Post by stormshadow on Oct 27, 2017 19:05:52 GMT
bodybuilding.ericsgym.com/trainingarticles/clint_eastwood/
Some snippets from above
EASTWOOD'S DIET
Eastwood maintains a low-fat, high protein diet. He also pays close attention to his cholesterol levels (his father, a meat and potatoes man, died at an early age of cardiovascular disease). He consults with a nutritionist, but generally sticks to the following diet:
•Fish (his main source of protein)
•Pasta
•Fruits and vegetable
•No dairy products (he hasn't had an egg in years)
•No red meat (except for the occasional Dirty Harry burger at his restaurant, the Hog's Breath Inn in Carmel.
•Protein supplements
•Aminos acids
•Vitamin supplements and antioxidants
Eastwood may be tough, but he still prefers the convenience of Selectorized machine. He also has a good supply of free weights and a Smith machine. For his cardiovascular training, Clint uses the Stair Master or a computerized stationary bike. One portion of his four-car garage has been designed to hold all of his leg equipment, including a leg press and leg extension, a standing and seated leg curl, a calf machine and a squat rack.
From this one www.clinteastwood.org/forums/index.php?topic=2568.0
Some more. This is where I saw that he did something every single day.
Clint Eastwood relies on a rigorous exercise routine to fuel his performance as actor, director, composer, politician . . . and club owner
By Jon Feld
CBI: IHRSA's 'Person of the Year,' Jack LaLanne, has said that you came to him for fitness advice when you were just 16 years of age. Is that when your involvement with fitness began?
Clint Eastwood: I've always been committed to an active and healthy lifestyle. I'm very interested in nutrition and exercise, and I work out regularly, and keep up with the latest equipment on the market. I did meet Jack when I was in my teens, but I never went to him specifically for advice. When he lived in Hollywood, I visited at his house, and I've seen his home gym. My wife, Dina, and I run into him occasionally and still exchange Christmas cards. I hope to be as fit as he is when I'm 88. Right now, I eat well, exercise a lot, and I'm a pretty happy guy—I feel like a man half my age.
CBI: Do you have a fitness role model today? Is there someone that you look to for advice on nutrition and exercise?
CE: I think Arnold Schwarzenegger has done a great job in the role model department. During my career, I've been very fortunate in that I've been able to work with the best—like Jack LaLanne, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and trainer Al Silvani. Currently, Mike Hamill, a fitness guru who's also a friend of mine, helps keep me in shape. But I don't look for a lot of advice, and I don't train with anyone else. I just keep grinding along, and take my cues from a lot of different people. It's fun to watch a younger generation coming along that has a real interest in fitness. Nationally, we still have a real problem with obesity, but there's definitely more interest in fitness these days—which is a great thing.
CBI: How often do you work out?
CE: I do something every day—from walking or running a little on the golf course, to really hitting it hard in the gym, doing cardio or lifting weights. I've always been interested in fitness; it's never been a fad thing with me. These days, I just make sure that I'm more consistent, more dedicated. As you get older, you have to keep at it more diligently.
CBI: If we were to visit your home gym, what sort of equipment would we find?
CE: I tend to make use of the same equipment in my home gym and for my club properties. I really like the new Star Trac equipment—the company has made a lot of advances. I also like Precor's elliptical units. For strength training, I prefer Strive's target loading systems for an intense time-efficient workout. And to balance things out, I use Apex Fitness equipment—it's very durable and low-maintenance.
CBI: Do you work out regularly at any particular club?
CE: No, there's no one club. I try to work out wherever I happen to be, but I prefer to work out at home or at the Mission Ranch inn. I enjoy the privacy of my own gym, and have fitness equipment at all of my houses. Too often, when you go into clubs today, you hear rock or rap music. When I work out, I'd rather put on jazz or blues—as loud as I want!
CBI: Exercise obviously helps you to maintain your appearance and keeps you feeling young. Does it do anything else for you?
