Russ Bateman's Skinny Bitch Collective is the latest celebrity trend

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Russ Bateman's exercise technique known as the Skinny Bitch Collective
Training includes sit-ups, step-ups and crawling around all over the floor
Skinny Bitches should get more sleep, have more sex and avoid stress

By Rosalyn Wikeley For The Mail On Sunday

Published: 19:04 EST, 26 September 2015 | Updated: 02:27 EST, 27 September 2015

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Being called a skinny bitch isn't exactly the sort of encouragement you might expect from a personal trainer - but Russ Bateman's programme is the latest hot celebrity trend. Pictured is writer Rosalyn Wikeley

Being called a skinny bitch isn't exactly the sort of encouragement you might expect from a personal trainer who charges you £90 for the privilege. But Russ Bateman isn't your average fitness instructor.

The lifestyle guru is rapidly building an exercise empire that has hooked in celebrities such as Millie Mackintosh, Suki Waterhouse, Daisy Lowe and singer Ellie Goulding.

And Bateman's 'animalistic' exercise technique, which is known as the Skinny Bitch Collective, is… well, as unusual as it sounds.

Rather than the usual regime of step-ups and sit-ups, the 35-year-old orders his Skinny Bitches, as he so politely calls them, to crawl around the floor and wrestle with one another.

At home, he tells them to throw their televisions out of the window.

Unlike the hard-drinking, hard-partying habits of the previous generation of supermodels such as Kate Moss, today's models are more likely to be tucked up in bed early, following Bateman's orders to get more sleep, have more sex, avoid stress, love themselves and, of course, buy a juicer.

In order to preserve the elite nature of his brand, which is bolstered by a range of T-shirts emblazoned with the acronym SBC, you have to be invited to join one of his classes. No doubt being famous – and skinny already – helps no end.

The rest of us can join in online by buying three months' access to Bateman's videos and meal plans for £90. To see what all the fuss was about, I signed up for a day...

6.30am: Russ advises his Skinny Bitches to have sex in the morning because it boosts the immune system. But by the time the alarm goes off, I am already behind schedule because he also expects his disciples to work out before they get to the office. So I put on my gym kit rather than my work clothes and find a space in my apartment to work out to an online episode of The Skinny Bitch Collective. According to his rules, I then reach for a new, extortionately priced juicer instead of the kettle, and prepare a special SBC smoothie, with whey protein, coconut water, blueberries, aloe vera, avocado, chia seeds and glutamine. Refreshing, but it's not a patch on a latte.

7.30am: To obtain an SBC body, I need to get down to business – stretching, jumping, squatting and crawling (yes, crawling). The SBC is famous for its 'primal movement patterns'. Russ explains: 'Some of the best exercises I use involve crawling and fight-or-flight movements which are akin to animalistic protocols.' I, however, feel like a sloth.

8.30am: Russ's regime is 'a 360-degree focus on female wellbeing', and is as intimate as it is intimidating. He advises his clients to 'commit to eliminating anything that isn't improving the quality of your life if it isn't making you stronger'. In that spirit, I ditch taking the Tube, which does little to 'improve the quality of my life', and reunite myself with my old university bike. I remember Russ's wise words: 'If our bodies don't move, we get good at not moving.' I'm running late – my protein and fat-based breakfast of coconut oil and eggs took a little longer to eat than the usual toast with jam.

Instead of a glass of wine after work, Rosalyn spends an hour cycling home before having a bath and going to bed

9.30am: I arrive at work and take the stairs. Russ's advice to the desk-job army is 'invest in your health…we weren't designed to sit at a desk and type'. So I make sure I leave my desk every 20 minutes to climb up and down the stairs, unnerving colleagues on the way who assume I have finally lost the plot. Oddly, it does feel quite good and my heart is beating for the right reasons.

1.30pm: Russ advises we should prepare lunch the night before to cope with our sad 'al desko' lifestyles. So I sit down to a chicken and broccoli salad that I'd prepared earlier. Broccoli is good, he says, because cruciferous vegetables eliminate leg fat brought on by the female hormone, oestrogen. I'm excited about this prospect. I snack on nuts, and unbearably decline a slice of a colleague's birthday cake.

Rosalyn prepares a special SBC smoothie, with whey protein, coconut water, blueberries, aloe vera, avocado, chia seeds and glutamine

3pm: A deadline has tensed up my shoulders and sent my snack impulse racing. Russ cites stress and anxiety as a key concern and recommends massages. I'm not sure how my boss would feel about me nipping out for a pummelling, so I try to knead my tight shoulders and breathe deeply.

6pm: Instead of a glass of wine, I have an hour-long bike ride home awaiting me. I remind myself that it's for a good cause and that Skinny Bitches rarely frequent bars after work. I congratulate myself on my self-discipline and smugly cycle home.

7pm: I admit it, I feel incredibly energised. I have eaten like a saint and have avoided the 5.30pm nectar. I reach for the TV remote before quickly slapping my hand. No! Russ advises you to reconnect with nature and 'throw away your television – read more'. Instead, I opt for reading the back of the jar of almond butter I bought the night before, so I can realise how healthy this stuff is – 'a great snack', according to the Skinny Bitch King. He did, however, recommend one spoonful, not five. That bike ride and those stairs have worked up an appetite.

8pm: For supper, more green vegetables and some fish. I whip up a baked salmon fillet with courgetti, pumpkin seeds and tomatoes (roasted in coconut oil, of course). I could probably have eaten out for the cost of my meal but I have a completely flat stomach, even after eating more than I'm sure other SBs would.

9.30pm: After a warm bath and some classical music, I cosy up in bed with a book. Russ advises girls to take it easy and look after their bodies: 'Be in bed by ten if you can.' I hear people having fun in the street but know that tomorrow I will spring out of bed on to the yoga mat before all of them. As I drift off, I get a text from a friend at a party asking where I am. I feel healthy but, God, it's boring. And I'm left with the fear of facing my flatmate when she discovers the TV has vanished. Uh oh.

THE DO'S AND DONT'S

DO:

Have sex every morning.
Throw away your TV.
Eat a high-fibre diet with large amounts of cruciferous vegetables such as kale, which contain diindolylmethane to help rid your body of excess oestrogen – it could be making your legs bigger.
Tell someone you love them.
Have a fitness session every day.

DON'T:

Wheat, sugar and alcohol should be avoided at all costs.
Judging other people will only bring you down. Don’t judge!
Instead of stressing over bad decisions, learn to love yourself unconditionally.
Missing breakfast is a cardinal sin. If other mealtimes are nutritionally sub-standard or non-existent, your body will function by running off its morning nourishment.
Don’t eat plane food – it’s like ‘packaged death’.