Shortcut To Size: Phase 2, Week 7, Day 47
May 20th, 2012 | 
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Shortcut To Size: Phase 2, Week 7, Day 48
Doctor’s Orders: Branch Out
Branched-chain amino acids, also called BCAAs, include leucine, isoleucine and valine. These three aminos are the most critical for muscle growth. Of the three, leucine is the more critical player, as it has been shown in the lab to literally act like a key that turns on muscle protein synthesis, which is the major growth process within muscle fibers. Because leucine is so critical, you want to look for products that deliver leucine in at least twice the dose as isoleucine and valine. Shoot for a 2:1:1 ratio of leucine:isoleucine:valine.
Some companies are providing BCAAs with leucine at 8 times or even 10 times the amounts of isoleucine and valine. While leucine is definitely the superior amino of the three, getting it at twice the amount of the others is ample enough. I’m not saying that getting it in higher amounts is less effective. However, there currently isn’t any research proving you need more than a 2:1:1 ratio.
Supplement with about 5 grams of BCAAs with your morning shake, pre-workout and post-workout shake,you’re your nighttime shake. Also consider another 5 grams with smaller snacks throughout the day, as outlined in my Shortcut to Size sample meal plan. This will ensure that you are getting in adequate amounts of leucine at those smaller meals to kick up muscle protein synthesis and keep you in an anabolic state.
Active Rest
Remember that every rest day should be an active rest day. Rest days are for recovery; they’re not an excuse to be lazy. Get out and hit 15-30 minutes of HIIT cardio today, or perform 30-60 minutes of your favorite activity: hiking, biking, walking, playing a sport, etc.
Get Your Daily Meal Plan Here!
About The Author
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Article source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/shortcut-to-size-phase-2-week-7-day-48.html
No arms, no limits
If anyone has an excuse not to exercise, it’s double-amputee Barbie Steinsholt-Thomas.
She lost both arms as a toddler, after a near-fatal electrical accident.
But the inspirational 35-year-old stay-at-home mom refuses to let that stop her from lifting weights and competing in fitness contests.
“I could sit around and pout about not having arms. I could have a bad attitude, but it doesn’t accomplish anything,” she tells Sun Media in a candid phone interview from her home in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Ariz.
“I might as well be happy and make the best of what I’ve got.”
Steinsholt-Thomas hits her local gym, Fitness Works in Chandler, at least five days a week.
She drives there — steering with her right foot, while operating the gas and brake pedals with her left foot. (Her car has an automatic transmission.)
“My toes and feet are just like fingers and hands for me,” she explains.
Steinsholt-Thomas, about 115 pounds at five-foot-eight, trains her legs twice a week and works on her “glutes” or butt muscles — which she calls her “problem area” — five days a week.
During her leg workouts, she doesn’t shy away from squats. She uses a Smith machine for the exercise and enlists help from whoever is available in the gym.
“I need a spotter to hold the bar so it doesn’t turn and hook,” she says, noting she doesn’t usually require much help during her workouts.
“Every once in awhile I have a hard time adjusting something and I’ll just find whoever’s nearby to help me.”
Steinsholt-Thomas, whose web-site is called Fitness Unarmed, doesn’t shy away from heavy poundages, either.
“I used to squat about 235 (pounds). I don’t do that much anymore,” says the part-time motivational speaker. “And I used to do [it with] speed,” she explains. “I like to mix it up.”
Unlike her gluteus maximus, says Steinsholt-Thomas, her core doesn’t require any special attention.
“I use my core a lot — more than most people just because of the way I have to sit most times to use my feet,” she notes.
“I never realized how much I use my abdominals and my core until I was pregnant and could really feel it.”
With her next contest looming on the horizon — the NPC (National Physique Committee) Junior USA bodybuilding championship slated for May 19 in Charleston, S.C. — Steinsholt-Thomas has been following a stringent diet and practising her fitness routine three times a week.
Although the word “can’t” isn’t in her vocabulary, she is unable to perform three of the mandatory moves.
“It affects my score, but there’s nothing I can do about that,” says the green-eyed New York native who has competed more than a dozen times since 2003.
“I just do what I can and try to showcase things that I can do,” she says.
The married mother of two boys — 15 and 11 — admits she wasn’t always so upbeat and her spirit wasn’t always so indomitable.
“The teenage years, they’re hard for anyone. Not having arms made it that much worse, especially being a girl and being emotional,” she recalls.
“But I got through it.” Over time, she realized that happiness — much like fitness — is a choice.
She chooses to be happy and fit.
- – -
HOW SHE LOST HER ARMS
“When I was 2 1/2 years old, I lived in an apartment complex in Pasadena, Texas. I was outside playing with several other children, and being a typical two-year-old, I was in and out of the apartment a thousand times. While I was outside, I did something that would change my life in an instant. I climbed upon a transformer. … As I climbed up, I grabbed onto the wires.
“Electricity 101: When electricity enters a body, it has to have an entry point as well as an exit point. It entered through both of my hands, traveled through my little body, and exited through both of my legs. That is why there are burns/scars on both of my legs.
“My arms were burned all the way through to the bone. I now have a shoulder on my right side, which I use for many things, and not much on the left side. My kids call these my ‘Nubs.’
“I believe I survived because God saw the bigger picture and had plans for me.”
Article source: http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/04/16/no-arms-no-limits?%20no%20limits
Driven To Support, Supply And Supplement: SCOTM, Driven Sports
In the world of bodybuilding and fitness, you must be driven to succeed. If you are a competitor, you must be driven to stick to the diet, run every last second against the cardio clock, and pump out every fatigued rep in the weight room.
If you run a sports nutrition company, you must be driven to go the extra mile. You test the products, do the necessary research, and ensure that what you put out there for customers will help them reach the goals they are so passionate about.
Driven Sports: What’s a better name for a supplement company? Driven Sports has helped its customers stay on the long road to fitness since opening its doors in 2008. The upstart company is competitive in the supplement market and its customers show their support by staying loyal to their favorite brand.
The gang at DS beats its own drum and makes it own trends in the industry. We talked to VP of Operations Matt Cahill about the brand and its future.
Driven Sports was started in late 2008 with the goal of delivering the most scientifically-advanced supplement formulas, designed with the highest-quality ingredients available. Our formulas are heavily supported with numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles.
Each formula goes through multiple rounds of testing, including independent labs for identity and purity of the ingredients. Recently, we started conducting independent clinical testing on the finished products to confirm all of our in-house testing data (blood work, etc).
As consumers, we were largely unimpressed with what the industry had to offer. There are only so many ways you can present glutamine or hype-up tribulus, and we saw the opportunity to truly revolutionize the product categories with the most potential.
We consider our products “niche” not only because they are novel in design, but because they work. We are not the company that will have a handful of “me too” generic products. When we release a product, we believe it to be the best in the industry.
