SYLVESTER STALLONEMarch 4th, 2014 Sylvester Stallone has been an icon of the movie screens for decades. The Rocky and Rambo movie series set Sly firmly on a pedestal of having the ultimate male...
HOW TO ACHIEVE ANY GOALJanuary 15th, 2014 HOW TO ACHIEVE ANY GOAL Do you have goals that you haven't met? You aren’t alone. In fact, many people live with unfulfilled aspirations and the self-help...
QUINOA PROTEIN BARSJuly 20th, 2013 Fancy a more natural alternative to the full of sugar highly processed protein bars sold in stores? Well why not give this ago.... Quinoa is high protein...
EVENING CORE WORKOUTJune 26th, 2013In this video Personal Trainer takes you through an evening core workout.... Evening core workout from Neil Major on Vimeo....

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Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester-Stallone-Body

Sylvester Stallone has been an icon of the movie screens for decades.

The Rocky and Rambo movie series set Sly firmly on a pedestal of having the ultimate male physique that millions of guys worldwide would then strive to attain in the gym.

The more you learn about Stallone the more you simply have to admire him. The dedication, the discipline, the hard work and sacrifice to transform his body in such a dramatic fashion.

For myself and I’m sure many others would say what makes Sly stand out is his transformation is forever tied to the evolution of his on screen characters.

From the first Rocky and Rambo movies you can see his body evolve as the character evolves.

In Rambo and Rocky both released at around the same time late 70’s early 80’s with Sly aged 31 you could tell he worked out.

But then by the time Rambo 2 and Rocky 2 rolled around his physique had dramatically changed!

From then on you had a sense that Sly had built his career on how he looked and presenting the “Ripped” physique on screen was not only what we the audience expected but also the standard he had set for himself.

So how did he first of all transform?

How did he do it so quickly?

What was his workout routine?

What did he eat?

Well the answers to the above questions may surprise you!

The sheer amount of work and immense discipline with diet to the extreme of which he took it.

Today Sly even reflects that it was way too much and more of a body dysmorphic obsession.

Still I would argue there are worse things you could be obsessed with!

But I  do agree that the volume of training is too high and would not be considered an optimal workout these days, but you have to admire the work ethic.

Nowadays, he has a more balanced and scientific approach to training and nutrition. So here is an example of both:

“The Rocky and Rambo era”

Training:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday (Day 1, 3 and 5)

AM 2-3 Miles Jogging & 10 Rounds Sparring

Chest/Back/Abs

Incline Bench Press 4 X (8-10 reps)

Dumbbell Flys 4 X (10-12reps)

Close Grip Bench Press 5 X (6-8 reps)

Wide Grip Chin Ups 6 X (8-10 reps)

Single Arm Dumbbell Rows 4 X (8-10 reps)

Close Grip Seated Rows 4 X (10-12 reps)

Ab Crunch Legs Raised 3 X (8-10 reps)

Hanging Leg Raises 3 x (8-10 reps)

PM

Shoulders/Arms/Abs

Military Shoulder Press 4 X (8-10 reps)

Side Lateral Raises 4 X (10-12 reps)

Bent Over Dumbbell Flys 5 X (6-8 reps)

Barbell Curls 3 X (8-10 reps)

Incline Seated Dumbbell Curls 3 X (8-10 reps)

Concentration Curls 4 X (10-12 reps)

Tricep Dips (Whole Body Weight) 4 X (10-12 reps)

Single Arm Dumbbell Tricep Extensions 3 X  (10-12 reps)

Cable Crunches With Rope 3 X (10 reps)

Hanging Leg Raises 3 X (8-10 reps)

Decline Bench Sit Ups 3 X (8-10 reps)

Oblique Crunches 3 X 6-8 reps 

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday ( Day 2, 4 and 6 )

AM

Legs

Seated Calf Raises 4 X (8-10 reps)

Standing Calf Raises 4 X (10-12 reps)

Barbell Standing Calf Alternating Raises 5 X (8-12 reps)

Incline Leg Press 4 X (8-10 reps)

Squats 4 X (8-10 reps)

Seated Leg Extensions 4 X (8-10 reps)

Ham String Curls 4 X (10-12 reps)

Single Leg Extensions 4 X (10-12 reps)

Stiff Leg Deadlift 4 X (10-12 reps)

PM

Rear Deltoids/Traps/Abs

Bent Over Dumbbell Raise 4 X (8-10 reps)

Cable Lateral Raises 4 X (10-12reps)

Reverse Pec Deck 4 X (8-12 reps of each side)

Barbell Shrugs Front 4 X (8-10 reps)

Barbell Upright Rows 4 X (8-10 reps)

Flat Bench Cable Rows To Neck 4 X (8-10 reps)

Ab Crunch 4 X (8 reps)

Oblique Crunches 4 X (10 reps)

Cable Crunch 4 X (10-12 reps)

These routines are brutal, pushing the body to its absolute limits, taking around 2 hours in the morning and then another 2 in the afternoon/evening. Training before movies in this way was a full time job for sly for around 4-6 month before a role.

Nutrition:

Sly’s approach to nutrition in the early years was extreme to say the least often dieting for a film role he would consume around 200 kcals per day of only protein foods! He would then drink huge amounts of black coffee to fuel energy levels.

AM:

Egg whites/Coffee

White Fish/Green Beans/Coffee

Pm: Amino Acid Formula/Coffee

Chicken Salad/Coffee

Nowadays Sly is in his 60’s but still is in better shape than most 20 year olds.

