Monday, January 4, 2016
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Friday, January 1, 2016
The Beginner's Guide to Getting Ripped
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Matt Bomer: All In!
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a preview-only version of Matt Bomer's cover story in the JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 issue of Men's Fitness. For the full story including exclusive content, download the app >>>
There’s a canyon at the end of a dusty lane off the I-5 freeway, down some lonely roads built to access landfills and water treatment plants, where Greater Los Angeles ends and America begins. Here, through some iron gates and down a hill lined with hedges, is a portal to a land of pickups and full-brimmed caps, where old men wearing tan vests stuffed with ammunition openly carry shotguns, where not one but two giant stuffed grizzly bears greet visitors in a dark lobby, and where the sounds of live fire echo off the sandstone walls. This would be a terrible place to steal a car stereo. Or wear a Bernie Sanders shirt. And into this scene arrives a man in a black luxury station wagon, wearing very stylish jeans, a snug green Henley, and a 49ers cap that is well cared for.
“Aren’t you on TV?” asks a clerk inside the pro shop of the Oak Tree Gun Club, in Newhall, CA, from behind a counter where visitors can purchase or rent various firearms. Matt Bomer nods and smiles. “I am,” he says. Celebrity sightings do not seem to be a regular occurrence at Oak Tree; unlike basically everywhere else in Greater Los Angeles, there’s no wall of fame of signed head shots, at least that I can see.
“I hate to ask you this,” the clerk replies, “but my wife and I love your show, and she would kill me if I don’t get a picture.” He gives his phone to a colleague, hunches in close to the star of the megahit American Horror Story: Hotel—as well as the films Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL—and then gives us a very quick instructional on safe handling of a .22 Ruger pistol, which Bomer selected by name from a wall of handguns. “It’s the assassin’s choice,” he tells me. “You’ll see why when you fire it.”
Game Changers 2015: Matt Bomer >>>
Bomer, it turns out, has some experience with firearms. “I’ve been handling guns since I was a kid,” he says, out on the trap range a little later, popping a shell into a 12-gauge Dickinson shotgun. “I got a .30-30 for Christmas in the seventh grade. It wasn’t what I asked for, by the way. And it wasn’t my only present.” It was a gift from his father, a conservative Christian and avid hunter who “clears the decks for deer season.”
Bomer was born outside St. Louis but spent his formative years in Texas. He reckons he was “somewhere around 8” when his father first introduced him to guns. As a kid, he hunted birds and ducks but hasn’t shot at anything live in years. “It’s nothing that I’ve elected to do in my adult life,” he says. “In Texas, it’s a way for men to bond together. I was down with that when I lived there, and I haven’t really done it since.”
He’s not sure when he first handled a firearm on a set. It could have been on Guiding Light, the soap he starred on for a little more than a year in the early 2000s. “I know I killed several people on that show,” he says, but decides that most, if not all, of those murders occurred offscreen. Probably, then, it was the 2006 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, in which he is murdered by Leatherface in extravagant style—“He strung me up for a while, and then he knocked me out and carried me to the basement, strapped me up, partially skinned me alive, then gutted me with a chain saw.” This gratuitous death wasn’t without purpose. “Leatherface becomes Leatherface with my face.”
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Bomer aims the gun over the top of the wooden trap and yells, “Pull!” causing a neon-yellow clay target to shoot across the range. He fires. It shatters. For someone who hasn’t shot at a bird, real or fake, in eons, he’s pretty good, hitting four out of five clays in his first round. “City boys out in the country!” he hollers. When one shot of mine barely nicks a target, he gives me encouragement. “If you hit it at all, you’ve killed the bird.” Bomer takes the gun and pats me on the back. “If that were the case, we’d be going home with some dinner.”
When the ammo is exhausted, we go in search of lunch, but in Oak Tree’s café, the air is heavy with fryer oil. I suggest we try elsewhere.
“Probably a good idea,” Bomer says, looking around. “I have to be naked on camera at 9 a.m. for a love scene with Lady Gaga. So maybe it’s not a good time for, like, french fries.”
Get the full story: Download the digital edition of the Men's Fitness January/February 2016 Issue, available now at mensfitness.com/gettheissue.
