Men’s Health just published an interesting interview with Stephen Moyer who plays vampire Bill on HBO’s series True Blood (which is back on air right now for season 4.) Its weird that it took four seasons of True Blood before someone finally managed to get Stephen Moyer to talk about his workout and diet – considering how many “hot body” lists Moyer’s been on since starring in True Blood. Normally the vampire stereotype is the gaunt “starving artist look” more than Stephen Moyer’s fit look. How is Stephen Moyer’s workout and diet different? Keep reading to find out…
(FYI – Earlier on this blog we covered Ryan Kwanten’s and Joe Manganiello’s workout and diets – Ryan’s look is primarily about being really lean and athletic while Joe’s is more about dramatic size. Click the links above for more info…)
Stephen Moyer Workout
Stephen Moyer has trained with personal trainer Scot Guthrie at Gold’s gym (Venice Beach) for the past three years. Unlike a lot of trainers, who still have their Hollywood stars doing 1990′s bodybuilding inspired workouts – Guthrie draws influence from the current trends in functional and athletic training.
How is this type of training different?
Balanced Strength Training
Workouts train movements not just muscles. The human body was built to move in many different planes (think pushing, pulling, forward, back, diagonal, etc) in order to allow us to perform basic physical activities like running, quickly changing directions, twisting, reaching, pulling, jumping, etc. No one single muscle is responsible for creating movement. Instead muscles and joints work together to create movements. Athletes are particularly interested in improving their movement quality because this helps them win games and set records.
How to get started:
Your weekly workout program should be focused around training the major movement joints of the body – think hips, shoulders, and trunk (and not primarily knees, elbows, or ankles.) Over the course of a week each joint should be exercised in every plane of motion possible – think vertical push/pulls, side to side push/pull, and horizontal (or rotational) push/pulls.
Here is an example using shoulders -
Vertical push/pull – Incline dumbbell press/chin ups
Side to side push/pull – Pull up/Dumbbell Military Press
Horizontal push/pull – Row/Bench press
I am not an athlete, why should I care? Adopting the best elements from athletic training into your workout routine will ensure that you get into the best shape as fast as possible and with minimal injuries. Traditional body part based workouts have you training the same muscles in the same directions over and over again. This can quickly plateau your progress and leave you vulnerable to muscle imbalances which can lead to injuries (and sideline your get in shape plan for months.)
Plus, odds are – you sit at a desk all day and suffer from numerous muscle imbalances without even knowing it. Does you head angle forward? Shoulders rounded? Chest caving in? You can bench press all day long but if you don’t add in some rows to open up your chest – no one will see the muscle you’ve built. Working out without addressing muscle imbalances (keeping your dysfunctional caveman posture) is like losing weight without lifting weights (you end up looking like a smaller deflated version of your previously fat self.)
Prevent Injuries and Loosen Stiff Joints
Any of these exercises can be done in a quick circuit of 10-15 reps done two times through before your main workout -
These simple joint mobility exercises will ensure that you get the basic benefit of a functional exercise program even if you don’t want to change how you are currently working out.
Don’t forget – you will never look as good as you *could* have if you’d just gone the extra step. This is partly why Hollywood actors always look better than the average person. Its not just that they work harder or have better diets than the average person (because you can do this too) but its because they know how all the little details add up to create a total look. Its not just about being lean but – are your shoulders and chest in proportion to the rest of your body? Can you stand up straight? When you are out being active – do you make it look easy or do you run like a 85 year old?
Knowing how to put together these kinds of workouts can be tricky for beginners. While there is a lot of information on the web about planar training (here’s a good article) – you may want to invest in a workout program designed by athletic trainers specifically for regular people. The best one I know if is “Show and Go” by Eric Cressey.
Alternatively if athletic inspired workouts are not your thing – that’s fine. All you really need to get into great shape is a solid progressive weight lifting/cardio program and eating plan. Anything more can just be unnecessary complications. I recommend you check out Visual Impact Muscle Building or Adonis Effect - both focus on building lean muscle quickly and with ideal proportions.
Do More in Less Time
Stephen Moyer is spending less time doing slow paced workouts. Workouts are fast-paced, intense, and shorter. Circuit training (where exercises are done quickly back to back with little rest in-between) starts to replace slow hour long lifting sessions. Slow and steady cardio on the bike and treadmill is replaced by high intensity interval training such as boxing and medicine ball circuits (both regular workouts for Moyer – sometimes within the same day.)
Here’s a great example from NickTummelino on medicine ball training -
Most people have trouble coming up with ways to get a high intensity workout without doing leg-based training (think jogging, running, biking, etc.) Doing high intensity upper body workout like medicine ball circuits (or rope training) is a great way to add variety and avoid overtraining. Also, knowing how to get in a great cardio workout without using your legs can help you keep training through common lower body injuries that would otherwise keep you from working out for months.
Another good option to consider, especially if you are short on time is metabolic resistance training. Metabolic resistance training is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to burn fat and sculpt muscle. This kind of training is totally overlooked by most people and that is a huge mistake. Check out this post I put together on how anyone can benefit from this kind of fat burning workout.
Stephen Moyer Diet
Yum...protein...
Like a lot of people, Stephen grew up eating large meals. It wasn’t until he needed to get in shape for True Blood that the actor cut portion sizes and calories. These days, Moyer watches his portions carefully and is more likely to eat steamed fish with ginger and soy sauce, or a beef/turkey chili than the traditional English breakfast (eggs, bacon, mushrooms, sausage, bread, and baked beans) of his childhood.
The secret to getting and then maintaining a body like Stephen Moyer is understanding you will need to eat fewer calories even if you exercise regularly. Stephen eats in a calorie range that is between 1800 – 2200 calories per day to get lean. Maintenance levels could be as low as 2000-2500 calories per day on average. This is a number that’s a lot lower than the average person eating processed food, soda, sugary coffee drinks, and lots of snacks.
Keep in mind that the quantity and quality of what you eat will also be more important than meal frequency. You can break up what and how much you eat in whatever way works for you throughout the day. You can do three regular sized meals or 5-6 small meals. Whatever works for you and your schedule is best.
Keep meals simple. Don’t let the fact that you don’t have time to cook keep you from looking good. There are plenty simple, fast, food options that can cost less (and be made faster) than you can get take out. Buy a few rotisserie chickens, eggs, salad greens, fruit, and assorted vegetables. Ideally get some additional items for variety – keep fresh or frozen – options include fish fillets for steaming, chicken breasts for grilling (always do 4-5 at a time if you can), and lean ground meats for quick spicy stews. If you chose to buy potatoes (sweet or regular) be sure to roast these in bathes of 5-6 at a time as well. Take your vegetables and cut some into strips if you intend to do quick stir fries or use for snacking.
From here meals can be as quick as – putting rotisserie chicken on top of a bed of salad greens with a side of potato. Add diced vegetables to a 2-4 egg scramble. Grab a chicken breast, potato, and some broccoli that you steamed the night before.
If you get bored, experiment with adding spices, herbs, mustard, or chilies.
Don’t feel like you can’t settle into a routine of eating the same breakfast/lunch. This isn’t lazy – this is SMART – especially if the food is healthy and you are happy to eat it.
Thanks for stopping by! On your way out be sure to check out Visual Impact Muscle Building or Adonis Effect if you would like more information!
