Last week, each NF post centered around a movie star who got in shape for a particular role and what each one of them ate, how they exercised, and what resources were at their disposal to get it done.
In case you missed any of the posts, here they are:
- Ryan Reynolds in Blade Trinity (Blade 3)
- Daniel Craig in Casino Royale
- Jamie Bamber in Battlestar Galactica
- Brad Pitt in Troy
- Gerard Butler in 300
I had an absolute blast writing these posts, and I’ll certainly be doing more of them in the future because I really enjoyed finding out what goes into preparing for a role in certain flicks. However, I want to make things clear; they were written with as much emphasis on entertainment as education. These are people who were paid millions of dollars to look like they do, had all the time and resources in the world, personal trainers, specialized diets, and great genetics. Oh, and they also already started off in incredible shape!
More often than not, after these movies were shot the actors quickly lost their figures because they couldn’t (and weren’t expected to) keep up the torrid pace of exercise and dieting that they had stuck with for months months.
What does this mean for you? The best analogy I could come up with involves playing a game like World of Warcraft or Everquest. You know how you make your character, and then you spend hours and hours and hours leveling up, getting better stuff, fighting tougher enemies, etc? It takes forever, but you have a blast doing it and you really get that sense of accomplishment when you make it to the highest level. There’s always going to be people that have more time to play than you do, or have better resources, but you’re still happy because you’re playing with friends, you’re doing it at your own pace, and you have a life outside of the game (hopefully).
Then there are powerlevelers: these guys already started out ahead and spent lots of money to ‘twink’ their characters, making them far more powerful than if they were playing legitimately. Hell, sometimes they even pay other people to level their characters for them. They get to the highest level in record time and can probably kick your guy’s ass. You know what? Screw those guys. You made it to the top while having a job, you did it legitimately, and you’re having fun with it. That’s what’s important.
Fitness is no different. If you really want to look like King Leonidas, go for it. Just know that it might take you a really freaking long time to get there because you simply can’t dedicate eight hours a day to being in shape. I think it’s okay with setting lofty goals because you’re more likely to bust your ass to achieve them. If you say you want to lose 5 lbs, you’ll half-ass it because “hey, it’s only 5 lbs.” However, if you say you want to lose 80 lbs, cut your body fat percentage, and run a marathon, then you’ll make some serious changes to your lifestyle to make it happen. Have the lofty goals, but pair them with realistic expectations. If you’re a 300 lb 6ft 5inch guy, looking like Brad Pitt in Fight Club probably won’t happen. Pick somebody with a similar body type to yours, and then set your goals from there. Once you know how you want to look like, factor in what you can actually get accomplished while still living your life.
Don’t know what your goals should be or how long it should take you to accomplish them? Shoot me an email at [email protected] and I’ll gladly answer any questions you have. Also, If you have any requests on future movie hero-workouts, post a comment or email me.
Go get it.
-Steve
