New York Post

Whip W yourself into shape

‘50 Shades’ workout: Page 35

- By LAUREN STEUSSY

THE cast of “Fifty Shades Darker” didn’t just need to look good naked. They needed to dominate in the buff.

Enter Ramona Braganza, the celebrity fitness guru who whipped stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson into shape for the second installmen­t of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy, out in theaters Thursday.

Braganza, a former Oakland Raiders cheerleade­r who has worked with stars such as Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba and Halle Berry, readied Johnson and Dornan for the dramatic sexcapades of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, the BDSM-ing couple at the center of the erotic romance series.

“When you think about a movie like ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ you have an idea of [Johnson] being graceful and lean,” says Braganza, 54. For Dornan, shown in the movie trailer breezing through shirtless pullups under the smitten gaze of Johnson’s character, “I focused on an athletic muscular frame for him — not too bulky . . . but strong in appearance.”

Braganza typically works on the sets of action movies such as “Warcraft,” in which her client Paula Patton is a scantily clad half-human, half-orc, or more PG shows like “Bull,” in which star Michael Weatherly plays an aggressive, three-piece-suit-wear- ing trial consultant.

The cast of “Fifty Shades Darker,” however, would be wearing far fewer clothes than her other celebrity clients. The sequel has Christian and Anastasia exploring the more romantic side of their, ahem, arrangemen­t. (The characters famously sign a contract in the first book and movie, with Anastasia

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 ??  ?? Ramona Braganza focused on leg workouts, including squats, while training Jamie Dornan for “Fifty Shades Darker.” Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan star in the second “Fifty Shades” installmen­t, in theaters Thursday night.
Ramona Braganza focused on leg workouts, including squats, while training Jamie Dornan for “Fifty Shades Darker.” Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan star in the second “Fifty Shades” installmen­t, in theaters Thursday night.

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