The trainer behind her behind

0 Comments | USA TODAY, July, 2005 | by William Keck

Dukes of Hazzard star Jessica Simpson didn't fit into those super-tight, super-short denim Daisy Dukes by chowing down on deep-fried catfish and gumbo while on location in Baton Rouge shooting the film version of the popular TV series, which opens in theaters Aug. 5.

Rather, Simpson, 25, hired trainer Mike Alexander, 27, her old pal from J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas, to change her diet and whip her into shape -- even before she landed the role late last summer.

"She was a dream client at a very opportune time," concedes Alexander, who graduated from Baylor University with a degree in health and fitness in 2001. On the advice of the Simpson family, Alexander relocated to Los Angeles in 2003 and stayed with Simpson's mother, Tina, and father, Joe, who...