"Workout Like a Rock Star" – Literally

thanks Rusty!!! wow first comment!!!

Rusty with regards to HIIT would interval training on an excercise bike be as effetive as using a treadmill, or is a certain type better than another?

Hey Rusty,

Like your Vacation Body Blueprint…this Rocks!
It lets our creative along with adaptive nature roll and have fun….while getting fit….Win >> Win situation!!

Bill

henry rollins is awsome!!! black flag and his spoken word stuff got me through my dificult high school years…i've met him a few years ago… definately a highlight meeting one of my longtime heros.. he is also one of the reasons i took to weightlifting as a teenager. i hope to look as good as that when i get into my 40s… he's doing something right!!!!

Finding unique ways to work out is a must for me due to business travel. Next month I'll be in Florida and plan to go for a few beach runs, which I'm really excited about.

Too often, we get caught up in the "gym rut." Given a choice, I'd far rather be outside…

hey rusty, interesting post… a little funny too…

i actually have a question i think you'd probably know the answer too… well i was watching gymnastics on the tele the other day and all the gymnasts shows both great muscle mass and definition…so i did a little research and found out that most gymnast trains everyday for hours, so i was wondering if its actually possible for muscle to adapt to extreme training and still grow… my point is after 6 hours each day youre bound to push your limits and go into hyperthrophy or fatigue… therefore you might be able to gain strength definition and size at the same time (where strength gain is proportional to size gain), maybe its like doing a certain sport for the 1st time and youre sore all over then after 3-4 days in a row you dont really feel it anymore…

after your post about the bar-barian i've stopped going to gym to experiment on bodyweight only… the results arent bad either… but it got me thinking that maybe you can work your way to training everyday with more than 1 session a day… this might not be ideal if youre really busy but im currently on a gap year after my bachelor degree so i have tons of free time to experiment with…

this is getting really long and off topic so im sorry, its just that i really respect your opinion, most fitness sites (bodybuilding) will disagree with bodyweight let alone insist that you need atleast 72 hours or so rest before working the same muscle group…

thank you for your time, very best Pijj

Hi Rusty! Love your site!
This is going to be a little off-topic, but i didn't know where else to post this.
For some time now you have been posting about bodyweight
training, so I was wondering if you ever had heard of "Methode Naturelle" by George Hebert, or it's more modern version "MovNat" by Erwan Le Corre? I have seen you posting a little about paleo diet, so this could maybe be called it's training equivalent. The whole idea is to train like our ancestors would, not by doing different sets and reps, but through natural movement. This includes running (often barefooted), swimming, jumping, climbing, quadupedal movent etc. George Hebert developed this training methode after seeing how fit indigenous peoples in Africa were. He also was one of the first to develop obstacle courses (parcours du combattant) like the ones used in the military. He was a heavy inspiration to David Belle, the man behind parkour. Today, many people training freerunning and parkour (like me) are implementing elements of Methode Naturelle in our training, or one could even say that parkour itself could be a part of methode naturell because of it's natural movements.
Here are some links:

Article about Erwan Le Corre (he has created a more modern version of methode naturelle):
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?

video of Erwan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKGF-ErsJiI

bodyweight strength training for parkour:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X15VRzQHq2U

and my favourite parkour-clip, David Belle, creator of parkour:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GpOroM0g80

I hope you find this as fascinating as I do,

Adrien

Good stuff Rusty! Great bodyweight movements.

Hi Rusty,

Great find! It's true – I've never seen bodyweight exercises like this before!

I used to travel for work a lot, and if my hotel didn't have a gym I used to think that my only option was to do a few sets of push ups and a few sets of sit ups… However, I got hold of a 4 week body weight routine (well actually it's 3 different routines for beginner, intermediate and advanced) which showed me how wrong I was.

I've now got a suite of body weight exercises in my head which I can put together whenever I'm in my hotel room, and this has made all the difference to the amount of strength training I get.

That said, the exercises that Ryan Murdoch is doing are completely different and look like they could be very useful (although perhaps more as 'circuit training' than true strength training).

Again – thanks for the info!

