I was just wondering about these today and thought I’d ask y’all what you think.
1- We all seem to agree that one of the worst ways to get lean is to starve yourself and do alot of cardio, right? So why is the answer to how Brad Pitt got his look and how most runway models got theirs= “starve and do lots of cardio”? Just seems contradictory to me, granted they aren’t lean in a very good way, but they are lean none the less.
2- We agree that fast twitch fibers have greater capacity to hypertrophy, yes? And the calves (esp. the gastrocs) are said to be dominated by fast twitch fibers, right? So why do the best sprinters and jumpers have such small calves? They spend years training for explosive power which theoretically would make for some very impressive growth, but they usually are nothing but alot of tendon with a little puny knot just below the knee!
I think the physique of runway models and Brad Pitt’s physique are entirely different. Runway models have no muscle whatsoever–they starve themselves because they are trying to look skinny and don’t care how much muscle they have. I would imagine (I’m not certain, if any T-mag forum members know for sure, please post the answer) that Brad Pitt got his physique by lifting, doing TONS of cardio, and severely limiting carb intake. I wouldn’t doubt it at all if something like Clen or T3 (or if he was smart, T2) was used as well.
2. As for sprinter's calves, I'm sure the answer is that because calves are used all the time, it is difficult to isolate them and to force hypertrophy. Most people have difficulty with their calves because of this. Sure, sprinters lift. But most of their effort is probably on quads, glutes and hamstrings--the muscles in the leg that are most important for sprinting, jumping, etc. After all, it's a common misperception that ripped calves=high vertical jump. It's all about the hips, quads, hams, glutes.
I concur. Runway models have very little muscle tone. I don’t know about Brad Pitt specifically, but I do know from “freinds” that knew people in the industry, various chemical enhancements are par for the course when attempting to get built for a movie. Besides, Brad Pitt never really impressed me as having that great of a physique. You know who surprised me with his build (in Gladiator) was Russell Crowe.
As for the calves, specifically I don’t know the answer. Maybe because they use them so much they never get as bulky. This isn’t racial, but it seems African Americans(I know there are exceptions) seem to have a harder time developing calf mass. And a decent amount of top class sprinters are African American. I do think sprinters use a lot of quad/glute power. I remember reading that Ben Johnson was able to do a 600 pound squat for reps, at what, a sub 200lb. bodyweight?
Jimmy The Greek lost his job explaining why black athletes are superior.Part of the explanation involves the fact that the hereditary “black calf” is predominated by a larger , longer tendon/ligament & consequently greater explosive strength.
I’m sick of hearing how great Brad Pitts physique is in fight club. If you ask me he looked much better many years ago in Legends of the Fall. At least he had a little muscle back then. Anyone who is naturally fairly lean can starve themselves down to very low bodyfat and it looks like thats what hes done. Regarding the calves you answered your own question. " , but they usually are nothing but alot of tendon with a little puny knot just below the knee! "
Since you can’t change tendon into muscle that long tendon will always be there and so will that little knot…although the little knot might get a little bigger it’ll always be a knot in comparison to the length of the rest of the lower leg.
Generally, black sprinters’ tendons ARE longer, hence a better lever effect. Also, my thought is that black sprinters may have more fast-twitch fiber, as well. Of course, you have to think that the great African long distance runners have predominately slow twitch combined with long lever tendons. Combined with alot of heart and great altitude training. So, it’s a combination, right?
When you start making comparissons of the different African runners (sprinters vs distance runners), there is a difference that can mainly be axplained by cultural and racial differences WITHIN the “black” community. How many Ethiopian sprinters do you see? I think the environmental conditions of the respective countries/regions that predominate in distance running have basically bred out the characteristics that would make one a better sprinter.
I don’t know for certain how Pitt gets the lean look that he has for movies either, but I find it odd that when people bring it up on this forum, everyone says “just starve yourself and do tons of cardio if you want to look like that”. Any other time this protocol of tons of cardio and starving comes up, it will cause catabolism of lean tissue and your bf will just stay the same if not worse? I just thought it is an odd contradiction and wondered if anyone else feels the same way, noticed the same discrepency, or thinks I’m just wrong?
