Two Week Tweak

So it's a two week countdown to my birthday- and I'm trying to reign in my excesses. I always like to feel like I'm getting better with age. Every year, I try to get in "the best shape of my life" for my b-day. It's a little foolish since I end up partying that night usually anyway. But my long- term goal has been to stay in shape for life. Along those lines, one of the first fitness books I really dug was (wait for it) Staying Hard, by Charles Gaines.



Gaines was a writer in the 70'ss/80's and friend of Schwarzenegger and helped produce the film, Pumping Iron. Staying Hard (1980) is a total classic and is basically about not "losing your hard" over time. Gaines was not a bodybuilder but just a bad-ass writer who stayed in shape. He was lean and cut and his routines are still worthwhile. I once dated a personal trainer and brought the book along on a lunch date at the Grove to get her opinion. I think she thought it was endearing and cute in a dated way... One important tip Gaines recommended was "make water your beverage of choice". He also advocated chewing your food. It's a very cool book- though one I don't consult much anymore. (There's all kinds of esoteric advice for "keeping your hard" like studying the Plains Indians and eating butterscotch over other candies). Definitely worth the $1.99 or whatever on Amazon. (and for the longest time btw, I wanted white short shorts to work out in).



My current favorite book though is (gulp) Owen McKibbin's Cover Model Workout. It's a Men's Health publication from 2003 and McKibbin is one of MH's most used cover models (hence the name of the book). More than that, he's a pro personal trainer, former USC volleyball player, and soccer player. He's had a ton of injuries (which is how I discovered the book after my shoulder injury last year) and his book rocks for motivation. It even has a chapter: Family- Friend or Foe..(think I know the answer to that one).



Owen comes through as a guy that's been around (a former "party dog" as he says); the kind of guy you'd like to get a smoothie with (jk). He used to arrive hungover to modeling shoots, and somehow stumbled upon clean living. Most of my workouts these days are modified from that book. When you cut out the booze and get to bed at a decent hour, Owen's plans work. His version of the "Two Week Tweak" however is for real. It's only in the hardcover edition of the book, but it's basically doing morning interval training and ab work (empty stomach) and afternoon lifting. His lifts aren't easy and there's plenty of unusual rep schemes like doing 20 hammer curls. Many Crossfit people (I won't name names) look down on workouts like this thinking it's bodybuilding type stuff- but no joke, his workouts deliver (and fyi- guys like Mark Wahlberg and Hugh Jackman do high rep- arm workouts). His diet does allow for some "dry carbs"- mostly in the morning (toast or oatmeal)- and also the book recommends cutting egg yolks and chicken skin (along the conventional "fat makes you fat" line) but it's easy to just eat Paleo and train like Owen- who's in his 50's and still killing it.



Posted above is Owen's Fat Loss- Phase 4 workout which I'll be doing for the next two weeks while ditching all my vices (except Thai masages). I'd suggest buying the book off Amazon if you're into it and starting from the beginning. This workout is not one to just jump into (rope-skipping intervals are tough). So raise your protein shakes to following through...and to being fit for life, whatever route you want to take.