Vampire Turned Viking: How Charlie Bewley Gets in Shape

You may have lusted after Charlie Bewley in Twilight or Nashville, but it’s for his latest role in Viking blockbuster Hammer Of The Gods that he’s really pulled out all the fitness stops. ‘I did tons of rowing,’ he says. ‘Hours and hours of it. It was like, “How much rowing can I do in a day? The machine’s gonna break before I do”, that kind of thing.’ The sexy Leicester-born actor can now also handle a broadsword, so he’s definitely got that protective thing going. But let’s look at a few more reasons why Charlie Bewley should be your new wellness crush:

 

1. He Skips: ‘I’ve recently started skipping loads,’ says Charlie. ‘I’m getting addicted to skipping. I feel like my legs are actually getting younger as I skip and it absolutely shreds you down – I’ve lost something like a stone [6.3kg] just from skipping. Skipping is easier to do than running because you don’t need to find a route, you can just get out there, stick on some Armin van Buuren and get to it.’

 

2. He Runs, Endurance-Style: Charlie recalls, ‘I did an ultra – well, a half marathon before a full marathon – but that wasn’t too hard, it was kind of a race against myself. My toughest race was probably a half Ironman. It was my first ever triathlon, and I did it in Mexico. It was absolutely baking, my shoes were melting on to the Tarmac. It was such a horrible experience – I did it by myself and when I finished I was like, “There’s nobody here to see it!” I almost started crying.’ We’ll run the next one with you, Charlie!

 

3. He’s Loves Training: ‘I get in a really bad mood if I don’t exercise,’ Charlie asserts. ‘It’s not something I have any choice over, with the parts I’m playing, but I really do love exercise. I like Spartan races, I like feats of human endeavour, I used to love doing half marathons and things like that. There’s a point about 15 minutes into a good run in the hills when I feel awesome – it’s like having my own little adventure every day.’

 

4. He’s Motivated: Charlie enthuses, ‘You’ve got to generate the stakes in your own head. You’ve got to decide, why do you want this for yourself? What is there about this race that makes you want to do it? We’re all alone, we’re all born alone, we’re all going to die alone, but we might as well do something in the meantime. I’ve always said you should find out who you are, because you don’t know what’s coming – you should work it out in case the apocalypse happens or something. I think it’s important to find the warrior within you before you find the war.’

 

5. And, Just in Case We Haven’t Mentioned it, He’s a Viking: To get in shape for the role, Charlie notes, ‘I carried a sandbag everywhere I went and filled it up wherever I was. It was like, empty out the Argentine sand, add in the Venice Beach sand. I do a lot of rotational stuff with it, a lot of twisting and carrying. It’s a real a lifesaver because out in places like Morocco there’s nothing, no other way to train…I had a broadsword I’m supposed to have had all my life, so I spent a lot of time working on that with our stunt team and I hope that comes across. It was such a great learning experience. Richard Ryan is a great stunt director, he really knows his stuff.’

Categories: bewley, Celebrity Wellness, charlie, Charlie Bewley, fitness regime, nbsp, skipping, viking

Travel-Friendly Running Circuits To Maintain Fitness

If you enjoy travelling, you’ll know just how much of a strain it can place on your fitness routine. The bad diet you eat, the stuffy hotel rooms and different climates don’t make for a great environment for keeping fit, but if you plan ahead you can ensure that you maintain your running record while you’re on holiday. There are some great indoor workouts you can do while you’re on the road, and all you need to complete them is a smart phone or watch, and a skipping rope. You may also want to download a tabata app for some of the workouts, which is a form of interval training where you perform an exercise at a high intensity for 20 seconds then 10 seconds of rest, for a series of eight rounds. Another workout which is really effective is eccentric training, which is the lowering phase of an exercise. Such as when you perform a push-up then lower your body as slowly as you can to the floor. When you reach it, you hold the position for three seconds, then return to the starting position. As a warm up, you can do the following routine: run or use the skipping rope for two to four minutes, perform ten air squats, ten arm circles – both forward and backwards, 20 lunges then five to ten push-ups. To cool down, you should walk for two to four minutes, then do five to ten minutes of static stretching.

These workouts should be done as a circuit, in which you should do each exercise consecutively without taking a break. The first workout begins with ten air squats, ten push-ups, ten sit-ups, ten lunges, a one-minute plank then rest for 30 seconds. You need to repeat the circuit five to ten times, then cool down with the above routine. Another routine which is great for getting your heart rate up is one minute of skipping rope followed by ten burpees; one minute of skipping rope followed by ten squats; one minute of skipping rope followed by ten sit-ups, then one minute of rest. As before, do five to ten rounds of the circuit then rest with a cool down session for five minutes. The third circuit is a Tabata circuit which you’ll complete for 32 rounds. You need to set your tabata timer for repeat 32 times for 20 seconds. Do each exercise for 20 seconds, rest for ten seconds then move onto the next exercise. Each of the exercises you’ll need to complete are as follows: skipping rope, squats, plank and lunges. Depending on how fit you are, you can always do the 32 rounds twice, with a two minute break in between.