Over the years Sly has learnt to feed his body and also to train in a more optimal way.

Allowing more rest and recovery in between training sessions and a more balanced diet consuming more nutrient packed foods but still with a high focus on protein to maintain muscle/metabolism and keeping carbs very low to keep his body fat level less than 10% to keep the ripped look.

Sly’s Training Now:

 Monday/Friday

Warm Up Cardio 5 Mins (Any Machine)

Hanging leg Raises 2 x 15

Twisting Crunches 2 x 15

Incline Bench Flys 3 x 12

Push Ups 3 x 12

Lat Pulldowns 3 x 12

Dumbbell Rows 3 x 12

Dumbbell Shrugs 3 x 12

Smith Machine Squats 3 x 12

Leg Press 2 x 15

Leg Extensions 3 x 12

Cardio Finale: 20 Mins Steady Pace

Wednesday:

Cardio Warm Up 5 Mins

Smith Machine Shoulder Press 2 x 15

Front Shoulder Raises 3 x 12

Upright rows 3 x 12

Chin ups 3 x 12

Barbell Curls 3 x 12

Tricep Push down 3 x 12

Over Head Rope Extensions 2 x 15

Tricep Dips 3 x 12

Cardio Finale 20 Mins Steady Pace

This kind of workout routine would be considered tough still by most peoples standards, but for Sly it has given him a way to balance his training and work life in such a way that has given him longevity and consistency in his body health wise  and also physique.

Sly’s Nutrition Now:

Sly eats 6 meals each day mainly consisting of Protein based food and high fibre greens.

80% of his calories come from Proteins such as eggs, chicken, fish, steak and whey protein powders.

Sly has one treat meal each week normally a small bowl of Ice Cream during the game.

To maintain a lean physique like Stallone a Typical day would look something like this….

Typically Day:

730am: 4 Egg Whites, 1 Piece Rye Bread

1030am Whey Protein Shake

130pm Chicken Spinach Salad

430pm Whey Protein

730pm Steak And Green Vegetables

Here is a link to an inspiration video with one of the most famous quotes from the Rocky movie, if this doesnt get you fired up to train and get in shape, nothing will 😉

Click Here >>>NeilMajorFitness YouTube Channel/Rocky Balboa Motivation<<<

Talk Soon!

Neil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To Achieve Any Goal

GOALSHOW TO ACHIEVE ANY GOAL

Do you have goals that you haven’t met?

You aren’t alone. In fact, many people live with unfulfilled aspirations and the self-help industry is booming.

Unfortunately, many widely used self-help techniques fail to deliver results.

Case in point: You’ve probably heard of the “Yale Goal Study” in which researchers were said to have interviewed the graduating Yale seniors in 1953, asking whether or not the students had written down specific goals that they wanted to achieve. Then twenty years down the road the researchers looked up each student and discovered that the 3% of the class who had written down their goals had accumulated more personal wealth than the other 97% combined.

Very compelling story, but complete fiction.

The “Yale Goal Study” never happened, though motivational speakers and self-help books have quoted it for years.

Best selling author and psychologist Richard Wiseman went on a mission to craft a no-nonsense response to the bogus self-help techniques. Using a diverse range of scientific data he uncovered a proven approach to achieve any goal.

The following 5 successful techniques (Do This) and 5 unsuccessful techniques (Not That) are from Wiseman’s book, 59 Seconds Change Your Life in Under a Minute.

Do This: Make a Step-by-Step Plan.
If you are serious about achieving your goal, then you need to create a step-by-step plan on how to do it.

Successful goal-achievers break down their overall goal into sub-goals. Each sub-goal needs to be concrete, measurable and time-based.

Not That: Motivate yourself by focusing on someone that you admire.
Studies show that focusing on someone you admire is not a strong enough motivator to see you through your goal.
Do This: Tell Other People About Your Goal.
How badly do you want to achieve your goal? If you want it bad enough, you’ll tell your friends and family.

This technique works on two levels. First, you’ve put yourself on the spot by letting the world in on your goal, so it’s all-eyes-on-you. Failure would be public. Second, your friends and family are there to offer support and encouragement. Don’t underestimate the psychological power of having someone in your corner.

Not That: Think about the bad things.
When you focus on the negative it becomes your reality.
Do This: Focus on the Good Things When Achieving Your Goal.
Remind yourself of the benefits associated with achieving your goal.

Make a checklist of how life will be better once you have achieved your aim. This gets your focus on a positive future, one that’s worth the effort.

Not That: Try to suppress unhelpful thoughts.
Rather than trying to erase that image of chocolate cake from your mind, learn to deal with the reality of temptation head-on.
Do This: Reward Your Progress.
Studies show that attaching rewards to each of your sub-goals encourages success.

Your rewards should never conflict with your major goal. When aiming to lose weight, never use food as a reward.

Not That: Rely on willpower.
Willpower alone rarely gets anyone to their goal.
Do This: Record Your Progress.
Make your plans, progress, benefits and rewards concrete by expressing them in writing.

Use a hand-written journal, your computer or a bulletin board to chart your progress. This process is priceless for maintaining motivation.

Not That: Daydream about life after achieving your goal.
Daydreaming is fun, but simply thinking about your new life will not make it a reality.
Are you ready to achieve your fitness and weight loss goal once and for all?

Now is your time to get into the best shape of your life.