Hi Rusty,

Excellent post. I especially appreciated what you said about developing the skill to get fit anywhere thru bodyweight exercise. In many ways bodyweight workouts are far more challenging than working out with free weights.

I signed up to receive Ryan's pdf & vids and I signed for yours too.

Nice find.
A room full of treadmills or dumbells won't always be available so that is why body weight exercises become even more important to learn and understand.

Mike

P.S. Henry Rollins is an intelligent bad ass.

Thanks Rusty,

Cool idea, do you have a workout for groopies?

Hi Rusty,

I love your vacation blue print and will be following it closely for my Christmas vacation.

Ok a little off topic, I know you wrote about acai berry in a previous post and you mentioned you were going to possibly give it a try for a couple months. I was thinking of giving it a try, if for nothing else than its anti-oxidant properties. Just wondering if you tried it and what your thoughts are on taking it aside from its shady marketing?

Rusty,

I LOVE Joy Division! Extremely influential band as well – esp. if you are into Brit alternative music from the early 80's.

There are some great Joy Division clips on YouTube – as well, check out the cover of Radiohead playing "Ceremony" – magical! – here:

[Mark...I loved this so much I had to embed it. New Order and Radiohead are two of my all-time favorite bands...Rusty]

Take care dude,

Mark

I'm a big fan of Henry Rollins myself and was thrilled to see him on on of my favorite new shows (Sons of Anarchy) this season. Rollins is in amazing shape, I guess doing your shows shirtless wont motivate you nothing will. He is 48 now and is carved in stone. Rusty you would enjoy some of his observations about modern bodybuilding. Youtube search "Henry Rollins writes a letter to Arnold Schwarznegger." I know the readers of this blog will get a kick out of it! And the one he wrote to Carrot Top!! lol!
Enjoy!

Rusty,
I came back and I was actually a little disappointed you didn't show Henry in a better light/picture. This guy is made of stone:

Mike

Sorry, I guess img tags don't work in comments. Here's the link:

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/img/music/rollins.jpg

Mike

Interesting, looks like it's worth a read. Is this rockstar thing just his marketing angle for a normal body-weighted workout? Not a bad strategy.

His capoera pushup variation looks interesting.

why does life have to revolve around Dieting and working out. It takes somuch thinking and planing and time that instead of it working alround your life, life revolves aound it. Preapring meals, what can i eat, what cant i eat, how many calories does this have.

why does life have to revolve around Dieting and working out. It takes somuch thinking and planing and time that instead of it working alround your life, life revolves aound it. Preapring meals, what can i eat, what cant i eat, how many calories does this have. You cant even go out and have a meal like a normal person witout wondering whether it wil hinder your progress and at the end of the day its so difficult to lose weight that it may not even ne worth it. Getting to low bf levels becomes even harder the lower you go becasue my damn body tries to hold onto every ounce of fat while i am doing all i can to rid of it. Working out becomes hard becasue of work and school commitments and what was supposed to be a way of feeling better stresses you out even more becasue of how difficult it rea

There has to be a better way doesnt there?

Thanks Rust. You do the same as me and are always on the look out for new things. It iis a learning world after all… right?

Rusty, quick question about diet. Almost everything I read on your site is geared towards ESE, Warrior Diet, etc… Now, what do you think works best if you have a very slow metabolism? People keep saying that when your metabolism is slow it is best to eat small frequent meals. All I know for sure is that when I try to eat the way you say I get the biggest headaches. I was looking at Jason Statham's diet and routine and he eats this way. Six small meals for a total of 2,000 calories. Considering I can do no cardio at all (tried walking on the treadmill with a little inclination but the pain on my knee told me to stop) I am not sure that following something like ESE would be good at all.

Really like the new Bodyweight Free report. I tried it out last night and the 6 degrees of freedom thing was pretty cool. It is not nearly of an intense of a workout as the Turbo Turbulance Crazy 8's (which I modify and add mountain climbers, pullups and inclined pushups to) but it is a good quick workout.

