FROM VAMPIRE TO DEMIGOD: KELLAN LUTZ'S HERCULEAN TRANSFORMATION

 

"I [have] always loved Hercules, He-Man, Tarzan—all those epic, classic heroes. Now that I get to bring Hercules to life, my spirit is on fire".

Demigod!!

 

He may be best known for his role as Emmett Cullen in the "Twilight Saga" film series, but Kellan Lutz has moved past the vampire gig and stepped into the shoes of a demigod. Given his love for heroes, Lutz seems like a natural choice to play the son of Zeus.

 

Lutz only had two weeks to prepare for filming and precious little equipment, "I didn't have a lot of time, so I had to multitask and work multiple muscles at once."  He focused less on mass and more on athletics and aesthetics, using cardio, resistance training, and creativity to build a body worthy of his character.

 

 

 

"When I'm working out, I try to make it competitive," he says. "I make up challenges. I need it to be a game."The treadmill circuit below is an example of how Lutz used limited equipment to great effect.

 

Treadmill Circuit: 3 Rounds, raising incline and speed every two minutes

Running, Treadmill 2 minutes    

Dips (Using Treadmill) 20 reps

 

Upper-Body Circuit: 3 Rounds

 

  Side Lateral Raise (Shown w/ Dumbbells) 20 reps

Decline Push-Up 20 reps

Machine Incline Chest Press (20 reps)

Decline Push-Up (20 reps)

Machine Bench Press (20 reps)

Decline Push-Up (20 reps)

 

Not only is the circuit challenging, but it's fun and fast-paced, which helps Lutz enjoy the workload. "At the end of the day, I don't want my time in the gym to be a workout," Lutz says. "I want to have a good time. I don't want to be watching the clock the whole time; I want to look up and think, "Oh my God, I've been here for two hours."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE---I AM NOT A SPECTATOR!!!

"I never believed I'd have a six-pack, especially not at 35 years old," says Sullivan Stapleton, star of 300: Rise of an Empire. "I always thought it was a genetic blessing. It's not. You just have to be willing to do what it takes." In 12 weeks, Stapleton managed to shed 25 pounds of fat.

 The human body was never created to seat behind a desk, or in front of a television. It was created to climb mountains, swim rivers and lift obstacles.  Few movies resonate with the male psyche as effectively as '300' and its sequel '300: Rise of an Empire." 

 

With a bit of digging, I was able to unearth the workouts that turned these 'farmhands' into bad ass warriors.

 

 1. Warm up by rowing 500m in less than 1 minute 30 seconds. This could be performed on an automatic or manual rowing exerciser.

2. Perform 4 Sets of Goblet squats, using either dumbbells or kettlebells. Use as much weight as you can without sacrificing good form, reducing the weight by 2kg after each set.

Goblet Squats

3.  Drop down and deliver 100 - 200 pushups, You're going to need the strength to wield your swords. use as many sets as necessary, but get it done. Strive to reduce the number of sets required to reach 200 reps.

4. Deadlifts- you can't build a respectable body without them. Go heavy, and get bigger. perform 4 sets of 12,10,8,6 reps respectively.

 

Build your destiny!!!!

MARRIAGE AND WEIGHT GAIN

We all see it, a fit and sexy single guy or girl gets married and in a few months gets the spare tire, love handles, pot belly, turkey arms, etc.(If you doubt me, look up your parents pre wedding pictures.)  

Kim +Kanye, 20 years on??

Unfortunately, a recent study revaled that weight gain constitutes the biggest relationship peeve for most couples.

The biggest culprit is the change in lifestyle that happens after marriage. The reason for this is simple; when a person is single, they feel the need to look sexy and attractive, so they adopt lifestyle choices such as dieting and exercise. With marriage and the attendant adjustments however, couples tend to slack off on healthier choices. Your partner may even encourage less-than-healthy habits. "When you're combining lifestyles, sometimes the less active one wins out," says Cheryl Forberg, RD, nutritionist for The Biggest Loser and author of the cookbook Flavor First. for instance when your guy wants you to skip your morning run to sleep in with him, it's easy to roll over and give in.

You don't have to get like this!!!

