The “Key” to Results. A Hollywood Actor Tells the Fitness Industry What’s Up.

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I had an interesting interaction on Facebook yesterday I wanted to share with everyone. No, it has nothing to do with an internet troll trying to one-up me (although it happens a lot).  And no, it has nothing to do with ice or buckets or pouring anything over my head (which, I happily did thank you very much).

<—– LOL (and, I smell an abs alert!!!!!!!!)

It has everything to do with a story I shared on my Wall concerning actor Chris Pratt and his sincere interaction with a fan admiring the actor’s physical transformation for a recent movie role.

For those of you who have no idea who Chris Pratt is, he’s probably best known for his role as Andy Dwyer on the television show Parks and Recreation.

In addition he’s also had bit roles in a handful of hit movies such as Moneyball, Zero Dark Thirty, Her, and most recently as the lead (voice) character – Emmet – in The Lego Movie.

Even more recently, you can see him in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy as the lead character and protagonist Peter Quill/Star Lord.

It’s been regarded as a “break out” role for Pratt who, up until now, has never been the main attraction in anything he’s been associated with. Movie geeks like myself, however, have been familiar with his work for some time now and understood that it was only a matter of time before people jumped on the “where did this guy come from?” bandwagon.

Not for nothing:  he has several HUGE projects in the pipeline. He’ll be the main character in the upcoming Jurassic Park reboot, Jurassic World, and it’s been rumored that he’ll also be involved with the Knight Rider reboot.

And before I give my hopes up that this will actually happen, can I just say how obsessed I was with Knight Rider when I was kid!?! I may or may not have pretended that my BMX bike was Kitt and I was Michael Knight (sans the chest hair).

Anyways, all of this to say: Chris Pratt is kind of a big deal and don’t be surprised if you start seeing him all over the place.

More germane to the point of this post is that, outside of how awesome Guardians of the Galaxy is (4.5 lightsabers out of 5) and how perfect for the role Chris Pratt was, is the fact that it’s widely known he got into phenomenal shape in order to play the part.

You see, he’s never been associated with muscles or anything to do with fitness, and he’s certainly never been mentioned in the same breath as The Rock, Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), or hell, even Gina Carano.

But it’s hard to look at his transformation and not be impressed.

Like, whoa!

As is the case whenever a Hollywood actor makes such drastic changes to his or her’s body, people want to know how they did it?  What’s their secret?

Of course, we can’t forget that these people have many more resources at their finger-tips compared to the average person and it’s their job – and often in their contracts! – to “look the part.” So part of me feels we have to put things into perspective and perform a little “expectation management” when comparing ourselves to actors.

I.e., what works for them in a span of six months won’t necessarily correlate to “bringing sexy back” in the same six month span for us.

Regardless, people are always curious and want to know how said person was able to accomplish their goal(s), in addition to looking up to said actor/actress for inspiration and insight.

And it’s with that I want to share Chris’s answer to a question he received asking him “how did he do it?”

I LOVED his answer.

It’s amazing how his answer makes much more sense (and I suspect will resonate with more people) compared to much of the garbage and hearsay that’s promoted by a lot of quote-on-quote “fitness experts and gurus.”

I wasn’t able to link directly to the video, but you can watch it below. It’s only like three minutes long and worth the time.

HERE

Was I right, or wha I right?

He didn’t fluff anything. He didn’t allude to a magic pill or elixir or special gadget that’s going to lead to better results.

All he said was START.

Doing SOMETHING, along with CONSISTENCY is the key.

Whatever your goal is -whether it’s to shed some weight, lose a few inches, or look like a badass – there’s no need to make things more complicated than they have to be.  You need to START and be CONSISTENT.

I had someone make a comment in the original thread on Facebook:

“I agree everybody makes everything so complicated. Just move more and eat less!”

I couldn’t DISAGREE more.

Listen, people aren’t stupid. They know that crushing a bag of Doritos before bed isn’t the wisest (or healthiest) nutritional choice they could be making.  They know that regular exercise – any form of exercise – is far more productive than trash talking some 13 year old kid who lives across the country while they attempts to increase their kill rate in Call of Duty.

People KNOW they should move more and eat less. That’s not the problem. The problem is trying to figure what obstacle(s) prevent them from exercising more and eating less in the first place!

If someone’s cupboards are filled with nothing but highly-processed foods – cereal, chips, cookies, etc – and they have easy access to such foods…..it’s going to be really hard to lose weight.

The answer isn’t telling them to “just eat less.”  The answer is figuring out a way to get those foods out of their reach in the first place.  Educating them on how to make better food choices would come in handy.  If the shitty food isn’t there to eat, then we’ve tackled a huge obstacle.

From there we just have to make sure there’s a level of CONSISTENCY!!!!

Likewise, if lack of exercise is the bottleneck.  Just telling someone, “dude, you idiot, you just need to move more!” isn’t going to help matters.

Maybe they don’t have easy access to a gym. Showing them some bodyweight routines to follow or directing them towards something they can do at home with minimal equipment would help.