I plan on merging all the new bodyweight stuff into my workout and pushing it a little harder than the book recommends but thanks Rusty for the free report and the new ideas you're always pumping into our heads.

Baz. You seem very discouraged. Try to be happy/proud of what you have done so far and accept that it can be a long process. Find ways to take the stress out of it. Have you been doing ESE? Just eat clean most of the time. I don't think it is necessary to count calories and all that stuff. Try to eat natural food, limit grains and dairy most of the time. Don't give up man.

Adrein,

Read Rusty's post: Conan verse Tarzan.
Also look into buying Vibram Five Finger shoes-They make running more primal and fun.

baz,

You need to develop a passion for working out. Your discouraging thoughts are poisoning your subconscious and hindering your passion. I am highly motivated because I love transforming my body and stay positive about it. It is my goal to look amazing(Danial Craig is my current goal). I will achieve this goal(shortly) and then start reaching my next goal of looking better than him.

Personally I think you need a TEMPORARY goal change. I think you should focus on muscle growth and/or strength and take a break from dieting(You sound about done). Honestly I loved losing weight because I was already quite muscular, so the physique that was being revealed was impressive to me. However I soon noticed that I needed a little size in my chest to get them to look like Daniel Craigs so I changed priorities. Honestly I think if you had a great physique under that last bit of fat you would never lose motivation. Cycling the goals of weight loss and muscle building will keep most people from burning out and the new muscle will motivate you to get leaner later to reveal more definition. This cycle works for me.

baz,

I forgot to add that focusing on muscle does not mean getting fat. I give myself additional healing time so that I don't have to bombard my body with calories. I watch my weight regularly and when I gain two pounds I increase my vegetable intake by replacing them with higher calorie foods. This has resulted me in being slightly leaner than when I started my muscle building phase because of new muscle growth. Remember there are two ways to lower your bodyfat percentage. One is buy losing fat and the other is by gaining muscle.

I meant to say I eat less high calorie foods by replacing them with vegetables when I gain two pounds.

Baz,
What I have always liked about Rusty's site is the fact that we all seem to have each others backs here. I understand the whole workout burnout feeling. You can get excellent results working out 2-3 times per week with minimal exercises. Brad Pilon has written a lot about this and I am going to post a link to an article by strength coach Mike Mahler covering the same idea. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler62.htm
Diet is numero uno..No doubt about it 80% of your fat loss will come from diet. I follow ESE myself but anything that keeps your calorie intake lower will work. Weight Watchers, The Zone, South Beach, Paleo, Vegetarian they all work but they all work because you have reduced your calorie intake. No magic there. No reason to get discouraged either. Just find something you can enjoy and work with it. All the best!
-Josh

Josh you're absolutely right, as soon as I posted that all you guys had my back and I love that, that's why I keep comming back here. I'll try and keep at it and try modifying things if I see they aren't working and keep motivated. That's alot everyone. Really appreciate it.

Just on ESE, is there a risk of lossing muscle mass while on the program? It was hard enough developing it in the first place let alone holding onto it.

Jason G,
I obviously didn't see Rusty's article on Conan vs. Tarzan ;P

I have been on several parkour and freerunning forums, and I have seen some people commenting against training for the looks, that training for better appearance would work against their physical performances. They were clearly talking about bodybuilding and I find it funny that, if you follow the philosophy of this site, their own training was giving them the right looks all along

Jason,
What is your progress on the evil stepmill these days? what level is your sprint interval and what level do you go at for the recovery? Do you go with the interval setting or do you arrow up and down on the levels?

Baz,
As long as you do some form of resistance training, weights, bodyweight movements 2-3 times a week, you won't lose muscle. Just think of it as if you dont use it, you will lose it. Maintaining muscle is relatively simple, and just follow Rusty's strategies of brief strength training 3-5 rep range, low volume of sets, slow, concentrating on perfect form.

Baz,

I have been doing ESE for about three months, I have lost almost 20 lbs. I haven't lost any strength; my muscles are more dense now (less puffy) because I follow strength training now like Rusty prescribes rather than the BB style I used to use. You should not lose muscle mass from ESE. Check out Brad Pilon's blog, because he just talked about this very topic pretty recently.

