The Brad Pitt factor

I am Dad's clenched fist...
In Hollywood, the capital of silicone and plastic surgery, nothing is what it seems. Smiles are fake, and anything without a catchy name or Benjamin Franklin is considered worthless.

California – perhaps besides Las Vegas – has the highest number of prostitutes per square meter, though this is a bold statement because we don't even know what it means to be a true slut until we've been through the universities and colleges of Budapest. Hollywood is a wonderful place because if you're a producer, 200 hot chicks will be knocking on your door, begging for a 3-second cameo. With that, I think I've described the moral conditions on the West Coast of the USA.

However, this city also has another side. A side for which Los Angeles is not yet mentioned in the same breath as San Francisco, the number one city of filth and decadence. A side where real achievements and results are born, where appreciation is still genuine, and where real work stands behind it, not a silicone-filled, neurotoxin-injected face smiling back at us, but the appreciative face of the viewer, for whom it's worth preparing, sacrificing, and dying. A nod of appreciation, a supportive email, a like on Facebook. Because in the end, that's why we do it, that's why we're here. That's why we write blogs, that's why music and films are born. Genuine appreciation, bowing before invested work, the flow of emotions, and the sublimity of creation still keep this whole shit called life spinning.

Because most of the time, when we encounter something truly awesome, or achieve an outstanding result, or witness an above-average performance, there is often an inhuman amount of work behind it. Film history is full of films in which actors undergo such radical changes for a few roles that it sometimes borders on mental illness. Just think of Christian Bale's 28 kg weight loss for the film The Machinist, or De Niro's 30 kg weight gain for Raging Bull. Bale's extreme weight change is even more brutal when you consider that a year and a half after The Machinist, he regained his normal weight and gained 7 kg of pure muscle, this time for the filming of Batman Begins.

Everything is just a matter of motivation and determination, because since we were 10 years old, and especially girls know, there's a certain amount of money... No matter what we talk about in life, setting goals, realizing dreams, creating livelihoods, there will always be a sum where our principles give in. For 5-10 million dollar salaries, people are capable of many things, but not even all the motivation in the world is enough if it's not accompanied by perseverance and workouts that sometimes last until fainting. Let's face it, not everyone can handle this mentally, in fact, most people can't complete a single diet properly precisely because they are simply not capable of it as human beings. They are weak in character and will, easily influenced, and extremely unstable. This type of person is the worst. They are easily recognizable by their pathetic mantras. I could quit smoking anytime, but I don't want to. But I like this one the best.

I feel good in my own skin, I don't want to lose weight. My partner likes me the way I am.

Everyone lies to themselves about a happy life however they can, but sooner or later there will be huge faceplants. Something for something, right? I'll show a few examples of those who didn't make excuses, and got results.

I am Dad's icy sweat...

Brad Pitt is perhaps the most spectacular and brightest star in this regard. I am convinced that such a person is born once every 50 years. This man exudes tremendous style, and if that is combined with acting talent, charismatic appearance + he possesses the mental factor I mentioned, then truly incredible results and visuals can be achieved. Troy and the greatest cult film, Fight Club, in which Pitt delivered an astonishing performance both in acting and, what is more important for the blog now, in his physical appearance. Let's peek behind the scenes, where the cameras don't reach, and see what kind of training it took for Pitt to look the way he did in these films.

Troy

A year of preparation, including 9 months of pure training, 8 months of dieting, 3 and a half months of very strict dieting, and 2 weeks of a death diet of 800 calories a day until the shirtless scenes were filmed. The glutes just didn't want to come together, so a body double had to be used in the film. There was an interesting clause in the contract, as Brad refused to give up his McDonald's Smarties McFlurry, so he requested that his program be adjusted so that he could eat one every two weeks. Since an entire team worked under him with professional experts, this result is almost impossible to achieve with a normal lifestyle, especially because our Brad was also aided by steroids, but it's worth trying his approach.

I am Dad's gnawing jealousy...

Let's not be under any illusions, such results cannot be achieved by eating 30 dkg of chicken breast fillet daily. Anabolic cycles can achieve good results, and with steroids, anything is possible. However, I would caution everyone against using steroids and taking other chemically composed crap. There are many counterfeits on the market, but if you still decide to take some kind of stimulating agent, it should be anabolic agents at most, and I mean at most. Pitt underwent a 16-week steroid cycle during his preparation, in addition to his diet and training.

Diet is the least variable factor when it comes to muscle shaping. In other words, there are basic foods, beyond which you can't really reinvent the wheel. Lean meats, chicken and turkey breast fillet, low-fat cottage cheese, eggs, vegetables, bananas, oatmeal, complete sugar abstinence and no sugary drinks. In this case, Brad drank two types of protein, in the form of whey and casein, along with vitamins and other trace elements and fatty acids, of course. For tough workouts and especially high muscle mass shaping workouts, to ensure the body's energy reserves, it's necessary, even mandatory, to eat pasta and operate with high-energy protein bars before workouts.

