Ever since I was about 3 or 4 years old, I've loved watching
movies ranging from Disney to the most awesome action packed movies ever.
Movies are a great way to look at things at a different perspective whether you’re
into fitness or not, you’re being pulled back into a world where anything is
possible and the impossible just doesn't exist. It gives you hope and realize
that you can dream and make things happen. Granted there are some terrible
movies out there and you know which ones so it’s better to understand the type
of movies you love.
When I began seriously training when I was in high school
there was a film we watched in class when I was in Sports Occupations that gave
me a sense of what I wanted to do at the time and that was Bodybuilding. It was
Pumping Iron, the film that put Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno in the
limelight. I've seen big dudes before but nothing compared to them. To me they
were monsters of muscle and do things that would make the average trainee
cringe. I wanted to be just like them, I took supplements (no not steroids), I
ate like there was no tomorrow and trained like a mad man. I didn't get to that
level and now I don’t want to be at that level, it’s much different but the
principles are the same, train hard, eat well and rest.
Over the years I've watched action films from Arnold to Stallone to
Lundgren but one action star caught my eye after watching Rush Hour and that was
the legendary Jackie Chan. This guy was fast, agile, strong for his size and
just flat out incredible. Once I began studying his films which led me to guys
like Bruce Lee and Jet Li, his comedy and action sequences were some of the
coolest in the film industry and wanted to learn how to be fast and powerful.
After my accident in ’05 I learned how to use my body alone and move with ease
and increased my reflex, speed, agility, flexibility and strength all in a
short period of time. I realize I’ll never be a Jackie Chan but it is a lot of
fun learning your own quickness and putting different elements together.
Overtime I've had plenty of favorite actors to some of the
guys I just mentioned to Adam Sandler, Bob Hoskins, James Earl Jones, Robin
Williams, Billy Crystal and others but one guy stood out in my mind as an actor
who just has it and became one of the biggest icons in history, forget Jack
Nicholson or Tom Cruise, it was Harrison Ford that got me interested in epic
film watching. As Indiana Jones it was practically the end all be all of action
stars, there are great actors no question but I’ll watch Ford at any time. Out
of all the actors I admire, he had a look, presence and charisma that just outshine them all, he wasn't a bodybuilder or anything like that but he had a
built that I can relate to and was lean and athletic and to this day I would
like to have that lean, athletic look but still have great strength and
abilities under that. By far the Indiana Jones films are my personal favorites
of all-time.
The last few years, I liked some of the Comic Book movies
that have been out like X-Men, Spider-Man, Dark Knight Trilogy but nothing more
got me more hooked than the Marvel films of the Avengers from their separate films
all the way up to The Avengers movie. Seeing guys like Thor, Captain America,
Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk just had me in awe the entire time and that
rarely ever happens with me when it comes to movies, this style of Comic Book
series alone got me into reading Comics and look at my own training and see
what I can do with it. If you get a chance look up my Can You Become Your Own
Avenger? Series and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Because of the Thor
movie I got my own set of Thor’s Hammer and haven’t looked back since.
This is just the tip of the Iceberg of how I’m a movie buff
and if anybody knows me or seen my house they can vouch for me having a over
the top collection of movies. Do I watch movies all day, hell no I love what I
do and I train each day as best as possible but the point is from my
perspective a movie is not just a way to kick back and have fun for a couple
hours, its like studying, researching and learning different aspects of not
just film making but how certain actors train or learn for their role in that
movie. It’s way better than watching TV and having to listen to the BS you see
in it with the dumb reality shows and all the political crap that goes with it,
that’s the beauty of a movie, no commercials, no big ads in the middle, just a
good solid watch and getting into the characters and settings. Happy
Thanksgiving everyone and be sure to watch a good movie after having the feast of
your life and have the joy of being together as a family.
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