Our loyal customers. They saw what we were offering, agreed with the science behind the product formulas, and gave us a shot. These are the folks who continue to buy our products on a regular basis in order to reach their goals. And, of course, we would also extend thanks to some of the amazing people at Bodybuilding.com for providing us with a fantastic platform to publicize our company and products. We have a great relationship which we are progressively reinforcing, which can mean only great things for our customers!
As noted earlier, we don’t do generic products, so our product line is fairly small. In other words, while we don’t have quantity, we certainly have quality. Our top product currently is our latest product, the pre-workout booster Craze™. From first view it may look like any other concentrated pre-workout product, but that could not be further from the truth. Craze™ is an entirely new paradigm for pre-workout nutrition. Rather than simply trying to make you jittery or forcing a pump, Craze™ aims to give you the best workouts possible. It is our belief that if you have a great workout, you will get a great pump. Everything else (speed, endurance, strength, muscle growth, etc.) will fall in to place if you continually have great workouts. This is what makes Craze™ such a valuable tool.
We have been working on a new fat burner for well over a year now, but we are yet to establish a firm release date for it. We aren’t in any rush, though; we’d rather do it right than do it now. We are also looking at designs for an intra-workout formula that would complement Craze™ perfectly. However, unless we come up with something that we consider revolutionary for the industry in that category, we simply will not release it.
As of right now, we have no athletes and currently have no plans to change that. We will never say never, but fundamentally we are interested in science representing our products. By taking this direction we hope to help educate our customers, rather than dupe them with absurd claims or unrealistic expectations.
It honestly depends. If someone is just starting out, then we recommend they learn the basics of training and nutrition first and foremost. Dietary supplements should be utilized purely to supplement these two, rather than in lieu of. In this particular case, we actually recommend a good essential fats product like NOW Foods Fish Oil, or a quality protein like Bodybuilding.com Supplements 100% Whey Power. If that person has some prior experience and is on the right track training and diet-wise, then it comes down to their goals. Fundamentally, however, anyone can benefit from using Craze™ prior to their workouts whether they are cutting, bulking, or training for a sports-specific event.
The best thing about the supplement industry is that it is a way for people to benefit their health and accelerate their progress. The fact that more and more people are paying attention to their health and trying to better it can only be a good thing. As for the worst thing, that would have to be the outlandish claims made in advertising and the lack of science backing most products.
You can follow Driven Sports on a day-to-day basis through our Facebook and Twitter pages, which is where we will first announce our latest developments. We also have a blog on our website that features articles on the latest scientific findings that can help better your body.
I’d be happy to tell you. In fact, I’d be happy to show you!
The Life of a Driven Sports Supplement
Any single step so far could lead to a dead-end and project cancellation.
What Customers Are Saying About Driven Sports
Companies make claims and critics post opinions, but at the end of the day, if your customers aren’t happy and speaking out about how your products work, then you may not last long in the sports nutrition industry.
At Bodybuilding.com, customers post reviews and express their own opinions. Potential customers have instant feedback to help them make a rational decision on how to spend their hard-earned money. Check out what the loyal Bodybuilding.com customers are saying about their favorite Driven Sports products.
“This is my first night taking Craze, and it’s pretty awesome! I like that it has me feeling motivated and amped, but NOT jittery. I noticed my focus was greater with Craze than some of the other pre-workout boosters I’ve tried. Get some!”
“Man, does this stuff really work. Took 1 1/2 scoops 30 minutes before my workout, and this really increased my overall performance. My focus was scary good and my mood shot thru the roof. A little bit of euphoria too, which is awesome! Anyone looking to buy this jump on it now. It’s the best pre-workout supplement out there.”
“This is great. I am always in a GREAT mood and my workouts are the best they have ever been. I’m gaining strength every week. Have been taking it for 10 days and feeling results. Every workout gets more intense and I have been pushing myself like never before. I’m not that big or strong, but I gained ridiculous confidence inside and outside of the gym.”
“I feel awesome when I take Triazole. This is my second bottle in the last 6 months and I forgot how good it is. Better sleep, increase in sex drive and strength. What more could you ask for?”
“This is one of the best testosterone boosters I have taken. I love stacking this product with Triazole to really boost everything I am doing in and out of the gym. I really like DS test boosters because when the cycle is done, I go back to normal, and have ZERO coming off effects. Strength gains even still feel like I never lose them!”
“This is the first testosterone booster I’ve ever tried. I’ve been on it for 2 weeks and have already noticed results. I feel like an animal in the gym, sleep great at night, and feel refreshed when I wake up even after a minimal amount of sleep. The label warned about aggression, but I actually feel calmer right after I take it and I’ve been in a generally better mood. I am already seeing a little bit more bulk in my chest and a little more firmness in my muscle tone overall.”
About The Author
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The Ultimate In Pre-Workout Power!*
Article source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/supp-of-the-month-driven-sports.html
Ben and Tara share their fitness mantra
LUDHIANA: The fitness conscious youths of the city got an opportunity of a lifetime when renowned international body builders and power lifters Ben White and Tara Silzer met their Ludhianvi fans on Friday. The budding body builders and fitness enthusiasts met the duo at the Ferozepur Road-based hotel they stayed in and learnt valuable fitness tips from them.
Ben has been a regular at various body building championships of the International Federation of Body Building (IFBB) around the globe.
He has participated in IFBB Mr Europe Grand Prix, IFBB Arnold Classic, IFBB Olympic, IFBB Europa Battle of Champions, IFBB Toronto Pro Super Show and IFBB New York Pro Bodybuilding Figure Championship. The 35-year-old muscle man said he has been training for last 23 years. ”I started to train under coach Ralph Peace in US first,” he said. While he was always inclined towards practising bodybuilding professionally, the circumstances with Ben’s family were not in his favour then, he added.
Before he started to earn his bread from body building, Ben says he worked at a bus depot, at a fast food store and a gas station. But his determined efforts and discipline got him the success he deserved. Talking about the potential of the sport in India, Ben said he feels the youngsters here are passionate about bodybuilding and even sport a good physique mostly. ”All these youngsters need is proper promotion and development of the sport,” he added.
Tara, on the other hand, couldn’t sense any enthusiasm about bodybuilding among city women. A regular at major bodybuilding championships, Tara has been training under Ben for last 12 years.
Meeting Ben and Tara was a dream come true for many Ludhianvi bodybuilders. Achin Kumar, a Raman Enclave resident, said, ”Ben is my favourite body builder and he shared a lot of his experience with us, which would help us gain better health.” Achin said even his dream is to become a professional bodybuilder and he is working hard towards ths goal.
Ram Chauhan, a Field Ganj resident, who has been working out on his physique regularly over past two years, said, ”Ben is an ideal figure in this sport and there is a lot one can learn from him.”
