Myosynthesis Forums

I'm always intrigued by celebs (actors in general) who "transform" their bodies for a role. Downey Jr, Deniro, Jackman, Pitt, Norton, Butler. The list goes on and on. Although, I can't think of the guys name that played the role of Charles Bronson for the film 'Bronson'. Tom something or other...He got fairly 'big' in a short amount of time. He said his diet was ice cream, steak, chicken, and drank gallons of milk and creatine.
His "routine"? Pushups, squats, db squat jumps, and more pushups.

The interesting part, for me that is, is what do these trainers have these guys doing? Let's pretend for a moment they're doing it 'juice' free. I really can't see a trainer taking a guy like Robert Downey (an established / pampered star) and throwing him in a squat rack. Or on a deadlift platform. For one thing, do they really have the time to teach them the lift? Second, is the star willing to do the nuts and bolts hardcore basics when they probably thought they'd be curling their brains out? In this instant-age-everything-nownownow, would these stars be willing to come in and squat, row, bench and dead 3 times a week?

I think a lot of this magic is just that, illusion. You strip the fat off. Build up their shoulders, traps, and chest. And never let the camera see their backs or legs. Now, Hugh Jackman got pretty ripped. But he was far from huge. In fact, most comic fans would tell you Hugh was was anything but hyuuuge enough to be Wolverine. Ed Norton, same thing. It was reported he put on 30 pounds of muscle for American History X. I have doubts about this. He looked great. Not sure it was 30lbs. of LBM great though.

What's the point in all this? Not sure I know. Maybe Matt can answer.
Matt, if Ed Norton, or Hugh Jackman makes their way to you, tells you that they have 6 months to get yoked, what's your game plan?

Matt, I've been sifting through your blog(s), you're keeping me busy. I can't stand to sit here and read from the screen, so I print everything out. Good stuff. Can't wait to get to the T-Nation stuff

Alright, had to get back on here after reading the T-Nation dispute / war? Funny shit. Doesn't suprise me a bit. My buddies and I refer to T-Nation or T-Mag as "T-Bag".

Awhile back Dave Tate had recomended Flame-Out. I started using it. And sadly enough, I believe the stuff works. For me, that is. What are your thoughts on it, if any? Is it garbage?
Bruce Kneller said he was testing the Biotest products, did he ever produce the results of these tests?

I never buy internet lifts. The d-bag (Jacked Diesel HAHAHAAHA) saying he could jack up 300lbs on his millitary press was almost as funny as his name. Jim Wendler says one of lifetime goals is to overhead press.....315.
And this d-bag, Diesel (damn, that's funny), claims his stands at 300? With a 455 deadlift and 370 squat? Something doesn't jive here.....
Yep, never argue with an idiot. They have more experience and only their logic applies, and when you beat them with said logic, they change the rules.
I check their blog/mag. out for Wendler or Tate interviews. But it always leaves me feeling a bit dirty. That Thibs guy gives me the creeps. Not sure why. He may be alright. I just don't like his vibe. I thought he was a bodybuilder? Dude looks kinda flat and porky to me. Must be bulking.

Alright, I got more of this blog of yours to rip through. I've got shit printed out laying around everywhere, my g/f loves it.
Not really....
Catch you around.

You pretty much it on it with the celebs. It's a combination of getting the right parts bigger, getting them lean, and letting camera trickery do the rest.

The appearance of muscularity, which I'd define as having both developed muscles and low body fat, is deceptive to people when they don't have a frame of reference to gauge actual size. If you take a small guy with developed yoke and arms and just put him on camera, the human brain responds to that by thinking "size".

I say developed instead of big because that's what it is - the muscles have grown in proportion to that person, but they aren't necessarily "big".

You'll notice that effect with a lot of lightweight BBers and really anybody with that kind of muscularity going for them. They look huge in photos or on film, but you meet them in person they're just some small guy that might look like he works out.

Training these guys for film isn't as hard as it would sound because of that, and to be honest I probably wouldn't even bother doing a traditional strength program. Focus on getting the show muscles big, and focus on getting them leaned out. That's all that matters, because that's all that will show up on film.

I suppose it's the same with female actors and singers then? Get them super thin, do some work for arms and shoulder (strapless dresses) and just get them posing right.
Although the ones that give birth and then bounce right back freak me out. I dunno how they do it so quickly. Who was it that lost all the baby weight in 4 weeks or something utterly ridiculous like that?

When you're rich and have nothing to do but exercise and pay people to handle all the details, it's pretty straightforward.

I worked out at Vince Gironda's gym back in the day, and you'd be surprised at how much torture these celebrities will put up with to get in shape for a role. William Smith in Any Which Way You Can comes to mind... He's not an A-List star, but he was pretty well known in the 80s. And he's faaaaaar from pampered. The guy worked hard and looked good for the film.

Of course, imagine that someone comes to you and says "Here, I'll pay you several hundred thousand dollars if you get into shape for this part. Filming starts in two months. Oh, and since you'll be famous you'll be able to sleep with pretty much anyone you want." Let's just say that motivation and willingness to put up with some discomfort probably wouldn't be a problem.