Paul Stanley, from ‘chunky’ kid to fit KISS rocker

By James S. Fell

The “Starchild” outfit Paul Stanley wears as frontman forKISS is a revealing one. That’s why I chose it for Halloween a couple of years back. I wanted to showcase the efforts of my diet and exercise regimen. I got the hair wrong.

And at 61 years of age, Stanley can’t let himself go and still rock out to arenas full of screaming fans. As one of the hardest working bands in rock ‘n’ roll, he has a reputation to maintain — one he won’t let age tarnish. I’ve seen how lively KISS performances are up close and understand his dedication to fitness to keep the fans on their feet for the band’s Monster world tour.

Were you always such a fit guy?

The only exercise I got as a kid was fork to mouth. Food was equated with love in my household. I thought you left the table when the zipper was down and you’d explode if you took another bite. I’d eat my plate and then everyone else’s leftovers.

I was a chubby boy. My pants used to wear out in the middle, and it was because my legs used to rub together. I wasn’t obese, just chunky.

That doesn’t sound at all like the Paul Stanley we’ve seen on stage. What changed?

Even when the band started, I was chunkier, and the wide belt I used to wear on stage was a bit of a corset. Over the years that became unnecessary. I couldn’t do what I started doing onstage without “leaning out” because the physicality of it was akin to an aerobic workout. This was coupled with a mystery virus in the early ’70s that laid me up for a month and I barely ate. When that was over, I looked in the mirror and was pretty lean, and it had been a life dream of mine. And I decided to hang on to it.

Read the rest of the interview at LA Times

KISS Singer And Guitarist Paul Stanley Stays Fit

By Ben Radding

Photography by Glenn La Ferman

If you take away the black and white face paint, flashy stage outfits, and smoking guitars, KISS frontman Paul Stanley is an average guy—or at least he’s got average-guy priorities: staying fit, having fun, and enjoying his family. We recently caught up with the 61-year-old rocker, who told us why he stopped eating like a kid, how he balances his family with his tour dates, and his secret to avoiding drugs and alcohol when a rock-and-roll lifestyle practically spoon feeds you opportunities to indulge.

How would you say your diet and fitness routine today differs from your lifestyle in the 70s and 80s?

My routine then was: Eat whatever’s in front of you. Youth is incredible because you really do feel invincible. I had no real routine as far as diet; I ate what I wanted to. Back then I tended to eat a lot of sugars. I ate a lot of cookies, a lot of ice cream; I didn’t eat a lot of proper food. I started working out, doing a formal workout right around 1980. That’s when I really decided I needed to get in shape and it may have been because you just start to see a decrease—a change in your body. The workout I was doing then would kill me today.

What is your routine? Do you do it with a trainer?

It really depends. There’s certainly a time before a tour where you start to count days until you’re leaving and that’s crunch time—no pun intended. My workout is always with a trainer because, quite honestly, I don’t think most people are motivated enough to do what they need to on their own. You either need a spotter or you need a trainer. You need somebody there to push you to get that extra five.

Your performances often seem like workouts in themselves.

You can’t do that unless you train for it. You can’t enter the Olympics unless you do your routine to get in shape for it. The idea of going out on stage on a tour without having prepped for it would be suicide, literally.

How did you avoid alcohol and drugs in a culture that is surrounded by it—and it’s almost expected of you?

Common sense. You just have to look around you, and you have two choices. You either go “Gee, I want to be just like him!” or not. In the music business, I always go back to, if all those vices and excesses were so great, you’d probably be doing this interview with Jim Morrison or Jimi Hendrix or……

 

Read the rest of the interview here.

 

Tim Holmes on How to Gain Weight For Oz the Great and Powerful

By Jenn

Tim has been an action-suspense actor and stuntman and—after taking off some time to raise his 3-year-old twin boys—had missed a workout here or there to focus on being a father. When he landed the Oz role though, that all changed. To live up to the “Strongman” name, Tim ended up putting on 25 pounds of muscle in three months. Three months! Read on for more on how he did it naturally, what his workouts were like and what the whole experience and role taught him!

FBG: How did you go about gaining 25 pounds of muscle?

TH: Gaining 25 pounds took me a total of three months to do. It was not all muscle though, a lot of fat was there, as well. The first thing I did was go to the local health food store and ask the guy with the giant muscles who worked there what I should buy. He helped me create a routine that included about 20 pills a day, weight-gain powder, protein powder and creatine. I ate all day long; ice cream weight-gain powder shakes, red meat and every carb you can imagine. I worked out seven days a week using all free weights. I did five exercises for every body part, each with rep sets of  12-10-9-8, using the heaviest possible weight I could lift. I used a lot of people to get those heavy sets done.

1st day: chest and triceps

2nd day: back and biceps

3rd day: legs

4th day: shoulders, biceps and triceps

5th day: back and chest

6th day: biceps and triceps

7th day: legs and shoulders

FBG: Did you do it in a healthy way?

TH: I was under a serious time crunch while……

Read the rest at fitbottomgirls.com.

JJ Fizanes feature on Dailynews

JJ Fizanes feature on Dailynews

JJ Flizanes of El Segundo was named Best Personal Trainer in Los Angeles by Elite Traveler magazine. She has been featured in magazines such as Shape and Self, and recently published her first book, “Fit 2 Love” (Bush Street Press, 2010).

Continue reading here – http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifeandculture/ci_18042843

Get Ready for the Red Carpet with JJ Virgin

Health and Nutrition expert JJ Virgin is the premiere voice of scientific reason in the world of nutrition and wellness. JJ is also a spokesperson for Emergen-C and Subway and spent two seasons as a health expert on “The Dr. Phil Show.” She is the co-star of the TLC reality series, Freaky Eaters. JJ is the go-to person for some of Hollywood’s top celebrities for nutrition and health and getting them ready to look their best for the red carpet. LCO Client, JJ Virgin recently spoke with the Fit Talk Show about some of the tips and tricks that she gives the celebrities as well as her new book, “Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy”. She has worked with performance athletes, CEO’s, and A-list celebrities from around the world, including KISS front man, Gene Simmons, Ben Stiller, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Janeane Garofalo, to name a few. Here are some of her most useful tips to looking fabulous when getting ready for a big event.

Cut out dairy and gluten which cause a lot of people to hold on to false fat and inflammation.

Increase fiber intake as it helps with satiety. Increase water intake between meals, not with meals. Water dilutes stomach acid and can slow down digestion and impair protein synthesis.

Drink lots of green tea. Green tea helps boost metabolism, reduces stress hormones, and burns more fat.

Get a good nights sleep.

Eat vegetables that are natural diuretics such as asparagus and cucumbers.

Drink apple cider vinegar to help with acid alkaline balance.

To read the full article, click here. For more information on JJ Virgin and her new book “Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy” please visit www.jjvirgin.com.