There's no need to fear, research shows that couples that work out together have a 94% chance of sticking with their fitness programmes. Couples can motivate themselves toward a healthy lifestyle while sharing some emotionally beneficial quality time. In order to do this however, the couples should identify activities which they mutually enjoy. Activities which couples can enjoy together include:

1. Dancing: 

Take a Latin dance class or alternatively, head down to the hippest dance club in town and break out some moves. Avoid too much alcohol and drink lots of water while youre at it (You wouldn't want to do something you'll regret later on!!).

2. Martial Arts

 Taking a martial arts class together helps the couple build a healthy respect for each others physical abilities, in addition they can work out together and provide mutual support to each other in the process.

 

3: Swimming:

 This low impact and enjoyable activity can provide hours of quality and healthy entertainment to the couple, as well as being a wonderful prelude to some bedroom activity (*wink*)

 

4. Biking:

 You and your partner could take a nice bike ride and enjoy the environment together reminiscent of how you hung out with your siblings when you were young.

   

 

DEADLIFT YOUR WAY TO A FIT BODY!!!

 It has been a long time since I last posted on LegallyMuscled. I hope you are getting closer to you goal of maintaining a fit mind and a strong body - a body that is living and pulsating with the vigorous energy of aliveness through lifting weights.

Many people have a love-hate relationship with the deadlift. I rather dread the deadlift myself because of the soreness I normally feel when I use them in my training.

 

Deadlifts is one of the few exercises that truly stimulate both the lower and upper body. The same cannot be said of squats, which focus mainly on the lower body. Deadlifts work your backside, giving it a firm and rounded look.  upper thighs, hamstrings, lower back, upper middle back, traps, and gives a kind of "fullness" in the chest (take note guys). 

Do not round or flatten your back at any time! This is very important. If you round or flatten your back on the initial pull or to get that last rep you're risking a serious injury that might set you back months or totally end your weightlifting career. If you cannot do deadlifts with good form then do not do them, period. 

 Do not deadlift when you have a pinch in the lower back, it may be a warning sign of injury.

UNLEASH YOUR INNER BARBARIAN

Conan the Barbarian ...... the very word conjures an image of muscular perfection, athleticism and male virility. Conan has been acted by two seriously built and ripped men, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jason Mormoa ( who also acted the part of Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones). 

 

 

The thing about Conan's body is that it combines a highly developed and defined physique with athleticism and cardiovascular endurance (try swinging a 10 pound sword at 100 people!). This kind of body requires not only an intense and highly specific training, but also a clean and protein rich diet.

I have been researching the various workouts used by high performance athletes to build and maintain muscle mass and definition without sacrificing flexibility and agility.  In this article, you will find a workout designed to build you into a high performance behemoth like our man Conan.

The workout is meant to be performed 3 days a week with about 25% of your body weight or as much as you can handle without sacrificing good form. The remainder of the week should be devoted to rest and recovery. This is because if performed properly, each workout will break down your muscles to the point of growth. Rest for about 2 mins between sets so that you can push each set to the maximum. Try keeping each workout within 90 mins so as to reduce the probability of overtraining. You will notice that I included 30 mins of cardio; this will help build your heart and give you the cardiovascular endurance required to actually use the body you have built effectively.

Day 1: Monday

30 mins of Cardio

25 pull ups

Seated Military pulls   4x10

Squats                            4x10 

Dumbell Bench press   4x10

50 Ab Crunches

25 Pull ups                    4x10

50 Pushups

Day 2: Wednesday

30 mins

Lat Pulldowns ( various grips)   4x10

Rope pushdowns                          4x10

Bulgarian Split Squats                 4x10

Barbell shrugs                              4x10

50 Ab Crunches   

100 pushups

Day 3: Friday

25 Pull Ups

Dumbell Flyes                     4x10

Barbell bent over rows        4x10

Deadlifts                              4x10

25 Box Jumps

Barbell Bench press            4x 10

Increase your weights with each workout; as a rule of thumb I normally start a workout from the weight level where I stopped at the last workout. this keeps my muscles challenged and growing. Make sure you fuel your body with good clean food before and after working out. Failure to eat before working out could lead to loss of strength and even fainting. 

cHEERS

Cheers,