Think of it this way though, even if you did lose a tiny bit of muscle mass (which I really don't think you would as long as you continue to train), stripping away body fat will make you look bigger and much more muscular anyway. So on the off chance you lose a little muscle mass, it would still be worth it.

ESE is the easiest way to lose weight I have tried-by far. It is practically effortless.

Good luck to you

Patrick,

I hate to tell you this. I have not been using the Step Mill and have been doing zero cardio. I am currently just weight lifting(yes legs to) with high intensity and little rest in between sets. I am currently only spending a little over 2 hours a week at the gym because I need to focus on studying for a professional certification. I replaced the stepmill with climbing up and down the stairs at my gym while holding a 45 lb plate in front of me so that my forearms are parallel to the floor. This exercise creates a lot of tension in my abs, forearms, bicepts, and shoulders(I love it!). My girlfriend complained that I lost my a** when I lost sixty pounds, so I am trying to add a little size to my legs by cycling between leg presses and squats. It is one of my goals to master the stepmill after I get my desired size in my legs.

Jason,
hey, hats off to you man, you are a great example of someone who has mastered diet, the biggest key to the whole thing, and customize your training into your individual personal goals. there are so many diff ways to attack it, you have become your own personal trainer because you found what works for you based on your knowledge and goals.

Samuel,

Yep…you put the first score up on the board.

Baz,

I prefer doing HIIT on a treadmill at a "level 2" angle. It seems to translate well into the real world. I also like using the Stepmill (it is the toughest).

Bill,

The bottom line is that we all want to have fun when getting fit. Ryan has a great and creative angle for a fitness product. Not enough of that in my opinion.

Chuck,

I listened to a bit of Black Flag in the 80's…I enjoy some of his stuff and he is super fit. I put his picture up as a great fitness role model. The guy is almost 50!

Greg,

I'm learning the rockstar workout this week. I love stuff that can be done in a small space. My apartment isn't very big, so this stuff is ideal for me.

piji,

Many athletes train daily, you just don't want to train like a bodybuilder (focusing on blitzing individual muscles for long periods at a time). Athletes typically don't break down the muscles as much as bodybuilders and can get away with training muscle groups many more times per week. Currently I am going to the gym 3 times per week, but I'm going to implement the Rock Star workout 2 times per week as a quick 12 minute fat burning circuit. There is quite a bit of crossover there and some of the muscles get worked on back-to-back days…but it works since the muscles aren't getting destroyed. My long term workout plan is to continue to hit the gym 3 times per week…and every other month will alternate between kettlebells and body weight circuits twice per week for fat burning.

Adrien,

Yes…love it! I am getting pulled away from the gym more and more. I still enjoy the gym, but someday I could see myself living in a remote fishing village in South America and need to master getting fit outside of the gym. There are so many areas of the world that are hundreds of miles from the nearest gym, that learning this stuff is crucial.

Vic,

Yeah…they get pretty creative. I am going to spend 30 minutes learning this stuff today. I'm sure it will be awkward at first, but I love the concept of this!

Fat Runner,

Sounds like you have mastered staying fit in any situation! People like Craig Ballatyne, Ryan Murdock, and Adam Steer are doing a HUGE service by teaching this stuff.

Ray,

Thanks for signing up for my PDF…hopefully you will get a lot out of it. Ryan's pdf is great. I am actually going to learn these movements today.

Michael,

I like Henry Rollins…just don't love his music. I went through a stage when I listened to Black Flag (as a teenager in the 80's). I do think he is very witty and intelligent. He is also in incredible shape.

Jessica,

Very funny. I guess the same type of workout.

CG,

Acai Berry is one of those things that you can't really feel. I gave it a shot and didn't really notice a difference, so no longer take it. It certainly can't hurt since it is a strong antioxidant, I just don't want to spend the extra money right now. As a side note…I got a box of Wu-Yi tea (something else with shady marketing)…and really liked it better than normal tea. It actually stopped any cravings for food on fasting days. Need to get another box. I can't believe I'm endorsing this stuff…but I really liked it.

