People come to my gym when they want to get in shape without any pain…and get results reasonably fast.
TV fitness boot camp shows promote the impression that you have to suffer to look good, but I’ve never been a proponent of the “no pain, no gain” philosophy.
When I'm training professional athletes, they might be used to a rigorous routine and actually enjoy being pushed to the max. But when I'm with actors and filmmakers, my methods are in sync with their physical limits and condition.
An oft-ignored part of working out is the psychological component, so I find creative ways for people to do the kind of exercise they need in an accessible and even fun routine.
That's how I got involved with Robert Downey Jr, who was at first just looking to be healthier.
Robert and I began to work together 10 months before the first “Iron Man” movie in 2007.
Since then, we have worked together to transform him from Tony Stark to Sherlock Holmes and back to Tony Stark in just two years (with a few other movies thrown in between).
For the first “Iron Man,” we had a lot of time to get his body looking like that of a playboy billionaire, but we still had to add 20 pounds of solid muscle. Talking with (director) Jon Favreau and Robert and seeing the storyboards helped give us an idea of the look we wanted -- the modern GQ look.
When you imagine Tony Stark, he needs a body women look at and men admire, but he is not a hulk -- too ripped is not realistic.
Re-crafting his body became a wholly different challenge in the past year.
Following “Sherlock Holmes,” we had just six weeks to recreate Tony Stark …and the eye-catching “guns” everyone is now talking about.
We had Robert totally ripped but very European, smaller and thinner looking for Sherlock so we made the decision to use Old School techniques of training to bulk up in the short amount of time for "Iron Man 2,"
Robert would look like a well trained MMA fighter.
For "Sherlock Holmes," Robert had to be a slim 150 to play the clever detective, but while Holmes is trim, he is athletic and he certainly does not lack muscle.
In trying to generate a look specific for the character, two of the machines we used were the Perfect Storm and the Ab Coaster. The latter, a machine with a movable seat that slides on rails, was key.
An added wrinkle in our training was that they Robert was also working with a kung fu instructor for the fight scenes. This meant that we had to tailor some of the exercises so he was capable of doing both in one day. Some days we had to skip cardio exercises, and others the weights. This was a constant adjustment and collaboration.
But it was minor compared to the quick transition back to a Tony Stark body.