CE: I try to meditate every day, and exercise is another form of meditation for me. It definitely keeps the endorphins flowing, but, at the same time, it also keeps me focused. I couldn't live without exercise.
CBI: Many of the roles that you've played have been very physical—e.g., in Any Which Way You Can and Any Which Way But Loose, in both of which you were a bare-knuckles fighter, and, more recently, in Space Cowboys. Did these films require any special training?
CE: I've always enjoyed specialty training for my film roles. Boxing legend Al Silvani, who worked with Rocky Graziano and Floyd Paterson, trained me for my fighting roles . . . The last real training I did was for Space Cowboys.
CBI: The New Yorker recently claimed that, at the age of 73, you can still bench-press 200 pounds. Can you?
CE: I don't lift to see how much I can lift anymore, but, back when I used to keep tabs on that sort of thing, I was able to bench press more than 300 pounds.
CBI: Golf is clearly one of your passions, and one of the reasons that you've invested in a number of golf properties. How often do you play, and how do you do out on the course?
CE: When I'm not working, I play golf several times a week. My average score is anywhere in the 80s—preferably in the low 80s.
CBI: Tell us something about your diet regimen. Do you make use of supplements?
CE: I take vitamins daily, but just the bare essentials—not what you'd call supplements. I try to stick to a vegan diet—heavy on fruit, vegetables, tofu, and other soy products. Sometimes, when I feel like it, I eat chicken, fish, or turkey, but no red meat, cheese, or fried foods. When I want a bite of something 'bad,' I'll steal something from my wife's plate.
CBI: So, you eat intelligently, exercise regularly, and play golf whenever you can—what sort of shape are you in?
CE: I'm about 6'4' and weigh around 205 pounds. My cholesterol is between 140 and 155, and my body fat is relatively low.
CBI: It seems that virtually everyone in Hollywood works out. What about performing makes it so essential to stay in shape?
CE: In Hollywood, appearance is critical to your livelihood, so you really have to stay in shape.
CBI: As you probably know, the federal government is beginning to take more of an interest in fitness, in part because more than 60% of all Americans are now overweight. Over the years, you've held several public offices—do you think promoting fitness is an appropriate role for government to play?
CE: I've always believed that people—all people—should have access to expert advice and quality equipment, and I've donated quite a few pieces of equipment to our local youth center. As far as I'm concerned, it would be great if the government promoted fitness more aggressively.
CBI: Many people may not know that, in addition to being an actor, director, composer, and occasional politician, you're also a club owner. What made you decide to get involved in the industry?
CE: I got into the business for two reasons: First, I had the right opportunities at the right time. But another major factor in my decision to become a club owner was the appeal of being able to do something to preserve a bit of the environment. I knew that we'd retain everything that was great about Pebble Beach (which Eastwood owns in partnership with Peter Ueberroth and Arnold Palmer) with low-impact, if any, development. The same was true with Tehama. The golf course follows the natural lay of the land in a beautiful way. We removed very few trees; in fact, we moved a few trees to make sure that they survived. Beyond those two principal reasons, I enjoy many other aspects of club ownership—from the wide open spaces to the health and fitness component.
CBI: You're also the owner of Carmel's historic Mission Ranch inn. How involved were you in the creation of its tennis and fitness facilities, and how important are they to the experience of its guests?
CE: I rebuilt Mission Ranch and equipped it as I would my own home—the facilities are just great. The tennis and fitness club is very popular with our members and guests.
CBI: Do you have a business philosophy? What do you expect from employees? And what do you demand for your customers?
CE: As far as our clientele is concerned, my philosophy is rather basic—great service, incredible cleanliness, and no price gouging. With respect to employees, I'm fortunate in that a lot of great people are involved in my businesses—my films, my restaurants, and my clubs. I tend to let them do their jobs, and avoid micromanaging them, and they tend to stick around for a long while.
