Steve Zim - 6 Weeks to a Hollywood Body: Look Fit and Feel Fabulous with the Secrets of the Stars

WEEKS TO A
HOLLYWOOD BODY

Look Fit and Feel Fabulous with the Secrets of the Stars

STEVE ZIM AND MARK LASKA

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Copyright 2006 by Steve Zim and Mark Laska. All rights reserved

Photographs by Nick Horn

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

Design and composition by Navta Associates, Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

The information in this book is not intended to serve as a replacement for professional medical advice. Any use of the information in this book is at the readers discretion. The author and the publisher specifically disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use or application of any information contained in this book. A health care professional should be consulted regarding your specific situation.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Zim, Steve.

6 weeks to a Hollywood body : look fit and feel fabulous with the secrets of the stars / Steve Zim and Mark Laska.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN-13 978-0-471-71549-8 (cloth : alk. paper)

ISBN-10 0-471-71549-2 (cloth : alk. paper)

ISBN-13 978-1-620-45869-3 (paper : alk. paper)

ISBN-10 0-470-09822-8 (paper : alk. paper)

1. Exercise. 2. Physical fitness. 3. Bodybuilding. 4. Nutrition. 5. CelebritiesHealth and hygiene. I. Laska, Mark. II. Title.

RA781.Z536 2006

613.7dc22

200519104

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

In memory of Cookie Zimelman

Thanks to my editor, Tom Miller, for shepherding this book; to Mark Laska, for making my words and ideas clear so that people can change their lives; and to Maria Yip for all the hard production work she puts into the fitness segments we do on NBCs Weekend Today show, which has helped spread the word of fitness to millions of people and has allowed me a forum to educate Americans on being healthier. To the gym crewSalter Giddens, the gyms fashion king; Todd Bresler (or TT, as we call him); Chris Yackley; Diana Oliveira; and Kim Halcombthank you for always doing your best. Thanks also to Dennis Weiss for being a sounding board and keeping the gym healthier with all your fruit. Thanks to Chuck Dalaklis, Teresa McKeown, and the Brokaw brothersyour support has meant a lot to me. Thanks to Mel Berger and everyone at William Morris for finding us a good match. I also want to thank Dr. Abraham Zimelmanmy dad and medical adviser for my fitness segmentsand Dr. Alice Zimelman, Irv Rubinstein, and Shirley Rubinstein for being more than family and always coming up with ideas for me to do on the show. Thanks to my wife, Jodi, for everything she doestoo much to list; to Carli and Taylor, my youngest workout buddies; and to Humphrey, my four-legged jogging partner. Thanks to Toms editorial assistant, Juliet Grames; the books production editor, Lisa Burstiner; and the copy editor, Mary Dorian. And finally, thanks to the models featured in the book who allowed us to show you the way: Ilana Zimelman, Marie Cavanaugh, Alyson Sanders, Amy Ruka, and Jodi Zimelman.

Within these pages you will learn the secrets of transforming your body into a Hollywood body. I have helped so many people through this processpeople of all ages, shapes, and sizesthat it has been honed into a scientific formula that I am honored to share with you.

Around the world, Hollywood projects images of beautiful people, glamour, and star power. But the reality is somewhat different. People in southern California are blessed with one thing many other people are not: nice weather. People who visit Hollywood from Saskatchewan, Wisconsin, Maine, and North Dakota learn that they can actually enjoy being outdoors in February. In fact, most people in Hollywood are not that much better looking than people anywhere else in the world; were just more active.

The Hollywood body is a product of an active lifestyle and a Hollywood body mindset. When you engage in activity, there is a natural release of hormones, enzymes, and chemicals that delivers instant feelings of well-being. Activity results in an immediate relief of stress; you will feel refreshed, energized, clearheaded, and buoyantthat is the Hollywood body mindset. These are the feelings that will drive you to become more active, and consequently, adopt an active lifestyle.

An active lifestyle will equate to a happy life. Happiness is actually the realization that you would not choose to be anyone or anything else. That is really the goal here. The point is not to look like your favorite celebrity, but to make the most of what you have. This book will help you change your body into the best that it can beand be satisfied with who and what you are.

Lets be real: most of us do not look like supermodels or compete in bodybuilding contests. Recent studies conducted by scientific and medical institutions point out that less than 10 percent of the U.S. population exercises regularly. The Centers for Disease Control recently stated that more than 30 percent of the population is obese and more than 60 percent of all Americans are overweight. So Hollywood might not be the best litmus test for what your body could or should look like. During the press tour for the film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Renee Zellweger talked about ballooning up to 135 pounds. To put that in perspective, the average American woman weighs 162 pounds.

This book does not contain some unrealistic method to take a woman who is currently a size 26 and turn her into a size 2, or reduce a mans 42-inch waist to 28 inches. This book is designed for the great majority of people who do not exercise and would like to turn their lives around. If this is you, you are in the right place.

I have been an ardent fitness devotee my entire life and have been helping people transform their bodies for almost twenty years. I first began to take the transformation process seriously when I was in college. After watching people exercise next to me in the gym day after day and year after year, I began to notice that they looked no different from the way they did when I first met them. I began to question why and how these people could be so committed and not get any payoff for all their sweat and effort. I dissected the traditional exercises most of us are familiar with and became increasingly determined to discover the answer to why my gym mates were not getting results.