Article source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ludhiana/Ben-and-Tara-share-their-fitness-mantra/articleshow/13284464.cms
Bodybuilding, ‘fat’ players and AU honor
Some updates on an upcoming event, an interesting find, an honor for a former local athlete, and … the trivia answer is:
THE CUTCO THEATER at Jamestown Community College’s Olean campus will be the site of the sixth annual United States Bodybuilding Federation Bodybuilding and Figure competition tomorrow morning and afternoon.
Hosted by Eade’s Fitness Center, the event is a pro qualifier with the top-judged male and female qualifying to participate in pro events.
Paul Eade, owner of the Fitness Center in Delaware Park Center, noted, “We’ll have 20 competitors from the region, including six from my club and one for the YMCA.”
Proceeds benefit the Southern Tier Military Support Group which sends care packages to area troops serving in Iraq and Afganistan.
“The first five competitions we’ve raised $6,000,” said Eade, “and our goal this year is $1,500. We try to keep a patriotic theme, which is why we always have it the weekend before Memorial Day.
“We really benefit from the site. There’s a guy from Binghamton who has come every year and says the reason he does is the Cutco Theater and its intimacy (180 seats).”
Preliminary judging will occur between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. with final judging and awards between 4-6 p.m.
Local competitors will be Jeanne Polucci in women’s bodybuilding and Kelly Ralston, Patty Saglimben and Callahan McBride in women’s figure, Jeremy Beck and Brian Benson in men’s open bodybuilding and Mark Braithwaite in men’s junior bodybuilding (23-and-under).
All train at Eade’s except McBride who does so at the YMCA.
Tickets for individual sessions are $15 or $20 for both with youth 12-and-under admitted for $5.
THIS ITEM requires some reader help … if that’s even possible.
Yesterday a call came from Olean’s Robert Olivett about an interesting find made by his son Kevin, a frequenter of a web site called Uni-Watch which purports to be “The Obsessive Study of Athletics Aesthetics.”
Perusing the site, he came across a segment called Fat Men, Baseball and Early Twentieth Century Postcards.
The piece discusses how in the early 1900s photographers loved to shoot pictures of local amateur and semipro teams and turn them into postcards.
What caught Kevin’s attention was a postcard picturing what it called the “World’s Largest Ball Player” and identified the 450-pound, left-handed hitter standing in the batter’s box as a member of the Citizen’s Bank Baseball Team from Emporium, Pa.
The postcard, dated June 30, 1908, is from an Emporium woman named Jesse (she signed it “Lovingly”) to a man she referred to as “Burt” in Salamanca.
Has anybody ever heard of the Citizen’s Bank team, or a player of that bulk from Emporium in that era?
MARY LOU SMITH, a proud mother from Salamanca, dropped us a note that her son Jim, a running star for the Warriors who went on to continued success at college will be inducted into the Alfred University Athletics Hall of Fame come October.
Smith was a four-year cross-country runner for the Saxons (1981-84) and a member of AU’s indoor and outdoor track field teams (1982-85). He was captain of those teams as a senior.
One of five inductees, the others are All-America swimmer Rich Hymes (’98), lacrosse All-America Pete Colburn (’95), basketball star Brian Quinlan (’99) and equestrian standout Jennifer (Brown) Smith (2002).
During Jim Smith’s career at AU, he was the Independent College Athletic Conference outdoor 1,500 meter champion and qualified for the NCAA indoor championships in that same event..
He was a two-time ICAC cross-country all-star and still holds the Alfred records in the 1,500, both indoors and outdoors.
Smith is now a ceramic engineer who lives on Grand Island.
FINALLY, I loved my trivia question in Thursday’s Times Herald: What was the last team to have consecutive NBA Rookies of the Year?
Unfortunately, the answer never made the scoreboard page.
Alas, it was the Buffalo Braves (Ernie DiGregorio in 1974 and Bob McAdoo in ‘75).
(Chuck Pollock, the Times Herald sports editor, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
Article source: http://www.oleantimesherald.com/sports/article_db51cab6-a0eb-11e1-9710-001a4bcf887a.html
Area bodybuilders compete at Ford’s Gym
By Hillary Gavan
hgavan@beloitdailynews.com
The chicken was eaten, the legs were shaved and the itty-bitty posing trunks awaited their stage debut. It was the days leading up to The Wisconsin Natural Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure, Bikini, Physique and Fitness Model Contest in Madison.
In interviews on Wednesday, Fitness Zone members Ryan Fleming, Luke Clausen, Stan Metzler, Jon Schultz, Jesse Contreras and Chelsea Burns recalled the exhilaration they felt from pushing their muscles to the limits at the competition sponsored by Ford’s Gym on April 21.
Rockford Police Officer Ryan Fleming of South Beloit was able to place sixth in the lightweight class in the natural bodybuilding show. He was talked into the competition by his buddies, Metzler and Clausen.
“We were all there one day and decided to collectively do it,” he said. “We were going up on stage in front of people in a bikini.”
Fleming would not only have to wear the little posing trunks and lather on oil, but would have to remove all traces of hair from his legs and resort to a diet almost devoid of carbohydrates.
He ended up dropping 45 pounds for the event, and the competition proved more difficult than he could have imagined. During the judging participants had to consistently flex their muscles from seconds up to what seemed like very long minutes.
Fleming tanned almost every day in the months leading up to the event, and spray-tanned the day before the competition to make his muscles glisten in the lights on stage.
Because the competition is natural, participants were required to take a polygraph test to make sure they didn’t take any drugs to build their muscles.
Fleming credits his loyal commitment to the process to his co-competitors.
“On our days off from work we would sit at home, drink protein and play video games. Somebody would bring the chicken and someone would bring the rice. We called them our chicken parties,” he said. “It was three months of misery for being on a stage for 20 minutes, but it was fun. It was worth it.”
Stan Metzler of South Beloit, who works with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department, won first place in the middleweight category, and was overall winner for Mr. Natural Wisconsin.
Participants are judged on symmetry, muscularity, vascularity and muscle conditioning, he said.
Metzler was also looking for something to motivate him in the gym so he can stay fit for his career. He started bodybuilding three years ago and has steadily refined his muscles.
“Overall you do look more cut and your muscles look bigger over time. Naturally, a body can put on 5 to 15 pounds of muscle a year,” he said. “Over the last couple of years, I’ve put on a good 5-10 pounds of lean muscle.”
While power lifting usually brings him to the gym a couple times a week, training for the competition got him in the gym most every day, and sometimes twice a daily.
However, he said it was all worth it.
“It’s really neat and gives you a high to see what you can do by hard work and a strict diet,” he said. “You pretty much give up everything. You can’t go out with your friends and eat the same things, and you can’t drink. You can still have fun, but you have to be strict with it.”
Metzler, who juggles two additional part-time jobs and recently became engaged, earned his professional card with his win at the show, allowing him to try his hand at being a professional bodybuilder.
Luke Clausen, 24, of Roscoe, works at Charter Fitness in Rockford, and said he became hooked after the competition. He won second place in the light heavyweight class.