Avoid Fitness Faux Pas With These 10 Tips From an International Etiquette Expert
For example, swimmers coexist in close proximity in lap lanes, pacing and passing smoothly without saying a word. Cyclists worldwide not only maneuver among cars, they also share the road with each other - communicating with phrases and gestures that are as much a part of their community as their bikes and helmets.
So why has so much been written in recent years about the etiquette challenges in our fitness facilities? We have all had experiences that we have gone home and talked about, from overly friendly co-exercisers to embarrassing perspirational moments. Even personal trainers admit it can be an intimidating experience to return to the gym. Whether you are an exercise novice or a fitness buff, avoid a gym faux pas. We've put together our top 10 tips to ease your re-entry and make it just that much more enjoyable for you and your fellow gym members.
1. Fitness Attire. Be sure your athletic attire covers what needs to be covered and fits properly. Certain barre, core strength, and Pilate's exercises require work on a bench or the floor. Be sure that bottoms are not so loose as to be revealing when you are bending over or prone. Be sure running and cycling pants do not become see-through when the fabric is stretched tight. Wear a proper sports bra and clean athletic shoes. Learn the fitness facility boundaries for sport-specific athletic shoes, such as spin shoes.
2. Fragrance Fail. Don't forget antiperspirant. Avoid perfume and heavy make-up while working out. If a fellow exerciser's fragrance is overwhelming, visit with the front desk, email the club, or slip a note in the suggestion box. Arrive clean and wearing clean clothes, not covered in golden retriever fur from bathing your dog!
3. Explore the Facility. Before your first set, explore. Returning to the gym? Learn the layout to increase your self-confidence and create mental energy. Walk around like one of the 'regulars' who knows the answers to the following questions: day care options, services offered, hours most crowded, location of towel and antibacterial wipes, water, and restrooms.
4. Introductory Session. Be honest and ask yourself: Do I know what I am doing? If you are unsure about the equipment or how to get started, one of the best things you can do is hire a personal trainer for a few sessions to get started in the right direction. Don't feel obligated to enroll for a yearlong class. Keep in mind that the vast majority of personal trainers do not offer free sessions.
5. Noise. Remember, people are there to focus on their workout--and they don't appreciate distractions. Keep the personal music in your earbuds tuned to an acceptable level so that only you enjoy the music. People focusing on their routines do not appreciate singing, karaoke, personal smartphone conversations, or loud discussions in the fitness facility.
6. Respect. The only person who should correct another's form is a personal trainer or a gym employee. Working out is a great place to meet people; however it is not a singles club. If you wish to mingle, wait for a cue (such as a shared smile) to strike up a conversation. Don't be a bore and overshare how well, or poorly, you are doing with your workout or diet. Too many people go on for too long when discussing diet or fitness. For long gab sessions, invite your friend to go grab a coffee after your workout.
7. Mirrors. Many people watch themselves in the mirror to monitor form and execution. If a weight or machine is in front of someone performing a set, it is polite to wait for them to finish. Avoid selfies, primping, and preening in front of the mirrors--you don't want to be known around the gym as that guy or girl.
8. Perspiration & Anti-bacterial Wipes. Make an effort to wipe the equipment before you sit down and when you finish, regardless of whether you perspired. Many fitness facilities provide anti-bacterial wipes or towels to wipe down mats and machines when finished, especially at the end of a class!
9. Share. Cooperation is the key here. While resting between sets, avoid lounging like a lizard on the machine. Allow others to work into your sets, and ask politely if you wish to 'work in.' Return equipment such as BOSU balls, mats, and bands. Unload weight bars and re-rack free weights--leaving weights on the floor is unsafe and may cause others to trip. Don't hog the machines--limit exercise on cardio equipment to 30 minutes during peak hours. Turn off any electrical equipment that you used such as the elliptical TV, lights in the BMI room, or portable fans.
10. Locker Rooms. Since this is shared space for a large numbers of people, don't drape your personal items all over the bench while you're changing. Place clothing directly in your locker or gym bag. Be sure your cell phone is turned off or to 'silent' when you are in the gym or exercising (including when placed in the locker). Remember to clean cosmetics from the counter. And the biggest locker room faux pas of all--don't walk around naked; the majority of people feel a little uncomfortable being so close to someone who is baring it all!
Minding your gym manners will help with your fitness goals and confidence in the New Year. We like to think we're not only exercising our muscles, but also exercising the kind of manners that make the gym a better place for everyone.
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