 

Another tabata round, for eight rounds this time, consists of burpees, mountain climbers, sit-ups and jump squats. If time permits, you can always double this and do 16 rounds with a short break in between. The final workout requires you to set your timer to 12 to 15 minutes – remember that the goal of this particular circuit is not to take any breaks. See how many times you can get through it! It comprises 30 lunges, 15 push-ups, one minute of skipping rope and 30 seconds plank or 15 sit-ups. These workouts are tough enough to make you feel like you’ve had a workout, but simple enough that you don’t need to bring your entire gym with you in order to complete them. Circuit training such as this is ideal if you’re travelling – all you need is 30 minutes to yourself and enough room to move, and you can create an effective training session to maintain your fitness on the road.

Categories: air squats, circuit, Circuit Training, fitness, minute, Push ups, rope, Running, seconds, sit ups, skipping, skipping rope

Jump Around: Trampolining Workouts More Fun than Skipping

When was the last time you used a skipping rope? For most of us, we said goodbye to skipping or jumping with a rope as soon as we stopped letting our mums cut our fringes, but does that mean that skipping ropes are just for children? While you may think that something as juvenile as a skipping rope can’t do anything more for your wellbeing than it could for a kid, Marie Claire Beauty & Health Director Erin Flaherty found out the hard way that skipping rope-based workouts are definitely not child’s play.

 

Flaherty details, ‘I recently found myself in a boot-camp-fitness situation in a sweaty muscle gym (first bad sign) that incorporated the playground staple — and I couldn’t fathom why I had ever found it a recess-worthy activity. Pathetically stumbling and tripping through the workout, I was shocked at how difficult it was, and after, I slunk out, dejected. (Did I just pay for this humiliation?) But at another class I attended later that week, I found myself bouncing around again — this time on a trampoline — and had quite the opposite experience: I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun exercising since, well, grade school.’

 

The wellness-damaging effects of using a skipping rope, then, are not the fault of jumping in and of itself. In fact, Flaherty is not alone in finding that the simple act of jumping up and down can work wonders for your fitness. You can see the popularity of jumping all over the US, with “trampoline parks,” or fitness/play centres for the whole family, cropping up all over the country. Sky Zone Sports has recently opened 18 such centres, and have 10 more scheduled to roll out in cities like Dallas and Cleveland over the next year. But why is this seemingly juvenile trend is a very, very good thing for everyone involved?

 

1. Easy on the joints: If you have sports injuries or other issues, the trampoline protects you through the low-impact cushion of the net.

 

2. Detoxifying: Flaherty explains, ‘Jumping up and down stimulates the lymphatic drainage system, which is why experts at the world-famous We Care fasting spa near Palm Springs — where stars go to drop five to 10 pounds fast — recommend their tony clients jump on mini trampolines throughout their stays.’

 

3. Accessible: Although there aren’t so many trampoline parks opening up in the UK, anyone can purchase a relatively affordable rebounder and sneak in a few bounces during your TV hour.

 

4. Efficient: Flaherty points out, ‘Studies show that jumping on a trampoline burns about 20% more calories than jogging at five miles per hour. And according to Parvati Shallow, teacher of ESP Wellness Center’s new trampoline class, six minutes on the rebounder can equal one mile of jogging. And did I mention it’s really, really fun?’

 

Flaherty enthuses, ‘During the class, we learn dance-y routines that require quick thinking and take us up, down, and all around the trampolines; plus we pull resistance bands hanging from the ceiling, squeeze exercise balls between our legs, and perform interval push-ups and other strength-training exercises off the side of the thing (which makes for some serious core work). It’s exhausting but enjoyable, and you can immediately feel how full-bodied the workout is.’ Bari’s Bounce class, where Flaherty first became hooked on trampolining, is co-owned by Alexandra Perez and Brice Andrew Hall, a trainer who has worked with Madonna. Perez notes, ‘People need cardio [like running] in their workout routines, but we found too many clients were prone to shin splints, foot problems, and other issues that interfere with exercise. For Bounce, we’ve choreographed strategic sequences on the trampoline that activate more muscles — and in different ways — to burn more calories and engage you cognitively, so you also benefit in areas like strength, balance, and coordination.’

Categories: flaherty, fun workout, jumping, nbsp, nbsp flaherty, skipping, skipping rope, trampoline, trampoline parks, trampolining