As for the calves I feel the same as most of you though I don’t feel that race has anything to do with the question. White men that perform well in these sports have the same characteristics- long tendons and short small muscle belly. My question is why do they stay small, when they are worked in the “optimal” manner to stimulate growth of fast twitch fibers? I know they aren’t the prime movers for sprinting or jumping but they are very important for both.
jeff - there is a general feeling in the bb community that cardio is for pussies and eating big is the end all be all of dietary strategies. since there is also a general disdain for the brad pitt, “runway model”, “men’s health” type of physique it stands to reason that these two ideas will be served up together.
i am one of the few on this forum who do not believe that cardio is evil. rather when implemented in a well thought way can be an extremely valuable tool for all of us. i truly think that this excessive fear of cardio-catabolism is really just paranoia. kevo
Jeff, I didn’t say that Brad Pitt starved himself. I said that runway models, who have no muscle tone, starved themselves. My guess for Brad Pitt, as I stated earlier, is that he does do weight training, lots of cardio (if you’ve read John Berardi’s posts, you know that John does tons of cardio–not high intensity cardio though so as to prevent muscle catabolism) and severely limits his carb intake. I’m sure he also uses chemical enhancements to get his “thin-skin” look. Also, some people are naturally lean; he’s obviously one of them. Now, much like the Fat Fast and other no-carb diets, this will get you lean, but it’s not good for building muscle. However, it IS possible to maintain muscle while getting lean.
You’re fucking lamers (and probably hopeless fat asses) if you think Pitt had to take “drugs” to obtain his physique. I’ve trained people for the Pitt physique and it is the easiest thing in the world to obtain – just lift weights consistently and eat a clean, but low calorie diet (1,200-1,500 calories usually works fine) until you hit around 5% body fat, then up the calories until you are maintaining. THAT’S RIGHT, NO CARDIO IS NECESSARY.
Crowe was no more muscular in Gladiator than he was in LA Confidential – which is to say, not very muscular at all. He obviously works out, but he isn’t very serious about it or he would be much bigger.
p[erhaps your question should be more along the lines of why is lots cardio and a diet lower than the basal metabloic rate considered a bad way to lose fat mass. The answer in my humble opinion would be that you have to reduce you lifting to do more cardio. Reducing lifting is naurally going to have negative effects on your muscles.
Sprinters do not train like body builders and do not have the same level of hypertrophy in any part of their lower body. They rarily use isolated calf exercises for hypertropy because it just would’nt have any benefit for them.
jp - just an innocent question. why do you think it is necessary to reduce your lifting to do more cardio? is this just a personal preference of yours or is it based on some scientific rationale? just curious. kevo
Mike, clearly you are both a hopeless fat ass and a complete idiot. Thanks for your expert opinion on how easy it is to obtain Brad Pitt’s physique. I’m sure you have the lean ripped look and bang 15 chicks per night just like him, right? That’s what I thought, tough guy.
Here is my idea: I have big calves, I don’t train for explosive power and I can run fast. My brother has HUGE calves and does no physical activity at all, and ain’t much of a runner. Mabey genetics are they key, and all the fuck boy gym major exercise physiologists are as full of shit as they seem to be. All that snap jumping and sled pulling does jack shit, these top sprinters all add next to jack to their times after about age 25 and they train with all this bullshit. I don’t buy it.
todd you may not like what he said and I would have said its the “simplest thing” but mike the lib is correct. if you work out and under eat you WILL get that scrawny brad pitt look. I don’t know if it would be easy for all but it IS simple. what shocks me is that you think it would be complicated, he’s just skinny, THATS IT!!and calves are NOT important to sprinters? think man THINK.
as far as runners, YOU say their training should leed to hypertrophy, I don’t think it has to. but everyone that said GENETICS is correct. the diff between black and white athletes is not important, you will see (if you checked) that white sprinters have the same kind of calves. we can argue over % of wt. vs. % of black but who cares. ATHLETES ARE BORN NOT MADE!!
An old T-Mag article has mention of ‘sprinters have huge upper legs, tiny calves’
As for the black vs white speed affair blacks geneticly are faster due to thicker bones and an increase of a hormone responsable for being able to contract and relax muscles quickly
A Yale genetics study (which was on ESPN pregame about 3-4 years ago) said that the genetic qualtities that make up a very fast athlete occur (seemingly by chance) in blacks with more frequency than in whites. They also said with respect to athletic prowress, an African village will have a wider distribution of genes than ANY population size in the world. This all implies that the fluke of super speed is less fluky in blacks. It cannot be said that all blacks are faster though, just look at the Kenyans who have heartbeats of 35 per minute at rest, they can go far but not fast.
The reason why sprinter’s have smaller calves is due to long tendons and short muscle bellies. I suggest that everyone here, who has not done so, read “Speed Demons: The Domination of Sports by Blacks” by Dr. Jose Antonio and Chris Streets. in issue #5 of t-mag. It covers why blacks are faster sprinter than whites and asians and is a very interesting article in my opinion. I suggest that everyone who considers himself a t-man read every single article contained in the previous issues.
i kinda agree with colin’s last point. Also calves aren’t all that important in running, quads, glutes, hamstrings are much more… There may in the future be a trend of non black sprinters. Most everything goes in waves. For a while it was the east-german and that bloc of people dominated, now mainly blacks dominate. In 10 or 20 yrs it may be another goup or it may not.