CBI: You recently completed a movie based on the novel Mystic River, the Dennis Lehane thriller, and you've also purchased the film rights to the book First Man: A Life of Neil A. Armstrong. What can we expect to see from you next?
CE: I'm still working on the final touches on Mystic River. After that, I'm looking forward to taking some time off, and playing some more golf . . . but I'll still be working out.
Also the Muscle and Fitness interview is embedded there too which is great.
Muscle & Fitness January 1988 – Article entitled ‘Make Your Day – With Exercise’
A daily run is part of Clint Eastwood’s personal fitness program and has been for a very long time – along with working out for an hour to an hour and a half each day with weights.
“I’ve been into physical activity all my life,” Clint says. “Back when I was a kid, I always preferred doing manual labor jobs during school breaks, and at various times I ended up working in a steel mill, as a hay baler and a lumberjack. I liked physical work and being outdoors.”
When Clint was drafted into the Army in the early 1950s and sent to Ford Ord, located not far from Carmel, he was assigned as a lifeguard, his job to fish soldiers who couldn’t make the swimming test out of the pool. Again, he had managed to get a physical job that allowed him to spend time outdoors.
“I’d always done muscle-training exercise,” Clint says, “things like chins, clips and calisthenics, but it was when I was in the Army that I discovered the weights – the kind of training you’d call bodybuilding today. I never wanted to build huge muscles and bulk up like a competitive bodybuilder, but I realized very quickly that the best way to keep your muscles strong, hard, and fit was with weight training. And once I got into weight training, I never gave it up.”
But the young Clint Eastwood was not simply into exercise and making his body look good – he was also into health, which wasn’t all that common in an era that saw the beginnings of franchised fast food and the TV dinner. Back then, paying too much attention to diet and nutrition could easily get you labeled a “health nut.” But early in the run of Rawhide, the Western series that gave him his first big break as an actor, Clint was quoted in TV Guide as saying: “Stay away from carbohydrates, especially rich desserts. Keep a scale in your bathroom. Get proper rest. Try to be optimistic. Eat fruits and raw vegetables. Take vitamins. Skip beverages loaded with sugars. Avoid alcohol in excess.”
Clint wasn’t just giving the kind of casual “celebrity advice” we hear so much of today. He was really describing his own lifestyle. Everything in moderation, nothing in excess. Some cardiovascular exercise, some muscle training. Eating healthy food (today his protein is mostly fish) and watching your weight. And exercise and attention to diet, Clint Eastwood believes, should be a lifetime habit, best begun when you are as young as possible.
“When I was growing up in the 30s and 40s,” he says, “kids were a lot more active than they are today. We didn’t have television, we certainly didn’t have computers, so you came home from school and then went out to play with the other kids in your neighborhood. You didn’t have to be a varsity athlete to get into a game of pickup basketball or football or to take a bat, ball and glove out to an empty lot for a game of flies-and-grounders.”
[W]orking out doesn’t just improve physical strength, it also promotes inner values such as character, discipline and self-worth – old-fashioned values, perhaps but ones he considers vitally important.
“One of the most important things in life,” Clint explains, “is feeling good about yourself. And when you’re in decent shape, when you like the way your body looks and feels and your energy levels are at their highest, it’s a lot easier to feel good about yourself.”
Muscle & Fitness – January 1991 – entitled ‘Clint Eastwood: The Ambassador of Fitness”
Caption: He may be starring in The Rookie, but when it comes to pumping iron, Dirty Harry is a pro!
What’s the word on that chiseled torso of actor/director Clint Eastwood, one of Hollywood’s favorite tough guys? Says a crew member on The Rookie, Eastwood’s new cop movie, “The boss is really buffed!”
“I remember working on The Dead Pool, Eastwood’s last Dirty Harry flick,” says a stagehand. “There’s this one scene in a weight room in which Clint curls 40-pound dumbbells, 40 reps at a time. I assumed he was using weights made of balsa wood. I nearly broke my back trying to pick up those puppies!”