“I’m going to keep doing it. I like seeing the progress I make, and plan on continuing to work out and do competitions,” he said. “If you are someone who loves going into the gym, I would say give it a try. It’s something to work for rather than just coming to the gym and you can better yourself at the same time.”
Jon Schultz, 37, of Rockton placed sixth in the heavyweight class. Schultz works as a music director for WXRX radio and is a former wrestler accustomed to extreme physical exertion and the regular leg shaving. He’s woken up banged up and bruised in his days as “Captain Jack,” and has been in matches with King Kong Bundy and Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake.
However, the strenuous battles of his past were nothing compared to the bodybuilder’s diet and the long poses held on stage.
“I have nothing but utmost respect for these athletes. It’s incredible dedication,” he said.
At 37, Schultz said he was the old man in the group. He noted the posing trunks didn’t leave much to the imagination, but motivated him to get every part of his body in shape. His wife slaved in the kitchen, cooking him chicken every day for 14 weeks.
Schultz has a busy schedule, but he plans to compete again in the fall of 2013.
Chelsea Burns, 20, was the only female on Team Fitness Zone. The daughter of Kevin and Brenda Burns, the Hononegah graduate is a student at Carthage College studying biology. She won third place in the short class for fit body.
Burns entered the Fit Body competition, which focuses more on fitness of the female form than bodybuilding. Burns said she was a cheerleader in high school, but didn’t work out hard core until last summer when she asked her dad for the most difficult workout he could think off.
“I saw improvements last summer and it took off from there,” she said.
Burns said she did the competition for fun and as part of her interest in biology.
“I used my body as an experiment and to see how far could push myself,” she said. “Physically I lost about 10 pounds with the competition diet and also got my body fat percentage down to 7 percent which is crazy for a female. Mentally, I had a lot of self discipline by the end of it. I had to mentally prepare myself for competition without a trainer pushing. I was my own drill sergeant,” she said.
Burns is back to a more balanced diet and approach to life for now, but said she will definitely do the competition again next year.
Jesse Contreras, 32, of South Beloit, works at Cup Pac Packaging, and won fifth place in the lightweight class. He said he’s always been fit but had never done bodybuilding. After the five months of training he said he lost all the fat he had.
“I feel healthier now. I’m going to continue doing it,” he said.
Article source: http://www.beloitdailynews.com/news/area-bodybuilders-compete-at-ford-s-gym/article_e14068a0-a14b-11e1-a4ce-0019bb2963f4.html
Shortcut To Size: Phase 2, Week 7, Day 49
Doctor’s Orders: Pro Protein Tips
In addition to eating several times a day, it’s a good idea to stay focused on your protein consumption at each meal. By making certain that you take in a minimum of 20 grams of protein at each meal, it will be easier to get your daily total of about 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight. This includes snacks, as well. Don’t just snack on a piece of fruit without an accompanying protein source. You always want to include a quality protein source every time you feed yourself.
Beef jerky makes a great portable protein that you can take anywhere. Keep it in your car, office desk, or gym bag. That way, if you’re ever short a snack, you always have some quality protein within reach. Protein bars also make a great protein to stash for those moments when you don’t have time to grab a real meal.
Active Rest
Remember that every rest day should be an active rest day. Rest days are for recovery; they’re not an excuse to be lazy. Get out and hit 15-30 minutes of HIIT cardio today, or perform 30-60 minutes of your favorite activity: hiking, biking, walking, playing a sport, etc.
Get Your Daily Meal Plan Here!
About The Author
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MuscleTech Cell-Tech Hardcore Pro Series
Powerful Creatine Formula That Packs On Muscle And Strength Fast!
Article source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/shortcut-to-size-phase-2-week-7-day-49.html
HD Abs: The Science Of Abs
At 22-years old and working on a master’s degree in sports biomechanics, I knew everything about abs. I knew the planes of movement. I knew functional anatomy. And as a lifelong athlete and strength enthusiast, I could pair the right exercise for the target area. I had intelligent core training down cold.
As it turned out, I didn’t even know what I didn’t know.
My thinking and education led me to believe that if our core and lumbar spine could move, we should move it. Now, I know better. I know that what’s most important is training the core and lumbar spine to be stable – to resist motion rather than create it!
Which means you may never do another crunch once you finish this article.
Straight To The Core
Before we cut to the core, here is a quick primer. There are three planes of movement:
- The sagittal plane, for front-to-back movements
- The frontal plane, for side-to-side movements
- The transverse plane, for rotational movements
Now that we’re caught up on the planes of movement, let’s examine the relevant muscles. If you learned basic anatomy in college, like I did — or even if you learned it reading muscle mags — chances are the core muscles and their functions went something like this:
What you don’t learn about are stabilizers like the diaphragm, pelvic floor, multifidi, etc., or why they’re important. Instead, the basis of the lecture (and the magazines) revolved around the showy 6-pack-type muscles — or at the very least, the ones we could train in the gym!
To give you a practical example, here’s what my core training programs looked liked in the early 2000s:
Re-Defining the “Core”
Now, 12 years later, I would describe the core differently — as a box with 6 sides.
- On the top is your diaphragm.
- On the bottom is your pelvic floor.
- In the front are your rectus and transverse abdominus.
- In the back are your multifidus and spinal erectors.
- Last but not least, on the sides are your internal and external obliques, along with your quadratus lumborum.
The thing about defining the core is that it gets tricky fast. I could argue that just about any muscle from your neck down could play a role in core stability. But for today’s purposes, we’re going to focus on these basic muscles and their respective functions.
As I started learning more and more functional anatomy (and learning from people far smarter than myself), I started to put the pieces together.
I learned that the lumbar spine (i.e. lower back) isn’t built for rotation. In fact, you only have 0-2 degrees of rotation at each segment of your lumbar spine!
Even top to bottom, you only have about 15 degrees of rotation through your lumbar spine. I know a handful of you are going to be clamoring for references here. I’d suggest picking up books by Shirley Sahrmann, Stuart McGill, or Nikolai Bogduk if you want “proof.”
Upon leaving my master’s program I worked in a chiropractic rehab facility where I dealt with crowds of lower-back pain patients. As a result, I read the works of the aforementioned McGill, the foremost spinal biomechanist in the world. He focuses on trying to minimize repetitive flexion and extension through the lumbar spine; this is the exact pattern that produces disc herniations!
I know what you’re wondering: What does all of this have to do with me and the 6-pack I don’t yet have, but desperately want? What it means is that it’s time to stop the sit-ups and crunches and find exercises that develop the core while maintaining the health of our lower backs!
If we re-created our list from above, it may look something like this:
Taking what I already knew about the planes of motion and combining them with this knowledge, I totally revamped how I approached core training. My new school approach looks something like this:
Let’s break down each component and give you practical examples for the next time you’re in the gym!
Anti-flexion is probably the easiest component of core training to understand. Every time you squat or deadlift, you are essentially training anti-flexion! The goal of anti-flexion exercises is to resist flexion, or bending, through the lumbar spine.
