It piques our interest when a previously unknown actor suddenly becomes a household name due to his or her performance in a major motion picture. The curiosity is tenfold when the audience notes dramatic physical transformation in a matter of months. Was he on something, like, steroids? If so, how many hours a day was he exercising? Was he eating McDonald’s in order to consume so many calories?
How in the world are these guys able to pack on so much mass?
While Hollywood is responsible for millions of people’s desires of getting ripped, how do they accomplish this? How realistic is it and can you do it too?
Top Six Celebrity Fitness And Workout Supplements
Celebrities are no different than the rest of us when it comes to following a diet, exercise regimen, and supplement regimen. As a result, they adhere to the basics, such as whey, amino acids, vitamins, and so forth. Listed here are the best six.
1. Whey protein
If you explore various fitness blogs or channels, you’ll encounter a diverse range of suggestions concerning protein intake. Protein powder is commonly used as a post-workout snack or in lieu of a meal after an intense workout session. Muscle tissue can develop and heal more efficiently if it receives enough protein in its diet.
In terms of protein, whey is the most popular. Because it includes high concentrations of all the essential amino acids that the human body cannot make, it is swiftly assimilated by the body.
Additionally, whey protein serves as an antioxidant and aids in the maintenance of a strong immune system. Muscle building is most effectively achieved when whey protein and exercise are combined.
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2. Thermogenics
Supplements, nutrition, exercise, and exposure to cold all play a role in promoting thermogenesis, which is the burning of adipose tissue.
Diet and exercise, together with two types of diet supplements now widely available, may help you shed those extra pounds.
Thermogenics are a class of weight-loss supplements that work by increasing your metabolic rate and decreasing your hunger at the same time.
Lipotrogenic chemicals, on the other hand, help the body mobilize fat and make better use of the fat already deposited. Supplements may be able to help you burn off extra calories, even though it is commonly recognized that the best approach to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume.
3. Energy Drinks and Pre Workout
Caffeine is the primary active component in the majority of energy drinks. When you need a little ‘pick-me-up,’ they excite and enhance your body and mind while you go about your daily business.
Taking these supplements can help you feel better, have more energy, and be more aware, awake, and focused. As a result, students, employees, and athletes are able to achieve better achievements in the classroom, at work, and during workouts. L-Arginine is a common pre-workout supplement ingredient.
Arginine is required for a wide range of bodily functions. This includes hormone production, an increase in growth hormone output, the clearance of toxins from the body, and the body’s defenses against infection. A larger pump in the muscles can be achieved by increasing the amount of Arginine in your diet, which is a precursor to nitric oxide.
It’s best to use a non-stimulant thermogenic if you’re already using energy drinks, and vice versa. Avoid energy drinks if you’re taking a thermogenic (or take a non-stimulant thermogenic).
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4. Multivitamins
The human body requires a wide variety of essential nutrients in order to function at its peak. For example, if you are low in one of these vital vitamins or minerals, your metabolism begins to malfunction, and your performance begins to diminish.
We all run the danger of depletion of key vitamins and minerals if we are training very hard on low-carbohydrate diets. Taking multivitamins and other important supplements on a regular basis can help maintain excellent health and stave off health concerns in the future.
According to a report from the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Supplementing with multivitamins and other single-nutrient supplements like calcium and folic acid has been shown to have a positive impact on a wide range of health issues, from improving the immune system of elderly patients to drastically reducing the risk of several other serious health issues.
In comparison to a “regular” multivitamin, women’s multivitamins often contain additional iron, calcium, and vitamin D. Iron supplementation is necessary since our blood loses a lot of iron and hemoglobin when menstruation occurs. This must be supplemented to avoid difficulties later on.
Because women’s bones weaken more quickly than men’s, we require a higher intake of calcium to keep them healthy and strong as we age. Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium by the body.
5. Amino Acids
BCAA oxidation, particularly leucine’s, increases during exercise. The body rips down muscle tissue to fulfill the increased demand for BCAA during exercise – this is not healthy!
It is possible to meet the body’s increased demand for amino acids without compromising muscle mass by supplementing it with more BCAAs while exercising.
BCAA supplementation has thus been utilized to promote sports performance and recovery so that you can train harder and for longer without experiencing catabolic consequences.
6. Creatine
You might have heard about creatine previously from your gym buddies. It’s one of the most popular supplements used in conjunction with whey protein. Creatine is a dietary ergogenic (performance enhancer), which means it can help you improve your mental or physical performance when exercising. There’s also a lot of evidence to support creatine’s use in the fitness world.
Over 95% of creatine is found in our skeletal muscles as phosphocreatine in intramuscular or free creatine in the brain, kidney, and liver. Every day, about 1-2 percent of intramuscular creatine is broken down into creatinine, which is eliminated in our urine. To sustain pre-existing creatine stores, you need 1-3g of creatine every day, depending on your muscle mass, and around half of this comes from our diets.
Creatine’s major function in our bodies is to improve training performance by increasing the amount of ATP (energy) available for muscular contraction. This allows for faster muscle fiber hypertrophy and growth. Creatine has also been recommended as a supplement that can aid in speedy recovery after training and lower the chance of injury.
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Are The Standards Set By Hollywood Realistic?
We must first deal with the elephant in the room before we can proceed. Most of the time, what Hollywood pulls off is unreal. The only way to look like Hugh Jackman in Wolverine is through a combination of diet, supplements, and training. Even when they’re not filming, these men don’t look like that.
Consider the fact that the internet is littered with shoddy research and misinformation. Many scammers will take advantage of this situation to try to offer you “the 300 workout” or some other piece of dumb advice.