Clint has spent nearly a lifetime lifting heavy objects. As a teenager, he preferred manual labor. He started lifting weights at 19, when weight training and bodybuilding were relegated to back-alley sweatshops with black-iron plates.
“It was all free-weight training back then,” Eastwood says from the set of The Rookie. “I liked lifting weights because I always felt good after a workout. I also liked to drink a lot of beer and I figured the lifting was a good way to stay in shape.”
In fact, Eastwood’s lean and muscular physique, 6’4” at 190 pounds, was compelling enough to put him on the cover of Muscle & Fitness a while back. Eastwood and Joe Weider, a giant in his own field, became friends several years ago after Joe donated a full line of Weider equipment to the Carmel Youth Centre – one of Eastwood’s pet projects during his stint as mayor.
Eastwood wanted to do something special for Joe in return. He had heard that Joe was thinking about getting into the health club business, so he offered to use the Weider name in one of his movies. When The Dead Pool required a scene in a weight room, Clint called it the Weider Fitness Center, giving the name international exposure through his film.
In spite of his tough on-screen image, Clint is surprisingly quiet and approachable in conversation. And he loves to talk about his personal training program. To put on muscle for The Rookie, Eastwood increased his weight training, decreased his cardiovascular workout, and followed a low-fat, high protein diet.
Instead of his usual 2-3 hour workout four days a week, Eastwood switched to a one hour a day, seven days a week routine. “One day I’ll go in and do an hour of just shoulders and arms,” he says. “The next day I’ll do an hour of back and chest. Next day legs. Them depending on my schedule, I’ll run or use the StairMaster or a computerized stationary bike.”
Eastwood, who usually trains by himself, rarely misses a workout. “When I’m working at night, I train during the day, and when I’m working days, I train at night,” he says. “After working all night tonight, for example, I’ll get to bed around 6 am, sleep until 3pm, and go straight to the gym. Then I’ll go back to work. I have a hell of a social life!”
But that’s his choice; fitness is a priority.
Is Eastwood as fit as he looks? “He is in superb condition,” says Dr Harry Demopoulos, his personal physician. “He never eats fat, he take his antioxidants faithfully, works out like a demon, and gets plenty of sleep, which is an area that is often neglected in a fitness program. When we pit him against a stress test machine, Clint wins. He has become almost superhuman. His strength is amazing.”
Eastwood’s bodyfat, says Demopoulos, is less than 10% based on an underwater-weighing analysis. “I’ve never carried much bodyfat,” says Eastwood, “but I’ve always been pretty good about watching my diet.”
Eastwood may be tough, but he still prefers the convenience of selectorized machines. He also has a good supply of free weights and a Smith machine. For his cardiovascular training, Clint uses the StairMaster 6000 or a computerized stationary bike. One portion of his four-car garage has been designed to hold all of his leg equipment, including a leg press and leg extension, a standing and seated leg curl, a calf machine and a squat rack.
At Eastwood’s Malpaso Productions, a small stucco cottage on the Warner Bros. studio lot, there’s another small gym that he sometimes uses for a quick workout during lunch. It features a line of Weider equipment, along with a computerized stationary bike, and air-hydraulic minicircuit machine called MAXX by Hydra Fitness, and a multi-station unit.
EASTWOOD’S DIET
Eastwood maintains a low-fat, high protein diet. He also pays close attention to his cholesterol levels (his father, a meat-and-potatoes man, died at an early age of cardiovascular disease). He consults with a nutritionist, but generally sticks to the following diet:
· Fish (his main source of protein)
· Pasta
· Fruits and vegetables
· No dairy products (he hasn’t had an egg in years)
· No red meat (except for the occasional Dirty Harry burger at his restaurant, the Hog’s Breath Inn in Carmel.
