Dolph Lundgren - Dolph Lundgren: Train Like an Action Hero: Be Fit Forever

Copyright 2011 by Dolph Lundgren

English Translation 2014 by Skyhorse Publishing

First published in 2011 as Fit Forever by Dolph Lundgren, Bonnier Fakta/Bokfrlaget Semic, Stockholm, Sweden

Photography by Per Bernal, in addition to the following:

155-156: Martin Skredsvik

10, 1213, 17, 23, 25, 2627, 29: Authors collection

33, 116-117, 146-147, 164-165, 180-181: Tony Messenger

11, 172-173 1985 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

22: Steve Reeves International Inc.

122-123: Ann Clifford/Time Life Pictures/All Over Press

178: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images/All Over Press

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

www.skyhorsepublishing.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Brian Peterson

Cover photo credit Marco Glaviano

Skyhorse edition edited by Constance Renfrow

Print ISBN: 978-1-62636-013-6

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62914-925-7

Printed in China

CONTENTS

Much has happened since I first considered writing a book on physical fitness. The original title Fit at Forty referred to the period when I lived in New York City in the late 90s.

My body was beat after a year of non-stop filming. I flirted with the idea of taking a break from Hollywood to get my third-degree black belt in karate. Taking the elevator down to 64th Street, I jogged across Lexington Avenue to my favorite gym to gather my thoughts during a workout.

I didnt write the book then. A few years later, I earned my third Dan black belt during a tough grading. The manila folder with book ideas disappeared into a dusty cabinet. At some point I changed the handwritten title on the front to Fit 4-Ever .

As always my friends and family kept asking me for advice on diet and exercise. My desire to write the book was still there, smoldering under the surface.

Fast-forward to ten years later. I was asked to be a host of a radio show back in my home country of Sweden. The format of this popular summer program is that the host to talks about a specific topic of his or her choice for ninety minutes, interspersed with music. I decided to talk about my dad. During an emotional live broadcast, I relived my childhoods tears and joy. After being away from Sweden for so long, I realized how important it was to me to finally feel understood and embraced by my fellow countrymen. The memories of that afternoon broadcast still make me choke up.

Because of the reaction to this broadcast, the idea of writing a book about my life and my adventures in Hollywood was brought forward by a number of Swedish publishers. One publisher mentioned another idea: a fitness book. I thought about it. Instead of writing a traditional biography or an exercise manual, the result was an autobiographical fitness book. As one comedian put it, I knocked up two birds with one stone.

I decided to write a book not only filled with personal training advice, but one that also tries to explain how physical training literally saved my life as a teenager and later became an unshakable part of it.

A healthy man has many wishes. The sick man only one, says an old Indian proverb. Life is a gift for us to enjoy. A strong body is essential for good health. Without our health, we cannot fully experience the wonderful world around us.

The fact that my book is now being published in the United States makes the whole experience so much sweeter. Everything Ive accomplished in the past thirty years has happened because I decided to come to America. The first act of my story takes place in Scandinavia, but the more exciting parts happen across the Atlantic.

So, very fittingly, I sit here in a hotel suite in Los Angeles finishing the manuscript for my book. Tomorrow at 5:30 a.m., Ill be in the hotel gym with a pair of dumbbells in my hands.

Cest la vie ...

I sincerely hope that physical fitness will be as important a part of your life as it has been in mine.

/ West Hollywood, April, 2014

BRIEFING

TRAIN TO LIVEAND SURVIVE

Life can sometimes feel like a movie thats too long, where the characters and story dont make sense. Remember that its your life and you can write your own script. You can always choose to change yourself, to seek out new paths for a more harmonious and joyful life.

The choice is yours here and now. After all, youre the star of your own life. Play it well and enjoy the movie.

A very young Ivan Drago

It may be hard to believe, but the super athlete Ivan Drago wasnt the athletic type during his childhood or early adolescence. On the contrary, I was morbidly weak, as they say up in the grim northern Swedish provinces.

You who are small and weak must go to the Salvation Army Hall. I who am big and strong will go party and have a ball! said my Swedish uncle Sture, an amateur boxer and amateur comedian. He grinned and unbuttoned his shirt, flexing his hairy, muscular chest.

One of my earliest blurry childhood memories is from a hospital in Stockholm. I remember the dim lights and the smells. Ether vapors, disinfectants, or whatever it may have been. I lay alone in my hospital room staring up at the ceiling. As a four-year-old, I had croup, a viral disease of the respiratory tract that resulted in an acute shortness of breath. Later, my parents told me that they thought I would die when my face turned blue and I couldnt breathe. After this disease, Little Hans, as I was called at the time, developed persistent allergies and asthma. I wasnt allowed to be outside playing with the other kids. My eyes were swollen in the summer and I had to walk around with a black pirate patch, holding in place a cotton ball soaked in boric acid. I kept moving the patch from one eye to the other depending on which eye hurt the most. Half asleep, my mother would stay up with me through the night when I had my asthma attacks and couldnt breathe.

The asthma affected my physical and emotional development. I could play simple kids games, but I couldnt participate in any organized sports. Instead, I ended up focusing on wimpy indoor activities like music and painting. I suffered during both my grade school and junior high school PE classes. When it was time to pick teams, I was almost always chosen last. Just ahead of some girl with no athletic talent to speak of.