Find out how one of the most recognizable actors in the world trained and showed great shape. We reveal all the secrets of training Jean Claude Van Damme. Jean-Claude Van Damme is well known to many of our compatriots from the action films of the nineties. Then he was the idol of many teenagers who wanted to be like him. Surely he continues to remain so for someone now. In this article, you will learn about how Jean-Claude Van Damme was trained and get acquainted with the biography of the actor.
Biography of Jean Claude Van Damme
The actor was born in 1960 in Belgium. Van Damme's future life was largely predetermined at the moment when he and dad came to the karate section, and the guy turned eleven then. At that time, he would have been thin and engaged in dancing, for which he often suffered humiliation from classmates. Van Damme became passionate about martial arts, becoming a fan of karate.
He trained for hours and his mentor, seeing the potential inherent in the boy, tried to help him develop. Moreover, this concerned not only the combat technique itself, but also the muscles. The coach constantly told his ward that strength comes from muscles and Jean-Claude will remember these words for a lifetime.
Jean Claude Van Damme's usual workouts consisted of an hour and a half of running, mastering fighting skills, and after that, the future star spent about the same amount of time in the gym, improving her muscles. As a result, in a couple of years, Jean Claude acquired excellent physical shape.
Dad saw in his son not only the potential of a karateka, but also a bodybuilder. It was at his insistence that Jean Claude participates in the national bodybuilding championship. It happened in 1978. Then Vam Damme becomes the bronze medalist of the European Junior Bodybuilding Championship. At that time, he already had a black belt in karate and could safely consider himself a master of hand-to-hand combat.
A year later, he wins in the absolute category at the national bodybuilding championship and no one doubts his future. But Van Damme himself saw himself not in sports, but in business. It must be admitted that he was very calculating, and this helped him in the future. For example, the first marriage, most likely, was concluded by convenience and as a result it had its own hall. Then the guy was 18. When he moved to the USA, by the way, he sold this hall. Already living in the United States, Jean-Claude remarries, and his father-in-law turned out to be a rich man, providing his son-in-law with his patronage. He used wives to create his future and did not regret it.
The active training of Jean Claude Van Damme made his figure attractive, and his skill in hand-to-hand combat could be in demand in the cinema. Actually, it is for this that he moved to Hollywood. Success did not come immediately, and he wandered around the city for quite a long time and did minor work, at the same time attending screen tests.
As a result, he was selected to participate in his first film "Bloodsport". It was with this that his success in cinema began. In fact, the first role became successful, bringing him fame. All his future roles showed the strength and masculinity of the actor, and for this reason, Jean Claude Van Damme's training was very intense. He simply could not lose his excellent physical shape, otherwise his film career would have ended.
Here the skills that he received during bodybuilding classes at home were very useful to him. Unfortunately, Van Damme's success played a cruel joke. At the pinnacle of success, the actor became addicted to alcohol and drugs. This fact could not but affect his health, and he ends up in the hospital. After undergoing treatment for alcohol and drug addiction, Van Damme promises to himself that this will not happen again. We admit that he keeps his word today.
Personal life was no less active than the training of Jean Claude Van Damme. He was married five times, and twice to Gladys Portugues, a bodybuilder and very successful. It seems that now in the person of his wife he found what he had been looking for all his life, namely care and love. They have two children and their marriage looks quite happy. Although sometimes scandals do happen, Van Damme claims that he will never part with his wife.
How did Jean Claude Van Damme train?
Van Damme trains six times a week. The training on Monday, Tuesday and Friday involved working on the muscles of the back, hips, chest and abs. On the rest of the week (Sunday was a day off) in the morning Jean Claude worked on the lower leg, abs and muscles of the shoulder girdle. As you may have noticed, Van Damme is actively working on the abdominal muscles, and his favorite exercises for training this group are crunches (back and vertical) and side turns.
In nutrition, Van Damme has never used rigid dietary programs. Although in preparation for the filming of films, he had to sacrifice something. For example, while working on the film "The Monk", Jean Claude did not eat meat. According to him, he had to be as fast as possible, and he had to eat only fruit. Also note that the actor considers oatmeal to be the best product for builders.
For more information on Van Damme's workout program, see here:
