While watching the Grammy’s a couple weeks ago I was shocked to see what I thought to be the Incredible Hulk come striding onto the stage to rap alongside Eminem. While it wasn’t Dr. Bruce Banner…it was a Dr…Dr. Dre. Or at least, who the television was telling me was Dr. Dre!
You see, growing up, the Dre I knew of started out as the skinny guy with the bad attitude in the 80’s…transformed into the pudgy guy with the bad attitude in the 90’s….and then lost the attitude and apparently the keys to the recording studio at the turn of the century as he disappeared for 10 years only to make his return to the hip hop scene just months ago!
From the looks of him, it seems he may have taken up another hobby while he took a break from making records. I’m thinking he started to LIFT recording studios instead!
Dre’s Transformation At Age 45
After years of serving as an inspiration for guys like 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes and The Game….it appears that these bulked up proteges sparked a fire in their mentor to start taking better care of his body. There’s no denying the transformation and most of all, the ability to do so at the age of 45 makes it all the more incredible.
Now, as is usual in Hollywood, there will be plenty of doubters as to whether these improvements were the result of hard work in the gym or rather from the “doctor” playing chemist with his own body! I think debating that point causes you to lose focus of the real accomplishment here, and that is…EVERYONE can be inspired by something or somebody to make a change AND it can happen at ANY GIVEN MOMENT!
This is something I’ve preached for years, as I am a product of it myself and have witnessed it so many times I can’t even count them anymore. Rewind 22 years and as a skinny 14 year old freshman in high school, the thought of working out sounded about as exciting to me as watching C-SPAN on a Saturday! I just didn’t like it.
I hated the feeling I’d get during the exercises and would spend more time counting the time until I was finished instead of counting reps. But the ironic part about it was, I definitely WANTED to look better. Just hadn’t found the desire to actually want to lift a finger to do it.
How I Got Inspired…
So what the hell happened?!? How did I go from the disinterested 14 year old to a guy that lives, breathes, and thrives for fitness with a passion that can hardly be put into words?!? Honestly…I can’t really say definitively. The answer, though it sounds lame and cliche is…it JUST HAPPENED.
One day, literally out of the blue, the desire to look a certain way matched up with the willingness to put in the effort to actually attain that goal…and I completed a workout…an honest, all out, full effort workout. Guess what? I survived and then I did it again, and again, and again.
After a few workouts, I realized I actually didn’t hate it that much after all. Suddenly, the universal multistation gym that my father had purchased for me (a subtle way to tell me I was too damn skinny!) became something I looked forward to using instead of hanging my bags and clothes on. The rest, as they say, is history.
It Can Be Done At Any Age…
For me, I feel fortunate that I got my head out of my butt in my early teens. But as Dr. Dre proves, it doesn’t really matter so much WHEN you find that spark….AS LONG AS YOU FIND IT! Contrary to what some might want you to believe, there are no age restrictions on building lean muscle.
You can do it at ANY age, even well into your 80’s as new research is proving. So I ask you, if you’re on this blog and would consider yourself someone that reads more about working out than actually working out, then let this be your spark…your aha moment…that shifts your internal mindset from “WANTING AND WAITING” to “DECIDING AND DOING”. It’s never too late to start.
Let March 1st 2011 be your “Dre” Day….the day you go from wishing you had more lean, ripped and athletic muscle to actually starting your 90 day journey to “ATHLEAN“.
Join the rest of TEAM ATHLEAN today and be inspired to be more than average….BE ATHLEAN!
Stay Strong…
Jeff
Jeff Cavaliere M.S.P.T, CSCS
Jeff Cavaliere is a Physical Therapist, Strength Coach and creator of the ATHLEAN-X Training Programs and ATHLEAN-Rx Supplements. He has a Masters in Physical Therapy (MSPT) and has worked as Head Physical Therapist for the New York Mets, as well as training many elite professional athletes in Major League Baseball, NFL, MMA and professional wrestling. His programs produce “next level” achievements in muscle size, strength and performance for professional athletes and anyone looking to build a muscular athletic physique.