While you can get plenty of development from big-bang exercises like squats and deads, more isolative exercises like back extensions or reverse hypers can also help. The key when performing these movements, however, is to keep your low back neutral and squeeze your glutes at the midpoint of the movement.
The goal of anti-extension exercises is to resist extension through the lumbar spine. But anti-extension is one of, if not the most, poorly-executed elements of core training. Most would benefit from properly executing basic exercises such as front planks and push-ups, while using a PVC pipe to get into a neutral alignment.
Over time, you can progress to more challenging variations like ball or ab wheel rollouts, or even unstable progressions such as blast strap and TRX fallouts, flutters, and Miyagis, etc. The key here is simple: You must keep the spine in neutral, and not allow your lumbar spine to hyperextend!
I used to love dumbbell side bends back in the day. This was one of those exercises you could just feel for days after your workout. It really felt like you were getting some work accomplished! But the goal of anti-lateral flexion actually is to resist lateral flexion, or side bending, through the lumbar spine.
So if we ditch the side bends, what do we replace them with? We can take the same principles, but tweak them for a great training effect. Instead of side bending, hold a dumbbell in one hand for an extended period of time without allowing side bending.
If that’s too easy, progress to an offset farmer’s walk or waiter’s carry, holding the weight in one hand while extended overhead. If you’re a true soldier, consider suitcase deadlifts.
Remember, a lot of these moves may shock to your system! The goal isn’t to load the weights up and stumble around like a drunken sailor in a typhoon. Lock your spine into place and don’t let it move!
This was the hardest component of core training to give up. I really loved doing rotational med ball work.
Now, I do anti-rotation work instead. The goal is to resist rotation through the core and lumbar spine. My favorite exercises for training the anti-rotation component of the core are Pallof Press variations. At IFAST we do them in tall-kneeling, half-kneeling, standing-up, and even standing combined with a side step.
The key here is to lock the core down and not allow any rotation through the core and lumbar spine. You’ll be surprised at how difficult these are!
Last but definitely not least, we have hip flexion with a neutral spine. One of the most challenging components of lifting is getting set-up in the starting position of a deadlift, or squatting as deep as possible, without rounding the lower back.
This exercise sequence will help you get there. The goal of this progression is to keep your core and low back in a neutral position, while simultaneously flexing your hips. Exercise examples here would include prone jackknifes on a ball, band resisted jackknifes, alternating band-resisted jackknifes, and even hanging leg raises. The key is keeping the low back neutral and moving only through the hips!
Your Most Pressing Question Answered!
Once again, I know what you’re thinking: “But Mike – how can I get a 6-pack from these exercises?”
I hope you already know that getting a 6-pack is dictated far more by your nutrition and overall training program than it is by your selection of core exercises.
But I can also tell you this: If you dial-in the exercise and nutrition component, even when using only core stability exercises like the ones I’ve outlined above, you can absolutely get ripped up. Just check out the two ladies I trained below for proof!
Bringing it All Together
So you’re sold on swapping out the crunches, sit-ups and side bends for core stability work. Good for you!
If you want to build it into a program, I think the best way to train the core is via small doses throughout the week. No need for an all out core-blasting session; breaking it up into bite-sized chunks works and feels better.
If you’re training on a 4-day split, your program could look something like this:
-
TRX Fallouts
3 sets of 8-10 reps
-
Pallof Press ISO
3 sets of 15-20 seconds
-
Alternating Band Resisted Jackknives
3 sets of 8-10 reps
Suitcase Deadlifts
3 sets of 6-8 reps
Unless someone has a specific lower back weakness, it’s rare that I program isolated anti-flexion work into the program. Chances are if you’re doing enough of the big lifts, your lower back strength is more than up to snuff.
Your New Middle: The End
So there you have it! A more sophisticated approach to core training that will help you look amazing and keep your back healthy!
I know I’m asking a lot of you here, but give these exercises a shot, even if it’s only for a month or two. I think you’ll be surprised not only by how challenging they are, but how much better your body feels as a result!
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To respond the question of “judge8604″, here some more exercices that I know who could fit with this article:
Anti-Extension = Plank, Elevated-feet Plank, Extended hands Plank(harder), Wide-stance Plank w/ arm lift, Swiss-Ball Plank, Ab wheel, Bird Dog, etc.
Anti-Lateral Flexion = Side Plank, Side Plank w/ feet on bench, Side Plank w/ knee tuck, Single-leg Side Plank, etc.
Hip Flexion w/Neutral Spine = Any variations of Mountain Climber, McGill Curlup, Leg lowering drill, Hanging leg raise, etc.
Anti-rotation: Side Plank and Row, Cable Core Press, Stability Chop(kneeling, standing), Reverse Chop(kneeling, standing)
My favorite: Core stabilization(move the weight around your core instead of rotating your core)
Let me know if I’m wrong.
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Yeah, I know really? I feel like they aren’t challenging yet everyone says they are so hard. I don’t get it. Not saying I have the strongest core though.
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Planks are a joke (and “easy”) if you’re not doing them properly. Holding a plank with perfect form for a minute should make you shake and drip sweat. And btw, I have an amazingly strong core.
Revise yoru form!
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ya form is your problem trust me if you don’t feel it your aren’t holding it correctly I thought I knew how it was done and I “got used to it” until I had my flaws pointed out now it kills me and if it doesn’t I fix my form. or grab a balance ball or ab wheel if you think that’s easy there’s really something wrong or your invincible lol.
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Fitness 360: Ashley Horner, Fitness Forward
Achievements in life have different values. Winning a competition, getting married and raising a family call those value assessments into question. What’s more important?
But if you have the energy to do it all, the question is moot.
Ashley Horner Fitness 360
Watch The Video – 11:24
Name: Ashley Horner
Age: 28
Height: 5′ 4 1/4″
Weight: 129 lbs, 118 lbs Contest
Occupation(s): Figure Competitor, Personal Trainer (also online), Life Coach, Columnist for MMA UNCAGED, Bodybuilding.com writer
Education: Metro Christian Academy (Tulsa, OK.), Northeastern State University
Station: Dededo, Guam,
the Mariana Islands
Super Powers: Cook dinner, update social networks, help online clients and play super heroes with Tripp (age 5) and Cash (age 3) all at the same time.
Hobbies: Guam Crew team (boat racing), Guam’s women’s soccer team
Ultimate Goal: Achieve success on ALL levels. Continue to empower women who put themselves last, women who have a dream to recreate their lifestyle.
Even on her rest days (which she spends tooling around the tropical island of Guam), she runs the beaches, hikes and swims in the colorful waters of the Pacific Ocean.
But this mother of two is also a figure competitor, and a damn good one.
She’s only in Guam because her husband is on active duty in the U.S. Navy. She is 17 hours away from the mainland United States.
