And the Best Body Award goes to... Ryan Reynolds!

While there are mixed reviews about the movie Green Lantern, everyone seems to agree that the body of Ryan Reynolds as a Green Lantern is, indeed, perfect compared to most mortals. The green ring may have chosen him (Hal Jordan in the movie) as the first earthling to be part of the Green Lantern corps, but recently Reynolds was chosen by close to half a million voters as having the best overall body at the second annual Best Hollywood Bodies Award jointly given by US Weekly magazine and Gold’s USA. He also got the Best Arms Award in the male category.

No body like Reynolds’

A body like that of Reynolds not only means discipline and commitment but a lot of hours exercising. His personal trainer for nine years now is Bobby Strom. Popular for a lot of celebrity transformations, Strom also trained Reynold’s estranged wife Scarlett Johansson for Iron Man 2. Last year, People magazine named Reynolds as the “Sexiest Man Alive” while GQ named Johansson as “Babe of the Year”! Married in 2008, the sexiest couple announced the end of their marriage last December. 

In published interviews, Strom shares the workouts he gave actor Ryan Reynolds.

News has it that in the fitness and showbiz industries, great numbers search the “Ryan Reynolds’ workout.”

Strom first worked with Reynolds for the movie Blade: Trinity. The workout spanned six months, seven days weekly, 90 minutes daily. “We never did the same workout twice,” he stresses. One day may focus on abs (about 70 percent) with some leg or upper body exercise.  Reynolds switches to Pilates or yoga when exhausted, and goes kickboxing to prepare for fight scenes.

“By working opposing muscles from day to day, the workouts complemented each other. We’d do legs one day, no legs the next. Abs one day, then no abs or minimal abs the next day. One muscle group would recuperate while we engaged other muscles,” Strom adds.

Different roles require different looks. Strom then designs the diet and workout to achieve the look. “For a romantic comedy, he needs to shrink down a bit (about 180 and 11-percent body fat). For Blade and Green Lantern, he was 200 pounds and eight-percent body fat,” he explains. Reynolds is 6’2” tall.

When Reynolds need not be buffed for action hero roles, he is basically on his own. As an avid athlete, workouts are really part of his lifestyle.

No greenhorn: A body like that of Ryan Reynolds, the star of Green Lantern, not only means discipline and commitment but a lot of hours exercising.

And now, the ‘Green lantern’ diet

When you have to pack up 20 pounds of muscle, equally important as exercise is one’s diet. Strom walked the extra mile by even preparing the Green Lantern’s diet.

“I cooked for him six days a week. I’d make a healthy Bolognese: 97-percent fat-free ground bison, sautéed in a skillet with broccolini and my own marinara sauce, along with black pepper, a little cayenne, and some garlic. No salt, no sugar, served over brown rice or a top-quality brown rice pasta. I’d also cook ground turkey and grilled salmon,” he says.

The ripped physique of Reynolds in Green Lantern is without compound training or exercises on more than one muscle group at a time. Examples of compound exercises are deadlifts, squats, and chest press which create more of a bodybuilder’s physique than the lean, cut look of Reynolds. Strom used functional fitness to get Reynolds to bulk up fast, combining traditional isometric weight training, resistance band exercises, and core/stability exercises.

Reynolds’ workouts generally began with sit-ups, followed by heavy weights for muscle bulk.

“Lower abs are the hardest muscle to develop. Most males store their fat in the lower abdomen. The trainer had me using one of those exercise balls between my legs, lifting up and down, using my arms to anchor myself. I’d also put a 15-pound dumb-bell between my feet, and do leg raises while lying on the ground,” Reynolds shares.

“If you hate your workout, you’re not going to do it,” Reynolds quips.

May we add, if your workout isn’t working, you won’t be interested to continue doing it.

As a Green Lantern, Reynolds saved the universe using his willpower to fight the evil that feeds on fear. As a scrawny and lanky guy, he worked hard and developed his skills and physique winning not only global attention but plum roles as well.

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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.