· Protein supplements
· Amino acids
· Vitamin supplements and antioxidants
Some snippets from above
EASTWOOD'S DIET
Eastwood maintains a low-fat, high protein diet. He also pays close attention to his cholesterol levels (his father, a meat and potatoes man, died at an early age of cardiovascular disease). He consults with a nutritionist, but generally sticks to the following diet:
•Fish (his main source of protein)
•Pasta
•Fruits and vegetable
•No dairy products (he hasn't had an egg in years)
•No red meat (except for the occasional Dirty Harry burger at his restaurant, the Hog's Breath Inn in Carmel.
•Protein supplements
•Aminos acids
•Vitamin supplements and antioxidants
Eastwood may be tough, but he still prefers the convenience of Selectorized machine. He also has a good supply of free weights and a Smith machine. For his cardiovascular training, Clint uses the Stair Master or a computerized stationary bike. One portion of his four-car garage has been designed to hold all of his leg equipment, including a leg press and leg extension, a standing and seated leg curl, a calf machine and a squat rack.
From this one www.clinteastwood.org/forums/index.php?topic=2568.0
Some more. This is where I saw that he did something every single day.
Clint Eastwood relies on a rigorous exercise routine to fuel his performance as actor, director, composer, politician . . . and club owner
By Jon Feld
CBI: IHRSA's 'Person of the Year,' Jack LaLanne, has said that you came to him for fitness advice when you were just 16 years of age. Is that when your involvement with fitness began?
Clint Eastwood: I've always been committed to an active and healthy lifestyle. I'm very interested in nutrition and exercise, and I work out regularly, and keep up with the latest equipment on the market. I did meet Jack when I was in my teens, but I never went to him specifically for advice. When he lived in Hollywood, I visited at his house, and I've seen his home gym. My wife, Dina, and I run into him occasionally and still exchange Christmas cards. I hope to be as fit as he is when I'm 88. Right now, I eat well, exercise a lot, and I'm a pretty happy guy—I feel like a man half my age.
CBI: Do you have a fitness role model today? Is there someone that you look to for advice on nutrition and exercise?
CE: I think Arnold Schwarzenegger has done a great job in the role model department. During my career, I've been very fortunate in that I've been able to work with the best—like Jack LaLanne, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and trainer Al Silvani. Currently, Mike Hamill, a fitness guru who's also a friend of mine, helps keep me in shape. But I don't look for a lot of advice, and I don't train with anyone else. I just keep grinding along, and take my cues from a lot of different people. It's fun to watch a younger generation coming along that has a real interest in fitness. Nationally, we still have a real problem with obesity, but there's definitely more interest in fitness these days—which is a great thing.
CBI: How often do you work out?
CE: I do something every day—from walking or running a little on the golf course, to really hitting it hard in the gym, doing cardio or lifting weights. I've always been interested in fitness; it's never been a fad thing with me. These days, I just make sure that I'm more consistent, more dedicated. As you get older, you have to keep at it more diligently.
CBI: If we were to visit your home gym, what sort of equipment would we find?
CE: I tend to make use of the same equipment in my home gym and for my club properties. I really like the new Star Trac equipment—the company has made a lot of advances. I also like Precor's elliptical units. For strength training, I prefer Strive's target loading systems for an intense time-efficient workout. And to balance things out, I use Apex Fitness equipment—it's very durable and low-maintenance.
CBI: Do you work out regularly at any particular club?
CE: No, there's no one club. I try to work out wherever I happen to be, but I prefer to work out at home or at the Mission Ranch inn. I enjoy the privacy of my own gym, and have fitness equipment at all of my houses. Too often, when you go into clubs today, you hear rock or rap music. When I work out, I'd rather put on jazz or blues—as loud as I want!
CBI: Exercise obviously helps you to maintain your appearance and keeps you feeling young. Does it do anything else for you?
