JUNE 2017 MUSCLE & FITNESS 53SINCE 2003, BAUTISTAhas
been collecting vintage lunch boxes.
He currently owns more than 250
- and about 80 that he really loves.
He even gifted lunch boxes to some
of the cast when they wrapped
Guardians 2. (Chris Pratt received
a Knight Rider lunch box; Zoe
Saldana, a Charlie’s Angels lunch
box.) So when Bautista is asked if
there’s anything in this world that
he doesn’t yet have that he wants,
he does not hesitate. “A 1970s
Underdog lunch box.”
It’s a funny answer. But in truth,
there are other, less jokey things
he wants. Doing stage acting –
particularly Shakespeare – is still
on his bucket list. One last run
with the WWE is still a possibility,
though nothing is planned. He
loves spending time at home with
his wife and his three big dogs, so
he’d like to do more of that. He
loves being able to lift weights three
days on and one day off when his
schedule allows. And he wants to
keep searching for those projects
that will let him express himself –
and perhaps convey some of those
emotions that were swirling around
in him as an awkward youth.
“Now I’m after that acting street
cred,” says Bautista. “I want to be
respected by my peers and have
them know that I’m an actor.”
Could this former gangly kid
one day win an Oscar? We wouldn’t
put it past the big fella.
FOR THE PAST YEAR,Dave Bautista
has been doing more weightlifting. It has
a lot to do with his role in Guardians 2.
“With Drax always being shirtless,
there’s no room to hide any fat,” says
Bautista. “I really focused on being in
better shape and more muscular.”
When he’s not filming, Bautista likes
to train three days on, one day off.
“I still do a lot of cross training,
a lot of boxing and grappling,” he
says. “But I did gear a lot of my training
towards weights this past year.”
He also loves to cycle, but it’s been
tough recently due to his schedule – and
his size. “I’ve kept my weight up, right
around 275 pounds [125kg],” he says.
“Long-distance cycling, when you’re
that heavy, it gets uncomfortable.”
Foodwise, Bautista eats a lot of
poultry, fish and eggs. And recently
he ate more red meat to pack on a little
muscle for the M&F photo shoot. “I play
with my diet a lot,” he says. “During theday, I am all protein and fats. And then at
night, I’ll usually have one very low-carb
meal. But I change things up depending
on what I’m preparing for.”
Unlike most guys, he says he hasn’t
found it more difficult to stay lean as he
gets older. “I think it’s because I’m in this
for the long run,” he says. “I don’t let up.”
His advice for others? First, make sure
your diet is on point. “You can’t leave a
gym and go eat like shit,” he says. “You
just can’t do it. So diet is always going
to be a huge factor.”
Second, be consistent. “Some people
get all fired up and they want to get
bigger arms, and they go in and work
themselves out till they’re so sore they
can barely move. And then they get
burned out and they don’t go for two
months. And it just doesn’t work like that.
It’s got to be a lifestyle thing. Whatever
you choose to do to be active – whether
it’s cycling or weight training or MMA –
it has got to be part of your daily life.”Built like Bautista
THE BALLAD OF
BAUTISTA, PART IV:
THE FUTURE
DAVE BAUTISTA