For shits sake, maybe the reason why they don’t go for walks is because they don’t have a decent pair of walking shoes!

Sometimes, you just need to lead the horse to water, ya know!?  But of course, as the saying goes, you can’t make it drink the water.

I understand the frustration, though.  At a time where people have entire conversations in 140 characters or less and want (and expect) instant gratification, it’s a tough sell to say to someone “you have to be consistent.”

Unfortunately health and fitness doesn’t happen instantly. It just doesn’t.It doesn’t come down to simply telling someone to follow “x” program or “y” supplement.

And what I LOVED about Pratt’s message is that he makes no connotation to that point.

Many of us (fitness professionals included) would be wise to listen to Star Lord.

Did what you just read make your day? Ruin it? Either way, you should share it with your friends and/or comment below.

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Comments for This Entry

  • kathy ekdahl

    Tony-Now you are getting to the heart of the matter! This is what I was talking about the other day when I said trainers need to be less directive and more curious about what drives their individual clients- or not. Eat less and move more as a directive really negates the complexity of the issue for the average person. We need to ask- what are the obstacles- real or perceived ( and if they are perceived- they are still real to them) holding someone back from putting their health as a priority? As I have always said- it does not matter what great exercise or nutrition advice I give someone if they don't do it! The client must actually buy in and make the choice themselves, rather than just do what we tell them. They need to learn- with both successes and failures- how to manage their health, their lifestyle, their schedules. Of course, that takes time. Maybe years. I have a client who took 3 years to get her "health and fitness" act together. She went through the process, learning so much about herself over time- paying attention to the process- not just the desired outcome. It's not fancy, famous or awe inspiring- but it's permanent now.

    August 18, 2014 at 3:29 pm | Reply to this comment

  • Matt Heyd

    Love the video. Very genuine response from a guy I'm sure a lot of dudes look up to. Thanks for sharing Tony!

    August 18, 2014 at 5:47 pm | Reply to this comment

  • Mike

    Just a straight up "Thank You" for putting stuff like this out there.......for free!! There's a reason why someone like you has so many followers. Your approach is easy to agree with and understand, but not so easy to put into language so eloquently. Thank you for doing what you do. See you at the end of September.

    August 18, 2014 at 6:44 pm | Reply to this comment

  • chuck

    Chris Pratt is the man and I loved this movie! Thoughts on the very, very last scene? Great post as well. I loved the interview and attitude with which Chris approached the answer as well as the empathy he showed toward the asker.

    August 18, 2014 at 10:57 pm | Reply to this comment

  • Brent

    Great stuff. some thunks here... It's not only easier but also more profitable to oversimply health, or overcomplicate it. It's what brings in your audience. The message of consistency puts the onus on the individual to make change first and foremost. You get more blog hits if you blame xyz ingredient or xyz corporations for your health issues. This is why these messages of consistency never have staying power because most people don't want to hear what they need to hear, and especially have no desire to hear they need to take personal responsibility. They want to hear what makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside (i.e. 'Damn you Coke/evil corporation. YOU made me unhealthy. You forced me to consume sugar! ahh!! I'll start making change once you do!'). YES, the bad guys play a role in your health and influence your decisions in life, but it is ultimately up to YOU the individual to make a change. The bad guys aren't going anywhere...and they aren't the reason you are addicted to xyz food. Sorry. Try again.

    August 19, 2014 at 1:47 am | Reply to this comment

    • TonyGentilcore

      Oh, I get it (and agree). But the point of my post wasn't to elicit blog hits. Either way people DO need to start taking more responsibility for their own actions. But also, the point of the post was that sometimes, not always, people are blind to what they need to do. They literally DO need to be told "um, maybe not having a fridge full of soda would help you NOT drink soda." From there they need to be told to replace the soda with water or tea or whatever. And then they need to be CONSISTENT with that behavior. A book I highly recommend on the topic is The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg: http://www.amazon.com/dp/081298160X

      August 19, 2014 at 5:59 am | Reply to this comment

      • Brent

        Definitly wasn't saying you are trying to elicit blog hits, just that for other people in the industry they intuitively understood what people want to hear (it's not your fault) so they tell them exactly that. People don't need another diet book/training book etc. Like you said, they need a habit changing book (great book btw). You need to come at it from a deeper level. It's just hard for people to make the connection (i.e. what does the power of habit have to do with my health...errr...you telling me some of it is my fault! Grr!!)

        August 19, 2014 at 9:01 am | Reply to this comment

  • ronellsmith

    Tony, I wrote about this recently (http://www.isoosi.com/blog/make-consistency-trump-card-win-content-marketing.html), even quoting Eric, as it regards why businesses aren't more successful. It's not that they don't intuitively realize that many of the decisions they make are boneheaded; it's that they haven't put the structure in place that enables them to consistently make steps toward more effective decisions. It's the same for fitness and life. I live it every day. The more consistent I am, the better my results. RS

    August 19, 2014 at 11:48 am | Reply to this comment

  • Shane Mclean

    Keeping it simple really is the way too go. Great message Tony.

    August 24, 2014 at 7:09 pm | Reply to this comment

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