Hollywood’s Secrets To Physique Transformation
Well, they’re in good shape (to begin with) – perhaps the most closely guarded “secret” of the Hollywood body. Aside from their filming schedule, these actors appear to be a little fatter than they are. Notably, the physique doesn’t look like one that has ripped abs, protruding veins, or gleaming oils, yet it is physically fit.
A good example of this is Chris Pratt, who notably transformed himself from Andy Dwyer, the overweight character on Parks and Recreation, into Peter Quill, the muscular character in Guardians of the Galaxy. Through his Instagram, he’s been quite open about his weight loss in preparation for the roles. So, what’s his sleight-of-hand?
- Proper Hydration – A lot of water aids digestion and eliminates waste, and Chris has admitted to “weeing three times before 10 a.m.” after drinking a lot of it.
- Cut Back on Carbs – Nothing to drink, nothing to eat, nothing to fry. Your body gets the nutrition it needs while remaining in a state of ketosis, a state in which fat is burned instead of stored.
- Exercise – When it comes to exercising, it doesn’t really matter which one you’re doing. Because he doesn’t need to bulk up into a bodybuilder in order to play his roles, Chris just needs to get in shape. For this, he relies on treadmill cardio. After that, you’ll need a more specialized fitness regimen. When it comes to nutrition, it’s as straightforward as it seems. Maintaining a deficit will help you lose weight, build muscle, and become more physically fit.
The simple fact is that there is no magic drug that can help anyone get lean if they cannot handle the fundamentals of proper nutrition and physical activity on their own accord.
They Go On A Cutting Schedule Prior To Filming
One of Hollywood’s greatest truths is that performers don’t always look like that. Before filming, they go on a strict diet for a few weeks or maybe a month. To prepare for filming, they limit their daily caloric intake to 1,500 or less, depending on their level of physical activity. If you drastically reduce your caloric intake, you are on a crash diet that will leave you undernourished.
These celebrities lose a significant amount of weight prior to filming, with body fat percentages in the tenths of a percentile. Even when they aren’t filming anymore, they keep this up for as long as it is necessary to keep the audience engaged. After all, starving oneself isn’t good for your health.
They pump up before shooting
As soon as you begin exercising, your muscles go into a pumping state (when you do it right). It pumps blood into the muscles, making them appear larger and more powerful. In fact, it’s what gives the illusion of greater muscles by making veins more prominently visible.
The “pump” is a short-lived phenomenon that only lasts a few minutes, not days. Actors will work out to bulk up their bodies before a shirtless action scene because that’s all they care about: their outward looks. Despite the fact that they appear to be stronger and fitter, they aren’t.
Dangerously low hydration
Their dehydration is putting their lives in jeopardy. Water makes up the majority of your body’s weight, which may come as a shock to you. Adding or shedding water weight is one of the simplest ways to alter one’s body weight.
Losing water weight is one of the most common methods actors use to achieve their lean, ripped looks in the movies. Before filming Wolverine and Les Miserables, Hugh Jackman is famous for going through 36-hour dehydration regimens.
The dehydration regimen entails drinking up to three gallons of water a day for days at a time. Then, 36 hours before filming, he completely abstains from drinking. After only a day and a half of going without water, he’s lost all of his excess weight, his muscles are clearly visible, and he’s ready to shoot. The body begins to shut down and perish after another day and a half. You can’t live without it!
However, your body still requires water. Without it, the brain begins to deteriorate, the organs begin to fail, and the body goes into crisis mode. It’s unsafe and unhealthy, and it should never be done at home.
If it’s too extreme, it’s Probably CGI – It’s still not enough to meet the exaggerated expectations of superheroes and hyper-fit, hyper-masculine movie stars at the end of all of the above. Computer-generated physiques may be a possibility for some of these actors. Computer-generated visuals are now used to create complete movie sequences that appear to be entirely real. It’s simple for a digital artist to tweak the abs and biceps just a tad to make them stand out even more. It’s outside the scope of what’s possible through the conventional channels.
Supplements: Are They Worth It?
Supplements are used by some actors as part of a healthy diet and fitness regimen to prepare for their roles. Many others don’t. There are nearly as many supplement regimens as there are actors and trainers who work with them. Everybody has a distinct idea of what works, and what doesn’t work, and they all have various recommendations.
Here, it’s important to keep in mind that actors tend to take one of two types of supplements. The first group includes protein, amino acids, and other health supplements. Some of the more powerful substances on the market can have a more significant effect, but they are generally helpful.
Steroid Usage
It is prohibited to possess or utilize anabolic steroids. While some are strictly prohibited in competitions, there is nothing to stop actors from using them for filming. Then there’s the fact that Hollywood’s elite performers aren’t subject to the same laws and norms as the rest of us; they can get away with taking and abusing substances that would put the rest of us in prison if it was discovered.
Does steroid usage and abuse occur among actors? Absolutely. It’s impossible to know which actors are using them unless one of them comes up and reveals all. Somebody does it every now and then, whether it’s a trainer who leaks information or an actor who comes forth.
In fact, Ricky Gervais called out Hollywood celebrities for using steroids at the 2020 Golden Globes:
If you’re not careful, you might end yourself in prison if you take steroids, which can be detrimental to your health, are risky to use, and are illegal if you aren’t careful.
Rahul is a sports and performance consultant. Over the course of his 15-year career in the fitness sector, he has held positions as a strength and conditioning instructor, gym owner, and consultant.
He is deeply committed to assisting people in finding happiness and feeling good about themselves.
Rahul has a master’s degree in exercise science and is a certified NSCA CSCS and CISSN.