Being on an island isn’t as isolated as it once was. Ashley is completely connected with the fitness world via social media and email. She guides online clients half a world away.
Look out America! In a few months, this Choctaw warrior will return to the mainland and renew her quest for fitness excellence.
Military Mother
Ashley has been a military wife long enough to become an expert on dealing with deployments, and the understandable stress placed on the spouses who stay home. Along with dealing with it herself, she helps other military spouses before, during and after the mission.
“They get really emotional because there are times that they think they can’t do it, or that they can’t take on another day because they are all alone with three kids and no one to help them,” Horner said. “The strength it takes when a husband, or a spouse deploys – it’s a lot to take on. That’s why it’s so important to be able to focus on something like training while your loved ones are gone.”
Horner is an Oklahoma girl, born and raised. She spent her childhood outdoors, on a large ranch. Her summer passed riding horses with her father, bailing hay and fishing the ponds behind their Rockin’ D Ranch.
“You could say I was a Tomboy, never wanting the girly dolls to play with,” Horner said. “I was always trying to keep up with my older brother. So at a young age my Mom and Dad put me into sports, playing a variety of all kinds. I stuck with soccer, playing competitively through high school.” She walked on to the collegiate soccer team at Northeastern University in Oklahoma.
Ashley will play for the Guam National Women’s Soccer team this summer. She also does dragon boat racing and participates in numerous outdoor athletics. Ashley’s athletic prowess spreads across multiple mediums. She does crew, gymnastics, CrossFit and is an avid runner.
After she gave birth to her first son, she wanted to lose the weight and rekindle her love of fitness. That decision, and countless since, put her on the path to the Figure stage. She is now an NPC competitor, and up-and-coming rival to the best in the division.
Her community involvement inspires those around her. She works with military spouses and active members. She’s organized events for both the Wounded Warrior Project and American Cancer Society. She lost her father to cancer, which he called a ’6-letter’ word. His loss inspired her to give time and energy to help others who’ve lost loved ones.
“It echoed through my body, reminding me that my time here is not promised,” Horner said. “But while I am here I will make a positive influence on all of those around me.”
We could go on and on, telling you how genuine and kind Ashley is, how she leads by example and teaches her sons how to be strong in the face of adversity. But, we’d rather let her say it herself.
Wife of War – Pacific Theater
Military wives often move with their husbands from station to station around the globe. This puts stress on them, not just because of the worry over their spouses’ fates, but also because they have families, and abruptly become single parents, at least temporarily.
But, that doesn’t mean they sit and dwell! Ashley Horner won’t rest for anything. Learn how she handles her husband’s deployment and helps other spouses deal with life apart from their significant others.
Guam is a small island that is only 212 square miles, stretching 30 miles long and 2 miles wide. It is located in the North Pacific about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines.
When I travel back to the United States, my air travel time alone is more than 17 hours, not including layovers.
Guam is very tropical year round. Every day, temperatures reach more than 85 degrees. I love it and will miss it when we move this summer [2012]. Coming to Guam has magnified my training.
The land has become my training field. I have had some of my most intense workouts, from swimming in the ocean to long hikes and jumping off waterfalls. This little island has done so much for me.
I moved here with very little clarification on what or who I wanted to stand for … I learned more than how to live, I learned to become alive. Being secluded from the States, I was able to completely focus on all of my goals and aspirations. I kept my head down out here and it pushed me even further, no distraction, no clicks, just me competing against myself everyday.
I’ve also grown so much the past two years as an athlete. I have been a part of the Dragon Boat racing team. Practices were held early morning, before the sun was up. I started playing for the Guam Women’s Soccer team and recently got invited to play on Guam’s National Soccer Team, which is a huge honor. Practice is 4 nights per week for 2 hours.
I’ve learned to scuba dive and have been fortunate to dive some of the most beautiful waters in the world, see some amazing creatures, and explore a different life. When I came to Guam, I felt like I stepped back in time 20 years. Life is simple here. The people of Guam place value in God, family, and friends … not on material objects, not on superficial things that don’t matter.
It grounded me, made me realize there is so much more to life. On Sundays, businesses close and the days are spent having fiestas on the beach with family.
Since being on Guam, I’ve been able to put together charities for the Guam American Cancer Society, and for the Wounded Warrior Project. I have been able to spread the love for fitness to this small little island, but I’ll never be able to give back as much as it has given me.
I’ve realized that you can go anywhere in the world and have something in common with someone who shares your passion for fitness.
Regardless of race or ethnicity, having the same goals and passion is like a brotherhood or a sisterhood in this industry; it doesn’t matter where you’re at in the world.
There are some pretty fit girls out here in Guam! They read the same articles I do, follow the same people and get on Bodybuilding.com, but they still have a lot of questions.
Guam has its own small bodybuilding show. The thought of competing in the states seems so terrifying to most of them. Some of the girls I know out here would kick some booty in the states!
When the time comes, if Tripp or Cash decide they want to be a part of the United States Military, I would be so proud of them.
As a mother, you always worry about your children, especially when they volunteer to put their life on the line or at risk.
It’s my job now to teach them to be brave through all things, to give them the confidence to overcome all challenges that may stand in their way.
It’s up to me, as their mother, to teach them now by example to always give 100 percent. And, if there is something they want in a career, to go after it full force, never backing down.
So yes, when the time comes and it’s a decision they make, I will make sure they are ready to be leaders. Not just leaders, but the ones everyone else is trying to catch.
Blaine is one of the fittest guys I know. I’m always trying to keep up with him! I am so blessed to have a husband who fully supports my lifestyle, OUR lifestyle. It makes it easy.
We both love to cook and eat healthy; we love to be outdoors and it’s a priority for both of us to get our gym time in and to be in top physical shape.
I believe fitness should be a focus for every military spouse. Although we are the ones who stay back while our spouse deploys, it’s so important to stay physically, mentally fit. I believe both go hand in hand: physical strength and mental strength. We have to be ready for anything.
Any news, or instructions and we’re responsible for taking care of the household while the other is gone. I have been so fortunate while living in Guam to work with spouses whose husbands are gone. I’ve had them completely break down on me, tears flowing … they repeat the words “I can’t do it.”
My heart sinks every time because I know how hard it is. I look at them sternly and say ‘YES YOU CAN!’ I make them keep training, I make them focus on their diets; the stronger I see them get physically, the stronger they become mentally and emotionally.
They hold the family together. It’s vital as military spouses that we make being fit a priority.
I did give up a lot, but not nearly as much as the active-duty members in the military. They make the biggest sacrifice. Life is all about choices and the one constant in life is change. The world is changing all around us. I’ve learned to continually mold myself to whatever situation I’m in.
I’m a big supporter of our United States Military. I’m so proud to be a USN wife. I will support my husband through anything he decides to go after, in the military or not. I’m proud of him and everything he’s done for his country.