CE: I try to meditate every day, and exercise is another form of meditation for me. It definitely keeps the endorphins flowing, but, at the same time, it also keeps me focused. I couldn't live without exercise.
CBI: Many of the roles that you've played have been very physical—e.g., in Any Which Way You Can and Any Which Way But Loose, in both of which you were a bare-knuckles fighter, and, more recently, in Space Cowboys. Did these films require any special training?
CE: I've always enjoyed specialty training for my film roles. Boxing legend Al Silvani, who worked with Rocky Graziano and Floyd Paterson, trained me for my fighting roles . . . The last real training I did was for Space Cowboys.
CBI: The New Yorker recently claimed that, at the age of 73, you can still bench-press 200 pounds. Can you?
CE: I don't lift to see how much I can lift anymore, but, back when I used to keep tabs on that sort of thing, I was able to bench press more than 300 pounds.
CBI: Golf is clearly one of your passions, and one of the reasons that you've invested in a number of golf properties. How often do you play, and how do you do out on the course?
CE: When I'm not working, I play golf several times a week. My average score is anywhere in the 80s—preferably in the low 80s.
CBI: Tell us something about your diet regimen. Do you make use of supplements?
CE: I take vitamins daily, but just the bare essentials—not what you'd call supplements. I try to stick to a vegan diet—heavy on fruit, vegetables, tofu, and other soy products. Sometimes, when I feel like it, I eat chicken, fish, or turkey, but no red meat, cheese, or fried foods. When I want a bite of something 'bad,' I'll steal something from my wife's plate.
CBI: So, you eat intelligently, exercise regularly, and play golf whenever you can—what sort of shape are you in?
CE: I'm about 6'4' and weigh around 205 pounds. My cholesterol is between 140 and 155, and my body fat is relatively low.
CBI: It seems that virtually everyone in Hollywood works out. What about performing makes it so essential to stay in shape?
CE: In Hollywood, appearance is critical to your livelihood, so you really have to stay in shape.
CBI: As you probably know, the federal government is beginning to take more of an interest in fitness, in part because more than 60% of all Americans are now overweight. Over the years, you've held several public offices—do you think promoting fitness is an appropriate role for government to play?
CE: I've always believed that people—all people—should have access to expert advice and quality equipment, and I've donated quite a few pieces of equipment to our local youth center. As far as I'm concerned, it would be great if the government promoted fitness more aggressively.
CBI: Many people may not know that, in addition to being an actor, director, composer, and occasional politician, you're also a club owner. What made you decide to get involved in the industry?
CE: I got into the business for two reasons: First, I had the right opportunities at the right time. But another major factor in my decision to become a club owner was the appeal of being able to do something to preserve a bit of the environment. I knew that we'd retain everything that was great about Pebble Beach (which Eastwood owns in partnership with Peter Ueberroth and Arnold Palmer) with low-impact, if any, development. The same was true with Tehama. The golf course follows the natural lay of the land in a beautiful way. We removed very few trees; in fact, we moved a few trees to make sure that they survived. Beyond those two principal reasons, I enjoy many other aspects of club ownership—from the wide open spaces to the health and fitness component.
CBI: You're also the owner of Carmel's historic Mission Ranch inn. How involved were you in the creation of its tennis and fitness facilities, and how important are they to the experience of its guests?
CE: I rebuilt Mission Ranch and equipped it as I would my own home—the facilities are just great. The tennis and fitness club is very popular with our members and guests.
CBI: Do you have a business philosophy? What do you expect from employees? And what do you demand for your customers?
CE: As far as our clientele is concerned, my philosophy is rather basic—great service, incredible cleanliness, and no price gouging. With respect to employees, I'm fortunate in that a lot of great people are involved in my businesses—my films, my restaurants, and my clubs. I tend to let them do their jobs, and avoid micromanaging them, and they tend to stick around for a long while.