The workout. No one who has recently started weight training should really attempt this workout plan. In fact, not even those who have been doing it for 1-2 years. Such a high-volume workout with such difficult, combined exercises requires some experience. I'm not afraid that there won't be a few self-proclaimed assholes who will jump into this workout. Of course, if someone is an idiot, let them die trying, but then don't be surprised if they can't shift into third gear in their homemade souped-up Lada because their muscles are torn and their joints are wrecked. I'll say it again. Every single movement of Pitt was monitored by experts. Every one of his workouts was accompanied, his technique and the correct execution of the exercises were observed. His steroid cycles were compiled by doctors, and his health was checked weekly, as well as whether his body reacted appropriately to it. To every dumbass who is thinking of getting the steroids mentioned here, injecting them into themselves, doing the workout plan below, and looking like Pitt in Troy by summer, well, I would tell them that it won't work, and in the best case, only your liver will have to be removed. Because this is a steroid cycle set specifically for Pitt's physique, metabolism, almost down to his cells. Oh, and cardio workouts in any amount for at least 25 minutes. But if possible, longer.

I am Dad's simmering bile...

Fight Club

I hope I don't have to introduce this movie to anyone; if I do, then seriously, go to hell. The film is a benchmark and one of the most accurate social critiques, the most brilliant mirror held up to consumer society. You could quote the great lines from the movie for hours, which perhaps even the demographic that the film most rejects and simultaneously addresses thought about. That demographic that takes out a Provident loan for a 23,000 forint microwave oven.

I chose the dinnerware set from the catalog that best matched my personality.

It's crazy that today there's no chance of even similar films being released, let alone ones like this. Is there a connection between the emergence of the internet and the catastrophic decline of film and music, and the mass appearance of worthless productions? Nowhere is there an independent film of Pulp Fiction's caliber, but there's Avatar, and what's happening in the music world, it's better not to even think about it, because where Justin Bieber and other little punks can be a factor, that world is simply ripe for cremation, and for people to piss on its ashes.

In this film, Pitt lowered his body fat percentage to 6.5-8%. This is so insane and required such hard training and persistent dieting that you cannot imagine. Below 6% is already unhealthy, as this is the minimum fat percentage the body needs to maintain normal hormone balance. The diet is roughly the same as what was read for Troy, with the difference that for this film, he applied almost complete carbohydrate restriction. No pasta, and in the last weeks of preparation, even whole wheat bread and oatmeal were forbidden. 5 meals a day, and the emphasis was, of course, on protein-rich and fiber-rich nutrition. That's it for the food.

I am Dad's lonely heart...

Since there was no need to build extra muscle here, "only" to severely shred, the steroid and anabolic cycle was also different. I couldn't find exact information, but I did find that the cycle was based on Oxandrolone and Acaid.

Obviously, these are not the full workouts; these are the ones that leaked from the studios, or perhaps the trainers thought it was enough to share with the public. The preparation was much more complex than that. Medicine ball training, scientifically developed stress endurance tasks for elite athletes, agility and action fitness programs, training methods that we may not even have heard of yet. I haven't written about it, but we cannot ignore the regeneration processes. Muscle exertion is managed with various massages, stretches, saunas, different therapies, water jets, and God knows what else, and the regeneration of the body, and within it, cells and muscles, is ensured by supplementing vitamins, minerals, and trace elements.

The people we're talking about now are different from us, average people (it sucks to write that), in that they dared to dream big, had the strength and perseverance to get to where they are now. These are not coincidences, because it's one thing to be born in the right country to achieve truly serious success, Kolin, HS7, Ákos, and countless talented Hungarian kids already know this well, whose talent and artistic value were completely disregarded abroad. Simply because our language can tell them to go fuck themselves in 30 more varied ways than the word "fuck."

But what about us? TV made us believe that one day we'd be millionaires, movie stars, and rock stars. But we won't be, and we're slowly realizing this, and getting very, very angry. Some start drinking, and some escape into food. Some cheat on their wives with a worthless little whore just to feel like a man, and some escape into crime. Some will lie to themselves about a happy life so cleverly that they won't even notice that at the end of their insignificant lives, no one will miss them, while others will escape into religion, work, or a non-existent relationship. I escaped into workouts, this blog, and the lifestyle that comes with it. Whether I made the right decision, time will tell, but that's not even the point.

Pitt, Bale, the cast of 300, the little gay guys from Twilight, and every other actor that teenagers would kneel before weeping, well, no matter how real they seem, and no matter how much work is behind them, they don't actually exist. For minutes, perhaps days, they really look like that, but in the long run, such results are not sustainable, because what we see, however beautiful and good, is just an illusion. I started the series about actors' preparations for one reason only: to show you how much they achieve almost solely and exclusively because they belong to that 3% who, in a dirty way, look good. And this is far more than just external appearance, well-formed muscles, and a charming profile. It's much, much more than that. It's the lifestyle, mental strength, posture, character-building performance, and overcoming yourself that results in this physique, that's what I'm talking about. This is what elevates people to where those I'm writing about are, and whom you sometimes admire in your daily lives. These opportunities are also within you, and all it takes is determination, perseverance, and moving forward. Not caring about anything, not letting anyone drag you down, laughing in the face of pain and fatigue, pushing aside those who only hinder you in life, because that's the only way to achieve anything, and never, ever give up.

I am Dad's messed-up life...

It's not enough to read this blog. In fact, if the thought "I really need to hit the gym already, for crying out loud" doesn't even cross your mind after reading the fifth post, then there are some serious problems. Because it's not enough to desire a good physique and dream of all the benefits a beautifully sculpted body can give you. It takes determination and action. Everything else is just cheap excuses and pathetic wriggling in the pathetic body of a small person. You can look for role models and always idolize someone, but just because you like the root you deify on Facebook, it doesn't mean you become one with them, and you're far from being on the same level. But what if, for once in your life, you were someone's role model?