Competitively speaking, it has been hard; booking a flight and traveling 17 hours to do a competition was a lot. Since being in Guam, I have done 4 shows. I would begin months in advance preparing my travels, making every single day I was in the States count, from the moment I landed to the moment I took off.
I would book photo shoots, have my press cards ready. If there was an expo going on with the competition I had to map out the companies and people I wanted to meet. I would walk right up to them, introduce myself, give them my press card or my portfolio and then move on to the next thing.
My time was so valuable and short, I used every second I had pushing my name and promoting myself as a competitor and an athlete. I never took it for granted. I had to leave an impression. I had to stand out.
Being in the military does require you to move a lot. It’s hard on any family to move, especially every 2-3 years, just as you get comfortable.
To be honest, I love it-the more people I get to meet, the different parts of the world I get to see and experience. With social networks the way they are now, you can be anywhere in the world and still keep up with your friends.
This may be the last overseas station for Blaine and me. So traveling within the 50 states from coast to coast is going to be so easy.
Being in the military, you have friends planted all over the world. That’s the beauty of this big family.
You may be packing up and moving thousands of miles away, but you know you’ll see them again.
If you would like to get Ashley’s full nutrition, training and supplementation programs, click the links to her other pages. To connect with Ashley via social media, go to her BodySpace and Facebook pages or check out her website. She also has a youtube page!
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Bill Burke, 70 Years Old, To Ascend Mount Everest From Nepal And Tibet
By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU, May 10 (Reuters) – A 70-year-old climber who became the oldest American to scale Mount Everest three years ago, is heading to the mountain again at the weekend hoping to climb the world’s tallest peak that straddles the Nepal-Tibet border from both sides.
Bill Burke, a native of Costa Mesa, California, said he would first try and climb the 8,850 metre (29,035 feet) mountain from its northern side in Tibet. He will then climb from Nepal taking the same route as Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953.
“It is going to be very tight climbing both sides in the same season,” Burke told Reuters in Kathmandu.
It is rare for climbers to climb from two sides in the same season because they become tired and have less time to wind up before the onset of annual monsoon rains that batter the Himalayas starting in June.
Climbers have traversed Mount Everest – going up one side and down the other – in the past. But China, which allows climbers to go to Mount Everest from Tibet, does not permit them to traverse any more.
Hundreds of climbers are on the Tibetan and Nepali sides of Mount Everest during the current climbing season which ends this month.
Nearly 3,700 people have climbed Everest and at least 231 have lost their lives in attempts. (Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Ed Lane)
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Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/bill-burke-climb-mount-everest-twice_n_1505486.html
Unique Flesh Eating Bacteria Survivors Return to Sports: Fan’s View
One blogger claims that flesh eating bacteria, like the kind that affected Aimee Copeland during a zip-line accident in Georgia, are extremely rare — and are nothing to worry about. However, many videos on YouTube show that this is something that has taken many athletes out of the game. Furthermore, many information sources seem to press the issue that flesh eating bacteria is a special risk for athletes.
Along with its close cousin MRSA, necrotizing fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria) and the amputations caused by these microbes does not always mean the end of a sports career for these unique athletes.
Are MRSA and flesh eating bacteria related?
Have you known someone with a staph infection? While staph is not necessarily fatal, the kind that is resistant to antibiotics can be. Worse, it appears that this resistant staph strain, called MRSA, may develop into a flesh eating bacteria medical crisis.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and their April, 2005 article titled, “Necrotizing Fasciitis Caused by Community-Associated Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Los Angeles,” there is a link between necrotizing fasciitis and MRSA.
Are Athletes at special risk for flesh eating bacteria?
Printed two months before the NEJM article, Sports Illustrated announced that there is a, “Menace in the Locker Room.” Sports Illustrated claims, “MRSA, a strain of antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus once confined to hospitals, is striking athletes at an alarming rate and with dire consequences.” Adding to this theory is a joint effort, called TheMat.com, between the NCAA and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control).
If you are wondering why you have not heard about the link between athletes and flesh eating bacteria, the NEJM states that this is a fairly new area of medicine and concludes their article with, “Necrotizing fasciitis caused by community-associated MRSA is an emerging clinical entity.”
Natural bodybuilder rises back to the top
In 2005, Richard Herskovitz, an amateur natural bodybuilding champ, developed necrotizing fasciitis on his foot. After weeks of attempting to save his leg, doctors informed him that he would need to amputate. Herskovitz explained in an interview that he returned to competitive bodybuilding with the help of a prosthetic. However, in 2009, he had complications that meant he had to further amputate above the knee.
In discussing why he decided to continue bodybuilding after he lost his leg, Herskovitz says, “I wanted to be able to look at myself in the mirror and focus not on what I had lost, but on what I still had. I wanted my children to see me not as a father who had lost a leg, but as a father who could rise above a tragic situation and continue to move forward.”
You can learn more about this athlete and his ongoing success after surviving flesh eating bacteria at his website, RichardHerskovitz.com.
Man still loves rowing after flesh eating bacteria
In Upper Arlington, Ohio, WBNS-10TV did an interview with Blake Haxton. While Haxton was in high school, he was a rowing team star that was well-recognized as one of the best in the state. Sadly, he had both of his legs amputated when he was infected with flesh eating bacteria. When he was interviewed, he said that the first symptom was cramping in his legs.
For three years, he thought he was finished with sports but decided that it was time to get back to what he loved. Now, he teaches rowing to kids from a motorized boat. About the harrowing infection Haxton says, “This happened to me, but it didn’t define me.”
70 year old marathon runner licks MRSA
All athletes that return to sports after suffering from flesh eating bacterium are an inspiration, but few are as memorable as cyclist “Boston Bill” Hansbury . Boston Bill contracted MRSA around the age of 70 and had one of his legs amputated. When he wanted to return to cycling, he learned that specialized equipment to ameliorate his disability was too expensive.
Due to the frustration of costs related to an artificial prosthetic, Boston Bill decided to open up to his community for donations. Now, he is still cycling, and has extended his mission to help other amputee athletes with the Boston Bill Foundation.
To learn more about helping child, teen, adult, and elderly athletes return to sports post-MRSA amputations, visit BostonBill.org.
More from this Contributor:
Weird Artistic Facts About Pro Sports Atheletes
Unique World of Sports Played by Disabled Veterans
First Person: Steve Jobs Turned My Disability to Ability
How I Survived Financially when I was Denied Social Security Disability
Article source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/unique-flesh-eating-bacteria-survivors-return-sports-fans-021200713--spt.html
Bodybuilding company reaches deal with prosecutors
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Federal prosecutors say they have reached a plea agreement with an online fitness company and its former president on charges the company sold misbranded drugs.
U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson announced the deal Wednesday with Meridian-based Bodybuilding.com and former president Jeremy DeLuca.
The plea agreements are still subject to a judge’s approval. But Olson says the company has agreed to pay a $7 million fine, while DeLuca has agreed to pay a $600,000 penalty.
