We spoke to Khloé Kardashian’s trainer about her workout routine + those jaw-dropping photo shoots

It was about six months ago when I interviewed the man behind Khloé Kardashian’s muscles: Gunnar Peterson. While I quizzed him on society’s changing body ideal—from skinny to curvy, and whether that was, indeed, a legit observation—I had all the wrong women in mind. Blame it on me being at the latter edge of the millennial range, but I drilled him on J.Lo and Kim Kardashian.

He paused and then asked me if I’d picked up a magazine lately. Um, I work at one, albeit not a celeb rag. He responded: “Khloé’s curvier than both of them combined.” Obviously he’s exaggerating, but now I get it.

On the cover of September’s Women’s Health, Khloé shows off what she calls her “revenge bod.” Revenge for all the people who called her “the fat one,” she explains. And if one cover wasn’t enough to make jaws drop at her transformation (we’re talking attitude too; she smoulders), she showed off her sexy side one week prior in her cover shoot for Complex Magazine, which then went on to be criticized for being photoshopped (claims she quickly put to rest).

But back to the concept of a “revenge bod.” Who hasn’t hit a treadmill or a weight stack and hammered it out while cursing the one who got away? And while the idea is clearly sort of ridiculous, because we should love who we are without having to change a thing, and especially not for a romantic prospect, it serves as good motivation to get into a healthy routine. If you’re working out with the right end goal in mind—to be stronger and live healthier—it’s a positive step.

Don’t be fooled by this transformation though, the woman works hard. “Khloé can go full savage on you at the gym,” Peterson says.“It’s a ton of big weights, it’s multi-joint movement, you’re doing sleds, you’re doing jumps on unstable services, you’re doing reaching lunges against the cables which causes more fibres to fire—it’s big boy training.” I’m tired just thinking about it.

After picking up some heavy weights myself in recent workouts (a new thing for me) I know there’s something more to intense workouts than getting a “revenge bod.” It’s the badass feeling that keeps me coming back for more. And if I end up with a jaw-dropping transformation of my own...well, who am I to say no?