Marilyn Monroe's Body-Beautiful Workout... In Her Own Words

She laid claim to the body that every woman wanted and every man wanted to be next to. Now, she reveals her private self-tailored work out, in her own words.

Marilyn Monroe - the boundary-breaking sex symbol of the 1950s - made her own rules when it came to her career and her relationships, but especially her body. In a recently uncovered article with LIFE magazine from 1952, the starlet explains how she shunned the mainstream workout advice, and created her own bespoke regime that we can now try for ourselves.

Here are 5 simple steps to THE Marilyn physique...

1. SMALL Weights Are Your Best Friend

'I never used to bother with exercises. Now I spent at least 10 minutes each morning working out with small weights. I have evolved my own exercises, for the muscles I wish to keep firm and I know they are right for me because I can feel them putting the proper muscles into play as I exercise.'

2. ALWAYS Start The Day With Some Essential Bust-Firming

'Each morning, after I brush my teeth, wash my face and shake off the first deep layer of sleep, I lie down on the floor beside my bed and begin my first exercise. It is a simple bust-firming routine which consists of lifting five-pound weights from a spread-eagle arm position to a point directly above my head. I do this 15 times from a position with my arms above my head. Then, with my arms at a 45-degree angle from the floor, I move my weights in circles until I'm tired.'

3. IGNORE The Advice, This Is About You

'I don't count rhythmically like the exercise people on the radio; I couldn't stand exercise if I had to feel regimented about it. By nature, I suppose I have a languorous disposition. I hate to do things in a hurried tense atmosphere and it is virtually impossible for me to spring out of bed in the morning.'

4. PAY Attention To The Raw Food Diet (Because Treats Are Totally Allowed)

'My dinners at home are startling simple. Every night I stop at the market near my hotel and pick up a steak, lamb chops and some liver, which I boil in the electric oven in my room. I usually eat four or five raw carrots with my meat and that is all. I must be part rabbit; I never get bored with raw carrots. It's a good thing, I suppose that I eat simply during the day, for in recent months I have developed the habit of stopping off at Wil Wright’s ice cream parlour for a hot fudge sundae on my way home from my evening drama classes. I’m sure that I couldn’t allow myself this indulgence were it not that my normal diet is composed almost totally of protein foods.'

5. DON'T Be Consumed By Body-Beautiful Fads

'Despite its great vogue in California, I don't think sun-tanned skin is any more attractive than white skin, or any healthier for that matter. I'm personally opposed to a deep tan, because I like to feel blonde all over.'

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