Men\'s Health Australia - 11.2018

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November 2018 87

MUSCLE

Jean Claude

Van Damme

BLOODSPORT 1988

Michael

B Jordan

BLACK PANTHER 2018

Steve

Reeves

HERCULES 1958

Unlike some of his action hero

peers, the functional Muscles

from Brussels – a karate black

belt and ballet student, as well as

Mr Belgium – could move with a

fluid grace, which is why he was

initially cast as the agile alien

opposite Arnie in Predator.

Bloodsport, a fight film about an

illegal martial arts tournament,

made JCVD a star. It also inspired

both the sport of MMA and the

Mortal Kombat video games: the

character Johnny Cage is based

on him, right down to his splits.

Van Damme was into flexibility

before it was cool – or he

parodied it in those Volvo ads.

It’s a mark of the

intimidating shape he’s

in that when Jordan’s

“Killmonger” disrobes to

reveal his scarred torso

ahead of combat with

Chadwick Boseman’s

King T’Challa – AKA

Black Panther – you fear

that nine lives might not

be enough. Jordan was

ripped in 2015’s Creed

but, with trainer Corey

Calliet, he went into

beast mode, benching

50kg dumbbells. The

result? A physique that

embodies 21st century

black power.

The first bodybuilder to

become a household

name, Reeves was an

inspiration to Arnie and

Sly, who watched

Hercules “15 or 16 times”

as a 12-year-old. The 1950

Mr Universe used then

novel methods such as

supersetting and

performing leg exercises

last, so fatigue wouldn’t

inhibit his upper-body

work. He criticised

modern bodybuilders’

steroid use: “If a man

doesn’t have enough

male hormones in his

system to create a nice,

hard, muscular body,

he should take up

ping-pong.”

Though Henry Cavill refined
his physique for Batman v
Superman (2016) and Justice
League (2017), nothing in either
movie etched itself in the
memory like those first shots of
a shirtless, stacked Clark Kent.
Cavill worked with Mark Twight
and Michael Blevins of the
uncompromising Gym Jones in
Salt Lake City, which also
chiselled the cast of 300
into Greek statues. He trained
for two months alone before
joining them for a gruelling
four months in Los Angeles.
Sadistic workouts such as 100
front squats with the
equivalent of his bodyweight in
iron were conceived to bolster
mental fortitude as much as
physical appearance – Cavill’s
steely determination is as
visible as his muscles.

Super

Shredder

To cut fat for Justice League,

Cavill worked at ultra-high

intensity for short bursts of

five minutes. Try this taster

Jason

Statham

THE TRANSPORTER 2002

Henry Cavill

MAN OF STEEL 2013

If Lock, Stock (1998) and Snatch (2000) showcased

the patter that Statham picked up as a street trader,

The Transporter was the perfect vehicle for the

gravity-defying athleticism he developed as a diver

for the British national team. As he demonstrates

when he uses his top to tie up goons before kicking

his way across an oil-slicked garage floor, it’s not just

about the polished chassis but what’s under the

hood. Through sequels, similar franchises (The

Mechanic) and an ever-evolving program of martial

arts, gymnastic skills and Olympic lifts, he continues

to turn back his mileage clock.

01/ Assault Bike,

12kcal (50kJ)

Start with a fat burner. Pump

and pedal until you reach your

calorie target, then jump

straight of and pick up a

plate without resting.

02/ Plate Carry,

75kg for 30m

Strongman moves trained

Cavill’s stabiliser muscles and

raised the metabolic demand.

After your carry, hit the bike

until your time is up.