An artificial nervous system gave the comic book Iron Man his powers, but for the “Iron Man” movie, Brad Bose forged actor Robert Downey Jr. into the steel titan.
“I was already training with Brad,” Downey said, “and so during the whole time of waiting to see and then screen-testing for, and then getting ‘Iron Man,’ I’ve been training with Brad.”
Under Bose’s guidance, Downey gained more than 20 pounds of muscle in five months for the role.
Since the actor already was an avid jogger and kung fu student, he wasn’t in bad shape. The challenge was to keep Downey from looking too much like a superhero.
“They wanted someone unique,” said Bose, 52. “His character is an alcoholic and a womanizer, and he’s an arms dealer. They didn’t want a six-pack or bulging muscles, but they wanted to see that he had the power to forge iron.”
At Bose’s new gym, Anatomi, Downey used the Jacob’s Ladder machine. Bose calls it a “glamorized,” high-cardio revolving ladder. Think of it as a step up from revolving stairs. Bose also put Downey on the Pineapple, which jiggles when you stand on it, forcing the leg muscles into use to maintain balance.
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Downey’s goal wasn’t to lose weight, but to gain it. It wasn’t easy for him. Always exhausted during the shoot, he would arrive bruised and battered from doing his own stunts.
“He never faltered,” Bose said. “A lot of people don’t realize how demanding it is. The training would be a challenge for anyone.”
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TIPS TO BULK UP
Brad Bose, the trainer responsible for bulking up Robert Downey Jr. for “Iron Man,” offers fitness tips to help you become your own iron man or woman.
— Be wary of limits: One of the biggest mistakes is limiting yourself to a certain number of repetitions and sets, Bose says. You want to avoid what he calls the “three sets of 15 to failure.” “It’s got to be an upward battle,” he says. If you find that you can keep going after you hit that 15th or 20th rep, then keep going.
— Consistency: It takes five days for your body to reverse the benefits you gained from the last time you worked out, Bose says. If you lift weights or run just once a week, you might as well not work out at all.
— Go for short workouts at high intensity: You don’t need to spend two hours at the gym killing yourself. It’s recommended you do 20 minutes of activity three times a week.
— Avoid low-fat and no-calorie snacks: These treats belong in the “processed food” category, Bose says, and our bodies can’t handle anything that’s processed. “It’ll be 10 generations before our body knows what to do with that food,” he says.
[ L.A. daily news ]