DeLuca and the company were charged with misdemeanors for violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Investigators say the company sold products listed as dietary supplements that were actually classified as drugs by the Food and Drug Administration.
In a separate case, company CEO Ryan DeLuca pleaded guilty to illegally selling misbranded dietary supplements that contained steroids.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Article source: http://www.khq.com/story/18250351/bodybuilding-company-reaches-deal-with-prosecutors
Actor Guy Pearce Pumps Up for Lockout
Stranded in outer space, stranded in Serbia — how much different can it be?
Not much, says actor Guy Pearce, whose newest film, Lockout, opened Friday.
“The thing I enjoy about being in remote places is that there are no distractions,” Pearce, 44, says. “I love the idea of having three months to just think about one thing. It’s hard to shoot at home — with the house and the dogs and the banking. It’s far more distracting — and not as fair to my wife.”
In Lockout, Pearce plays Snow, a disgraced CIA agent in the future who, on his way to prison for something he didn’t do, is drafted for a brutal mission: He must single-handedly rescue the president’s daughter, who is stranded on a maximum-security prison orbiting Earth — on which all the prisoners have escaped.
The film was written by its first-time directors James Mather and Stephen St. Leger, a pair of Irishmen about whom Pearce says, “I was impressed by them.” To play an action hero, Pearce (a teen-age bodybuilding champion in his native Australia) began lifting weights and eating a special diet to bulk up so he’d look formidable on camera.
Getting back into the body-building regimen wasn’t easy: “I certainly didn’t have the enthusiasm for it that I did as a kid,” Pearce says with a smile. “And I’m far more skilled at it now. I used to go at it a bit hard. I’m far more wary about my ligaments and tendons.”
Pearce was already acting onstage, about to start a TV career as a teen, when he was first attracted to weight-lifting: “My mother would go to the gym and I’d go with her when I was 14 or 15,” he says. “I’d do circuit training — and I instantly became fascinated by how one’s body changed through training. There was a body-building gym run by a woman who was a runner-up in the Miss Australia and I started going there.
“I was fascinated in the same way I’m fascinated in the changes a sculptor creates. It’s an artistic form of creativity. And I had the energy at that age to be enthusiastic about the training.”
You can’t train, however, to be funny. Either you’ve always got a one-liner at the ready or you don’t. His character, Snow, does; Pearce, however, is not that adept.
“I really wish I did have that talent,” he says. “I can be funny. But under pressure, I tend to clam up. Although, with a vodka under my belt, I’m OK at a dinner party. But I’m better off when someone writes the lines for me.”
Pearce has been acting since childhood, finding TV and film work as a teen and jumping from Australian stardom (including one of the leads in the original Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) to Hollywood (L.A. Confidential). He’s built a resume that includes everything from independent classics (Memento) to Oscar-winning hits (The King’s Speech) to Emmy-winning miniseries (Mildred Pierce).
He took a break from acting at 30 because, as he says, “I wanted to reassess. I realized I’d been living my life and career based on the decision of an 8-year-old. I wanted to see whether there was validity to that decision, to see if I did have the skills. I came to the conclusion that I did — maybe because there’s nothing else I’m able to do.”
The press book for Lockout brags that Pearce gained 50 pounds in muscling up for his role. Pearce, however, rolls his eyes at the figure.
“I don’t know where they got that,” he says. “It was maybe 20. And I took them off just as gradually as I put them on. I was able to decrease the amount of weight I was lifting and the amount of food I was eating. And I turned the exercises more toward cardio. My wife and I do a lot of walking. I find it’s great, for all sorts of reasons. It’s a good way to level out after an intense workout — like filming in Serbia.”
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Actor Guy Pearce pumps up for Lockout
Stranded in outer space, stranded in Serbia — how much different can it be?
Not much, says actor Guy Pearce, whose newest film, Lockout, opened Friday.
“The thing I enjoy about being in remote places is that there are no distractions,” Pearce, 44, says. “I love the idea of having three months to just think about one thing. It’s hard to shoot at home — with the house and the dogs and the banking. It’s far more distracting — and not as fair to my wife.”
In Lockout, Pearce plays Snow, a disgraced CIA agent in the future who, on his way to prison for something he didn’t do, is drafted for a brutal mission: He must single-handedly rescue the president’s daughter, who is stranded on a maximum-security prison orbiting Earth — on which all the prisoners have escaped.
The film was written by its first-time directors James Mather and Stephen St. Leger, a pair of Irishmen about whom Pearce says, “I was impressed by them.” To play an action hero, Pearce (a teen-age bodybuilding champion in his native Australia) began lifting weights and eating a special diet to bulk up so he’d look formidable on camera.
Getting back into the body-building regimen wasn’t easy: “I certainly didn’t have the enthusiasm for it that I did as a kid,” Pearce says with a smile. “And I’m far more skilled at it now. I used to go at it a bit hard. I’m far more wary about my ligaments and tendons.”
Pearce was already acting onstage, about to start a TV career as a teen, when he was first attracted to weight-lifting: “My mother would go to the gym and I’d go with her when I was 14 or 15,” he says. “I’d do circuit training — and I instantly became fascinated by how one’s body changed through training. There was a body-building gym run by a woman who was a runner-up in the Miss Australia and I started going there.
“I was fascinated in the same way I’m fascinated in the changes a sculptor creates. It’s an artistic form of creativity. And I had the energy at that age to be enthusiastic about the training.”
You can’t train, however, to be funny. Either you’ve always got a one-liner at the ready or you don’t. His character, Snow, does; Pearce, however, is not that adept.
“I really wish I did have that talent,” he says. “I can be funny. But under pressure, I tend to clam up. Although, with a vodka under my belt, I’m OK at a dinner party. But I’m better off when someone writes the lines for me.”
Pearce has been acting since childhood, finding TV and film work as a teen and jumping from Australian stardom (including one of the leads in the original Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) to Hollywood (L.A. Confidential). He’s built a resume that includes everything from independent classics (Memento) to Oscar-winning hits (The King’s Speech) to Emmy-winning miniseries (Mildred Pierce).
He took a break from acting at 30 because, as he says, “I wanted to reassess. I realized I’d been living my life and career based on the decision of an 8-year-old. I wanted to see whether there was validity to that decision, to see if I did have the skills. I came to the conclusion that I did — maybe because there’s nothing else I’m able to do.”
The press book for Lockout brags that Pearce gained 50 pounds in muscling up for his role. Pearce, however, rolls his eyes at the figure.
“I don’t know where they got that,” he says. “It was maybe 20. And I took them off just as gradually as I put them on. I was able to decrease the amount of weight I was lifting and the amount of food I was eating. And I turned the exercises more toward cardio. My wife and I do a lot of walking. I find it’s great, for all sorts of reasons. It’s a good way to level out after an intense workout — like filming in Serbia.”
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Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marshall-fine/actor-guy-pearce-pumps-up_b_1430912.html