]

I have no hard and fast rules when it comes to diet, except that i’ve stopped consuming beef since the start of this year. Doing so has improved my digestion.

I try to eat a wide range of foods, and avoid repeating in a day. i’ll always choose the healthier version where possible – like brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice.

I also try to cook for myself whenever i can. The keyword is try. if that doesn’t work out, i’m okay with going out for dinner with my friends.

The day before this photo shoot, i had fruits and bread for breakfast, Vietnamese chicken and rice for lunch, and a salad with red quinoa, beans and avocado for dinner.

This morning, i made myself a wholewheat wrap with organic tomato beans, half an avo and one egg on top.
alcohol makes me bloated and groggy, so i limit my intake. one or two drinks occasionally is fine. i can’t do the whole party thing anymore!

Throughout my fitness journey, reebok has been supportive. its brand messages – “Be More human” and “perfect never” – are in line with my personal beliefs, so it feels very natural for us to collaborate.

last year, reebok invited me to join the spartan World Championship in lake Tahoe, California. i’d been wanting to become a brand ambassador, so i said yes.

I’ve done a few spartan races, but this championship was another level. i spent a couple of months training. i took six to seven hours to complete the race, which included climbing two mountains, with obstacles along the way. it was snowing and raining, and i felt miserable.

The good thing was, i could ask for help whenever i needed. My target was to just finish it. i’m glad i did, and got my reebok brand ambassadorship after that.

Now that i have reebok’s support, i can do so much more. The ambassadorship is for a year, but i’m aiming for 10! [laughs] i even asked reebok if i could be pregnant, and it said yes.

Starting a family with henry is definitely in the plan, but there’s no pressure.

To be honest, i’m more of a baby person than a pet person. every time henry says “let’s get a cat or dog”, i’d say “let’s get a baby!” and he shuts up. he’s into cats and animals. i didn’t have pets when i was young, so i don’t even know where to begin.

My Reading Room
Be yourself, even when you’re married. your own growth is just as important.

A girlfriend gave me this advice: “Be yourself even when you’re married. Don’t forget that you’re stillliv. you’re still who you are. your own growth is just as important.” 

I realised it’s true. That’s how you stay in love. That’s why henry fell in love with me. he told me: “it doesn’t make any sense if you change to become my wife. you were a wife to me even before we got married.”

Also, people often ask me how i maintain a long-distance relationship, since henry and i travel quite often for work. i think it’s different for everybody. for me, it’s about making sure we spend quality time together and feeling connected even when he’s not around.