Interview with Rusty Moore from FitnessBlackBook.com

One of my favorite health and fitness experts is Rusty Moore from FitnessBlackBook.com.

If you’re not familiar with Rusty, he’s got one of the most popular fitness websites on the Internet where he discusses how many Hollywood actors get such amazing physiques for their films.

So I thought I’d reach out to Rusty to see if I could interview him on how busy people (like us parents) can get a “Hollywood Physique” even within a limited amount of time and equipment.

Fortunately for us Rusty agreed and was able to share some really insightful information with me.

So without further ado, here’s the interview!

 

1. Rusty, there are a ton of fitness sites out there but you’re site stands apart from the vast majority. Can you tell me what is so different about your site and why it is so popular?

My site was built out of frustration in 2007. I strongly despise the weird and bizarre fitness subculture, but I like to stay in great shape. I don’t believe that most guys want to look like roided up bodybuilders, but that is what I found whenever I did any sort of searching for fitness info online. I also know that most women don’t want to look like cheap, overly tanned fitness models.

I know there were others who didn’t want to take advice from sites filled with weird things like “Go Big or Go Home” t-shirts…and oiled up guys posing in their mom’s basement. Honestly, who wants to see that?

When I started the site in 2007, it was built with serious passion. I made a lot of enemies early on, but it resonated with a ton of people. Over the years it has become a mastermind for the lean “Hollywood Look”. The blog isn’t trying to be all things to all people. It is aimed at looking more like the men and women in James Bond movies, NOT for the guy who wants to look like WWE wrestlers.

I’m not popular with the hardcore bodybuilding and WWE crowd…and I’m fine with that 🙂

 

2. You write a lot about the exercise routines Hollywood stars utilize to get into amazing shape before a movie. However, the “stars” have a lot of resources at their disposal like the best personal trainers, dieticians, personal chefs etc. Is it really possible for the rest of us “regular people” to get a Hollywood physique?

It is possible to get in just as good shape as anyone in Hollywood, it just takes about twice as long. I’ve seen crazy dramatic transformations in Hollywood in 3-6 months. In the “real world” it would take closer to a year to attain that same level of fitness. The cool thing is that once you become really fit, it is easy to maintain that. In some ways it is easier to maintain when it takes longer to get there. Also…when you train yourself how to do this, there is much less chance you will add that weight back on. You will be armed with the knowledge to stay fit for life.

 

3. Often times Hollywood actors have a very short amount of time to completely transform their physiques. What is one of the biggest secrets you’ve learned that the Hollywood stars utilize to create such dramatic results in a short amount of time?

It really is about crazy calorie deficits created by massive volumes of training combined with low calorie diets. The average person trying to get in shape is lucky if they can create a 500-600 daily calorie deficit. A person in Hollywood will sometimes train 5-6 hours per day and create a calorie deficit that is 2-3 times that amount. This is why they can get uber-lean practically overnight.

As an example. I interviewed Leonardo DiCaprio’s personal trainer for the movie The Beach, Cornel Chin. Leonardo needed to lose 17 pounds in 2 weeks. Cornel had Leonardo exercise for 28-30 hours per week for two weeks. This was practically a full-time job. The average person would probably train 6-8 hours per week when they are trying to lose weight. So Leonardo trained about 4-5 times as much as the average person. This is why dramatic transformations happen in Hollywood.

 

4. The majority of the people that visit Renegade Dad are parents with very little free time. Do you think it possible for someone to get a physique like a model or Hollywood actor if they only have say 30 minutes per day to exercise?

I do think that busy parents can get there…it will just take longer. People stress out about it taking so long, because they are used to going in and out of being in great shape. The typical person will train hard and get fit, but then 6 months later they have 10-15 pounds more body fat than when they got in phenomenal shape.

My advice is to get fit just once…and then maintain that for a lifetime. If you look at it like this, then it isn’t a big deal if it takes 1-2 years to get “Hollywood” fit. Once you arrive, you never need to go back to being out of shape. Get there and never look back.

 

5. Since work and being a parent take up the majority of my day, I am constantly looking for ways to get the biggest impact in the least amount of time from my workouts. With that in mind, if you only had 30 minutes per day to exercise, what type of exercises would you do and why?

If I only had 30 minutes per day, I would probably alternate some form of resistance training on one day and interval cardio the following day. The resistance training would be for strength, to create muscle density and definition. The cardio would boost HGH to preserve muscle on a strict diet while burning off stubborn body fat. I make sure to go into both of these workouts in a fasted state to maximize HGH release and fat oxidation.

 

6. Bodyweight workouts seem to be all the rage these days and for parents they offer a simple and convenient way to fit in a workout. But do you think it’s possible to get a Hollywood physique by only doing bodyweight exercises?

You know…I think that doing the body weight circuit stuff can get you pretty close. Most people can reach 75-80% of their potential with body weight circuits. The problem is that it is hard to lose those last 5-10 pounds of body fat without some type of strategic cardio. There are some great bodyweight programs out there like Turbulence Training and Shapeshifter…but I’d suggest people mix in a bit of cardio with those great programs to reach their highest potential.

…and if I’m to be perfectly honest. If someone wants larger and slightly fuller muscles, resistance training with weights is a faster route than doing body weight training only.

 

7. On FitnessBlackBook, you talk about a lot of advanced exercise techniques. If a beginner were to purchase one of your books, Visual Impact or Visual Impact for Women, would they be able to understand and follow the workout routines?

Most beginners have no problem with my routines. If I could go back in time, I would give myself a copy of my program when I was 17. I wasted a lot of time following the bodybuilding based programs from the late 80’s. I bulked up, cut down, did way too many squats, etc.

My programs will help beginners avoid so many mistakes that I have made…and I’ve seen countless others make. Even if people aren’t interested in buying my courses, they will get a lot out of watching the videos on the sale pages. I hate most sales pages and wanted people to benefit even if they never spend a dime.

 

This is great information Rusty! Thanks for sharing your insights with the Renegade Dad community!

Thanks for the great questions Tim. Your blog is going to help a ton of busy parents!

 

So what do you guys think? Do you have questions you’d like to ask Rusty? Let me know in the comments or send me an email through the CONTACT page and let me know what questions you’d like Rusty to answer. I’ll put them all together and see if we can get Rusty to answer them for us. He’s really cool so I’m sure he’d help us out.

2 thoughts on “Interview with Rusty Moore from FitnessBlackBook.com”

  1. Thanks for putting this interview together Tim. Rusty has a great attitude and I always enjoy his articles.

    One question, I’ve heard conflicting evidence both for and against cardio while muscle gaining. If you’re not interested in the kind of gross, over muscled body builder look, how much cardio do you recommend for your clients trying to get into 5-6% BF range?

    Martin Berkhan says absolutely nothing above jogging, but he’s more focused on sheer mass than most.

    -Armi

  2. That’s a great question Armi, I’ll include that in my list of questions for Rusty. I personally think the solution to getting low bodyfat is nutrition but cardio definitely helps too and finding the right amount and intensity is key.

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