Men\'s Health Australia - 11.2018

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November 2018 89

MUSCLE

Christian

Bale

AMERICAN PSYCHO 2000

Marlon

Brando

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE 1951

Daniel

Craig

CASINO ROYALE 2006

Bale has become
synonymous with physical
transformations, dropping
more than 25kg for The
Machinist, then bulking up
so much for Batman Begins
that he was asked to lose
10kg. But Bale’s best work is
in American Psycho,
ironically interpreted as an
etiquette manual by many
bankers. The actor was so
determined to land the role
that he reportedly trained
three hours a day, six days a
week, for the nine months it
took Leonardo DiCaprio,
whom the studio wanted, to
depart the project. The
precise nature of his
workouts is unknown, but
the smart guess is that he
went method: crunches
with an ice pack on his face
and The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre on TV.

Crunch

Time

Bale’s character

Bateman starts each

day with 1000 stomach

crunches. Stay sane

with a little variety

When Brando first played

the part of Stanley

Kowalski on Broadway,

before starring in the film

version, women threw

their hotel keys at him.

Gore Vidal wrote that the

“earthquake” of Brando in

his torn, sweaty T-shirt

caused a seismic shift in

American sexuality:

“Before him, no male was

considered erotic...

A man was essentially a

suit, he wasn’t a body.”

Brando used his to

entice and intimidate

• but his performance
  owed a lot to the gym. It
  was based on boxer
  Rocky Graziano, whom
  he had sneakily observed
  there. By way of thanks,
  the actor gave his muse
  two tickets to the show.

When Craig’s 007

emerged from the water

with his gym-bufed pecs,

he heralded a sea change

in masculine ideals. The

now iconic scene evoked

Ursula Andress’s entrance

in Dr No, but with Bond and

not his “girl” as our focus.

Craig said the moment was

accidental: shallow water

forced him to stand. His

trunks sold for $78,000, at

a charity auction.

The actor wanted his

Bond to look lethal. Trainer

Simon Waterson gave him

a licence to kill with a

combination of

powerlifting and

compound exercises that

elevated his heart rate to

build muscle while

maintaining leanness.

01/ Oblique Crunch

Touch your hands to your

head and lift your

shoulders, rotating your

body to bring your left

elbow to your right knee.

Swap sides and repeat

for defined obliques.

02/ Reverse Crunch

This version will target

your lower abs. With your

arms flat at your sides, lift

your hips and raise your

knees to your chest.

Squeeze, then lower.

03/ Weighted Crunch

Grab a plate and lie down,

with your knees bent and

the weight held to your

chest. Crunch up – hold

the contraction for a

second when you reach

the top. Slowly lower

back down.