CBI: You recently completed a movie based on the novel Mystic River, the Dennis Lehane thriller, and you've also purchased the film rights to the book First Man: A Life of Neil A. Armstrong. What can we expect to see from you next?
CE: I'm still working on the final touches on Mystic River. After that, I'm looking forward to taking some time off, and playing some more golf . . . but I'll still be working out.
Also the Muscle and Fitness interview is embedded there too which is great.
Muscle & Fitness January 1988 – Article entitled ‘Make Your Day – With Exercise’
A daily run is part of Clint Eastwood’s personal fitness program and has been for a very long time – along with working out for an hour to an hour and a half each day with weights.
“I’ve been into physical activity all my life,” Clint says. “Back when I was a kid, I always preferred doing manual labor jobs during school breaks, and at various times I ended up working in a steel mill, as a hay baler and a lumberjack. I liked physical work and being outdoors.”
When Clint was drafted into the Army in the early 1950s and sent to Ford Ord, located not far from Carmel, he was assigned as a lifeguard, his job to fish soldiers who couldn’t make the swimming test out of the pool. Again, he had managed to get a physical job that allowed him to spend time outdoors.
“I’d always done muscle-training exercise,” Clint says, “things like chins, clips and calisthenics, but it was when I was in the Army that I discovered the weights – the kind of training you’d call bodybuilding today. I never wanted to build huge muscles and bulk up like a competitive bodybuilder, but I realized very quickly that the best way to keep your muscles strong, hard, and fit was with weight training. And once I got into weight training, I never gave it up.”
But the young Clint Eastwood was not simply into exercise and making his body look good – he was also into health, which wasn’t all that common in an era that saw the beginnings of franchised fast food and the TV dinner. Back then, paying too much attention to diet and nutrition could easily get you labeled a “health nut.” But early in the run of Rawhide, the Western series that gave him his first big break as an actor, Clint was quoted in TV Guide as saying: “Stay away from carbohydrates, especially rich desserts. Keep a scale in your bathroom. Get proper rest. Try to be optimistic. Eat fruits and raw vegetables. Take vitamins. Skip beverages loaded with sugars. Avoid alcohol in excess.”
Clint wasn’t just giving the kind of casual “celebrity advice” we hear so much of today. He was really describing his own lifestyle. Everything in moderation, nothing in excess. Some cardiovascular exercise, some muscle training. Eating healthy food (today his protein is mostly fish) and watching your weight. And exercise and attention to diet, Clint Eastwood believes, should be a lifetime habit, best begun when you are as young as possible.
“When I was growing up in the 30s and 40s,” he says, “kids were a lot more active than they are today. We didn’t have television, we certainly didn’t have computers, so you came home from school and then went out to play with the other kids in your neighborhood. You didn’t have to be a varsity athlete to get into a game of pickup basketball or football or to take a bat, ball and glove out to an empty lot for a game of flies-and-grounders.”
[W]orking out doesn’t just improve physical strength, it also promotes inner values such as character, discipline and self-worth – old-fashioned values, perhaps but ones he considers vitally important.
“One of the most important things in life,” Clint explains, “is feeling good about yourself. And when you’re in decent shape, when you like the way your body looks and feels and your energy levels are at their highest, it’s a lot easier to feel good about yourself.”
Muscle & Fitness – January 1991 – entitled ‘Clint Eastwood: The Ambassador of Fitness”
Caption: He may be starring in The Rookie, but when it comes to pumping iron, Dirty Harry is a pro!
What’s the word on that chiseled torso of actor/director Clint Eastwood, one of Hollywood’s favorite tough guys? Says a crew member on The Rookie, Eastwood’s new cop movie, “The boss is really buffed!”
“I remember working on The Dead Pool, Eastwood’s last Dirty Harry flick,” says a stagehand. “There’s this one scene in a weight room in which Clint curls 40-pound dumbbells, 40 reps at a time. I assumed he was using weights made of balsa wood. I nearly broke my back trying to pick up those puppies!”
