By Alice Mitchell,
Project Weight Loss Editor
November 28, 2008People Magazine named Hugh Jackman this year’s Sexiest Man Alive. Not only this, but sensitive too. Movie director Baz Luhrmann has just released "Australia" in which Hugh plays the part of Drover, a cowboy rebel with a big heart, not to mention big muscles. The actor has a really great physique and it seems that it’s true what they say about Hollywood actors: the older they get, the hotter they look. What’s Hugh’s secret?
The 40-year-old actor takes his diet and workout plans seriously. He works out for an hour and a half every day to keep his body fit and likes to always improve his routine and keep it from getting boring. Hugh is aware of how much strength he needs during a workout, so he eats well. He eats six meals a day consisting of lean proteins and vegetables.
His trainer, Steve Ramsbottom, personalized a workout regime in order to help Hugh gain muscle mass without losing his lean body. "When Hugh came in - he's a pretty fit guy already - I stuck to my philosophy and did an assessment and asked him his goals," said Ramsbottom. The trainer has Jackman pass through two phases of weight training in order to reach his goal.
The first one focused on building muscle mass. Jackman’s speed of lift was slowed down. He was supposed to count to three while lifting and putting down the weight. "It's a lot more difficult and what it does is it increases the time under tension that you have on that muscle so you force adaptation and force breakdown in the actual muscle and, in turn, it ends up growing," explained Ramsbottom.
He also added that the actor gained 15 pounds of muscle mass after 12 weeks of training. In the second phase the tempo was no longer a must do. Jackman had to lift heavy weights in order to get maximum strength. Both phases lasted for 6 months and Jackman was lifting weights five days a week, for up to two hours. Ramsbottom recommended this type of workout for both men and women.
Also, he added that a workout should always vary in order to get good results. "People stick with the same program too long. If they adjust the different variables - sets, tempo - that's going to force changes and get people more fit." And after an exhausting workout, what better that a massage therapy? That’s Jackman’s favorite way of recovering.
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Project Weight Loss. All rights reserved.