Mark,

Loved the video! Absolutely gave me chills. The song Ceremony is legendary and it doesn't get much better than Radiohead in my opinion…very good find!

Josh,

I will look up his post on modern bodybuilding. I think he is super witty and has great insight (just don't love him as a musician) Maybe it will make a good topic for a post.

Michael,

I could have worded the caption under the photo a little better. I just don't like his music. He obviously is in amazing shape and I think he is intelligent…which is why I put his picture up in the first place. He is a great fitness role model…I have never seen him out of shape ever. When I was a teenager and listening to Black Flag…he was ripped back then. He is still in amazing shape 25 years later.

Fit Jerk,

The rock star thing is a marketing angle. The actual workouts and movements are amazing.

baz,

The best thing to do is just be a little extra strict 2 days per week. This will give you a little more wiggle room the rest of the time. If you get the diet part down then you won't have to kill yourself with exercise.

Shaun,

I'm always looking for different approaches. Some of them are great (like this)…many are not as good.

The Spaniard,

The eating small meals to increase metabolism really is a myth. It comes down to total calories per day, per week, etc. Really, it is just about creating a calorie deficit over time. You can do it with 6 meals per day, you just have to be quite a bit more strict eating this way. I like fewer meals per day because I can eat a real meal. Eat Stop Eat is effective since it boosts HGH and fat burning while fasting…it also reduces your weekly calories 10-15% per week.

Donkey Lips,

Yeah…this is one of their basic workouts. They will be releasing a full-blown program soon. I have seen a sneak peak…it is outstanding.

Rick,Jaon G, Josh

Thanks for the helpful words to baz…very cool of you guys.

Patrick,

I know this question was directed to Jason, but I use the Stepmill when I want to get a quick HIIT workout after lifting. I put it on 8 minutes using interval setting…level 10 for the walking part and level 20 for the fast part of the interval. Those last few intervals are tough!

Rusty

I actually read LL Cool J's platinum workout book a few years back and it was a great read, However, I have always wondered how musicians like himself and others alike find the time in their busy schedules to stay fit like that. Thank you for the info, it's great as always:-)

Rockstar workout who would have thunk it

I like the idea of noticeable improvements to your physique in just 12-MINUTE workouts!

The perfect fitness solution for a busy lifestyle or frequent traveller! which is almost everyone these days.

Patrick,

Thanks for your kind words. I have accomplished a lot this year, and most of it was due to researching everything I could on weight loss and muscle building. Rusty's site has provided the best information on weight loss

when compared to all the other sites. His take on weight lifting has also greatly influenced my routine. Despite me trying to push some body building techniques on the skinny black book fans I mainly use strength training techniques motivated by many of Rusty's articles. I however have a bigger focus on intensity, more exercises, and less sets per exercise.

Hey about that Rollins pic: anyone kno where to find the picture of Henry rollins upside down doing a single handed handstand reading a book? I saw it somewhere ages ago, but can't find it anymore. I want it for inspiration.

Rollins plays a neo-Nazi in the new season of Sons of Anarchy. Very creepy.

I've been doing the workout for a few days now. At first it felt really awkward, but my joints are improving and its getting easier already!

Plus – it's a singalong.. I mean sweat along workout – supr convenient.

Thanks Rusty for sharing it, and thanks Adam and Ryan for making it!

Best,

Yavor

Where can I download this workout?

Same here – I am getting to announcement of the private blog, not to the workout instructions or downloads. I can't be demanding (and I am not), this is given for free, which I am really thankful for, yet I'd like to know if I am missing something

Someone had to have downloaded the .pdf file, please share!

Lol! I had fun reading this post.. you sure have a lot of sense of humor..

Work out like a rock star – just don't play like one.

Great article. You don't think about it often, but in order to put on a great show, you gotta be in great shape. Henry Rollins is actually a physical fitness maniac. If you can, you should nab an interview with him. His life on the road dwarfs all others. This guy knows all about hard living and a great deal about staying fit. Hell, he's over 50 and the only body better than his in rock music is Iggy Pop's.