Clint has spent nearly a lifetime lifting heavy objects. As a teenager, he preferred manual labor. He started lifting weights at 19, when weight training and bodybuilding were relegated to back-alley sweatshops with black-iron plates.
“It was all free-weight training back then,” Eastwood says from the set of The Rookie. “I liked lifting weights because I always felt good after a workout. I also liked to drink a lot of beer and I figured the lifting was a good way to stay in shape.”
In fact, Eastwood’s lean and muscular physique, 6’4” at 190 pounds, was compelling enough to put him on the cover of Muscle & Fitness a while back. Eastwood and Joe Weider, a giant in his own field, became friends several years ago after Joe donated a full line of Weider equipment to the Carmel Youth Centre – one of Eastwood’s pet projects during his stint as mayor.
Eastwood wanted to do something special for Joe in return. He had heard that Joe was thinking about getting into the health club business, so he offered to use the Weider name in one of his movies. When The Dead Pool required a scene in a weight room, Clint called it the Weider Fitness Center, giving the name international exposure through his film.
In spite of his tough on-screen image, Clint is surprisingly quiet and approachable in conversation. And he loves to talk about his personal training program. To put on muscle for The Rookie, Eastwood increased his weight training, decreased his cardiovascular workout, and followed a low-fat, high protein diet.
Instead of his usual 2-3 hour workout four days a week, Eastwood switched to a one hour a day, seven days a week routine. “One day I’ll go in and do an hour of just shoulders and arms,” he says. “The next day I’ll do an hour of back and chest. Next day legs. Them depending on my schedule, I’ll run or use the StairMaster or a computerized stationary bike.”
Eastwood, who usually trains by himself, rarely misses a workout. “When I’m working at night, I train during the day, and when I’m working days, I train at night,” he says. “After working all night tonight, for example, I’ll get to bed around 6 am, sleep until 3pm, and go straight to the gym. Then I’ll go back to work. I have a hell of a social life!”
But that’s his choice; fitness is a priority.
Is Eastwood as fit as he looks? “He is in superb condition,” says Dr Harry Demopoulos, his personal physician. “He never eats fat, he take his antioxidants faithfully, works out like a demon, and gets plenty of sleep, which is an area that is often neglected in a fitness program. When we pit him against a stress test machine, Clint wins. He has become almost superhuman. His strength is amazing.”
Eastwood’s bodyfat, says Demopoulos, is less than 10% based on an underwater-weighing analysis. “I’ve never carried much bodyfat,” says Eastwood, “but I’ve always been pretty good about watching my diet.”
Eastwood may be tough, but he still prefers the convenience of selectorized machines. He also has a good supply of free weights and a Smith machine. For his cardiovascular training, Clint uses the StairMaster 6000 or a computerized stationary bike. One portion of his four-car garage has been designed to hold all of his leg equipment, including a leg press and leg extension, a standing and seated leg curl, a calf machine and a squat rack.
At Eastwood’s Malpaso Productions, a small stucco cottage on the Warner Bros. studio lot, there’s another small gym that he sometimes uses for a quick workout during lunch. It features a line of Weider equipment, along with a computerized stationary bike, and air-hydraulic minicircuit machine called MAXX by Hydra Fitness, and a multi-station unit.
EASTWOOD’S DIET
Eastwood maintains a low-fat, high protein diet. He also pays close attention to his cholesterol levels (his father, a meat-and-potatoes man, died at an early age of cardiovascular disease). He consults with a nutritionist, but generally sticks to the following diet:
· Fish (his main source of protein)
· Pasta
· Fruits and vegetables
· No dairy products (he hasn’t had an egg in years)
· No red meat (except for the occasional Dirty Harry burger at his restaurant, the Hog’s Breath Inn in Carmel.
· Protein supplements
· Amino acids
· Vitamin supplements and antioxidants