Everybody loves LL! This is a tribute that I should have
written in January 2018 when he turned 50 years old, the word “ICON” is thrown
about so much nowadays, that it seems to have lost its meaning, well today
there is only one word that aptly describes this multi talented, multi award
winning rapper/producer/actor/businessman: Iconic!
Now before you guys think that corefitness has gone from fitness
to a hip hop blog, there is a reason for us talking about LL Cool J, apart from
the fact that he has accomplished so much, he is a fantastic physical specimen,
one of those guys that look better at 50 than he did at 25! So today we honour
him by looking at how he keeps himself on top of his game, defying early
adversity; aged 4, his father shot and nearly killed his mother and grandfather, yet he shook it all off to become
the monumental success that he is today, and with abs to die for. No wonder the
Ladies Love Cool James.
LL Cool J was born James Todd Smith on January 14th
1968 in New York, his first single “ I need a beat” was released aged 16 in
1984 and sold over 100,000 copies. He
had his first major hit with the release of
“I need love” from the album “ Bigger and deffer” aged 19 in
1987 and the rest is history, he has gone on to have major success ever since. However
it is LL’s dedication to his health and fitness that really fascinates me. Like
I said earlier, he is one those guys that look better at age 50 than at age 25.
Funny thing is he was already working out and looked good aged 25, but has taken
his game to a whole new level as these pictures illustrate.
According to him, he had always worked out and tried to take
care of his body, but in 2002 he decided to really commit and lose fat while
building muscle for an upcoming tour, and that decision changed him forever. He became leaner, stronger and yet more
muscular. He developed stamina that he never knew he had as a younger man and
this has sustained him ever since.
LL Cool J‘s health and fitness journey led him into writing
a book; LL Cool J’s Platinum workout
Co written with his long time trainer, the book outlines his
philosophy on health and fitness, the training techniques he subscribes to ,
exercises to do and his take on nutrition. I highly recommend it! We are not doing a full on book review (he isn’t
paying us to!) but below are a few points to take away from his book that can
help you achieve your health and fitness goals from the G.O.A.T himself.
1.
HIIT:
LL is a firm believer in the concept of
HIIT to achieve optimum fat burning in your workout, HIIT stands for High
Intensity Interval Training, and it is a training concept that requires you to train
in short bursts of intervals of high intensity followed by period of low
intensity to gain your breath then repeating all over again. He loves it
because there is no wasted time in this system, if like him you are busy and
always pressed for time HIIT is just what you need. An example of HIIT in
action is your road work, instead of your usual 30 minutes jog, try this: Jog
for 2 minutes, sprint as hard as you can for say 30 seconds, jog for another 3 minutes,
sprint for 30 second and continue, I assure you, you will run out of gas within
15 minutes and will burn up more calories and rev up your metabolism far
quicker than your usual 30 minutes jog.
2. DROP SETS:
In his book, LL also talks about the
importance of drop sets in his training routine, what are drop sets you
ask? Drop sets are a training method
that bodybuilders have used for decades to get their muscles fired up for
growth by training them to the point of failure. Drop sets help you build
muscular endurance by pushing your muscles beyond their perceived limits
thereby forcing them to grow. How does this work in practice? Let’s say you are
doing a bar bell curl for your biceps and have done 4 sets, with the last
weight being about 20 kg, and you feel you can’t lift any more, remove 5kg from
your total weight then lift that till you can’t lift any more, drop a further
5kg till you can’t lift that etc. get the picture? Drop sets will help stretch
your endurance and grow muscle.
3. WORK YOUR MAJOR MUSCLE GROUPS:
LL Cool J believes that no matter what
exercise system or philosophy you adhere to, you cannot torch fat or grow
muscle if you ignore your major muscle groups. In every training session, make sure
that a major muscle group is being worked. Which groups are we talking about? Your
chest, your back and legs are all major muscle groups, they have the largest
bulkiest muscles and working them helps you burn more fat and faster too. He
loves to work his abdominals too but major muscle groups come first. Also be sure to incorporate explosive
exercises like boxing, plyo pushups and
endurance training into your workouts too.
 |
| Plyo Push ups! |
4. MISTAKES TO AVOID:
Talking too much and working out too little
in the gym, not warming up enough before and not stretching after your workout,
doing the same exercises everyday and lastly he wants you to keep this at the
front of your mind at all times, no matter how advanced your training
techniques, how dedicated you are to your routine and how much weight you can
lift or how fast you can run, you can NEVER
outrun a bad diet! In his book he placed great emphasis on eating right, the
right carbohydrates (high fiber) the right protein sources (chicken and fish)
and eat as many fruits and vegetables as you can, the greater the variety the
better. Your body is built on your diet, so why feed it crap?
Lastly, “Never starve yourself to lose
weight, you’ll slow down your metabolism and as soon as you start eating again
you will blow up! You have to eat when working out, have a lot of meals but not
heavy meals”
There it is people, a summary of LL Cool J’s workout
philosophy and techniques apply them and you are sure to look and feel great,
small wonder the Ladies Love Cool James!
As a bonus, find below LL’s training circuit; feel free to adapt it to
your training routine, try it out for
one month, he guarantees great results.
Thanks and do have a wonderful weekend!
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EXERCISE
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SETS
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REPS
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chest/cardio
circuit #1
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Barbell
bench
press
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2
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10-–12*
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Explosive
pushup
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2
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10–12*
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Jump rope
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2
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1 min at 70% of max
heart rate
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chest/cardio circuit #2
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Barbell bench press
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2
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10–12*
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Cable crossover
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2
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10
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Treadmill
run
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2
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1 min, incline 3,
at 70% of MHR
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Hanging running
man
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2
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10–12*
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biceps/cardio circuit
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Standing barbell
curl
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3
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4–6
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Preacher
curl
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3
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12–15
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Mountain
climber
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3
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1 min at 90% of MHR
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