It’s not true that Hugh Jackman owns the entire world, these days. It just seems that way.
The accomplished actor and reigning People Magazine “Sexiest Man Alive” has appeared in a string of critical and commercial big-screen blockbusters in recent years and is now poised to cement his reputation as a supreme “A-list” leading man with his newest and biggest movie yet … X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Even as Jackman’s popularity has soared among moviegoers, he has developed a huge fanbase among bodybuilders and athletes who admire the star’s commitment to a rigorous workout regimen and his ability to transform his physique to match specific movie roles. Recently, for instance, Jackman trimmed down and leaned out to the extreme to portray a cattle drover in the Outback romance, Australia, then added several pounds of rock-hard muscle to prepare for his latest screen turn as the dynamic and conflicted Wolverine in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Raves for the First Summer Blockbuster of 2009

As you might expect, this sizeable fanbase is already turning out in massive numbers for the new film’s nationwide premiere, and the early response has been ecstatic. This compelling prequel deftly balances the dramatic psychological sources of Logan’s evolution into Wolverine, a mutant superhero wracked by rage and guilt, with all of the awe-inspiring visual thrills millions of viewers have come to associate with the X-Men franchise.

Beginning in the uncharted wilderness of northwest Canada in the 1840s, X-Men Origins: Wolverine recounts the charged love/hate relationship that grows between Logan and his brother Victor (Liev Schreiber), the similarly endowed mutant who will become the villain Sabretooth. After fighting side-by-side in the American Civil War, two World Wars, and Vietnam, the brothers part ways as Wolverine joins a secret Black Ops unit and is recruited by General Stryker to join a team of super mutants. The twists and turns of this stirring narrative will have fans of the series exclaiming again and again as key facets of Wolverine’s conflicted nature and motives are suddenly made startlingly clear.

As for the astonishing special effects, we don’t want to give too much away here, but one scene—in which Wolverine leaps from an exploding truck, clings to an attacking helicopter, slices the rotor blades, rides it to the ground, leap frees, and walk away—has to be seen to be believed. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, under the brilliant direction of Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Rendition), has set the bar dauntingly high for every effects-laden contender to follow it this summer.

Photo Credits: Twentieth Century Fox and James Fisher; X-Men Character Likenesses TM & [c] 2009 Marvel Characters, Inc. Al rights reserved. TM and [c] 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights rights reserved. Not for sale or duplication.

An Exclusive ProSource Media Interview with Hugh Jackman

ProSource Media caught up with Hugh Jackman on the red carpet at the Tempe, AZ premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and asked him about his amazing transformations.

What was Jackman’s mindset going in to the intense workout regimen that would prepare him for the rigors of becoming Wolverine once again?

Hugh: “What was more important to me was to be lean,” the affable superstar said. “I wanted to look like an animal! I wanted to look dangerous and powerful. Not just like, yeah, okay he works out. I wanted to look frightening.”

What was his regimen like? What was he eating?

Hugh: “Oh, it was tough. Training in the gym every day and for hours and hours at a time for six months … as the people who were around at the time will attest, it was pretty insane! But really the eating was the hardest part. To live in Australia where the food is so good and to have nothing to eat except steamed vegetables and steamed chicken for six months is tough.”

Does he have any philosophies with regard to attaining and maintaining peak physical condition?

Hugh: “For me it’s hard to put on a lot of muscle, so I have to lift very, very heavy weights. I have to be very careful and do a lot of stretching. Oh, and eat like you’ve never eaten in your life before. If you’re hungry, it’s been too long, never be hungry.”

Want to know more? Stay tuned for the launch of ProSource-Media.com. ProSource Media will be the first online community to utilize a unique array of informative profiles and on-camera interviews with pro athletes, bodybuilders, and celebrities, while also allowing you to share and compare your own workout and nutrition/supplementation tips with various others around the world. You’ll find exclusive interview footage with the entire cast of X-Men Origins: Wolverine; actors Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Live Schrieber, Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) and of course Hugh Jackman.

Join any of ProSource Media’s group pages on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and YouTube to learn how you can be eligible to win one of several T-shirts signed by the likes of Hugh Jackman, All-Pro NFL running back Brian Westbrook, Florida Marlins slugger Dan Uggla, the cast of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and more!

The Olympic gold medal winner talks about the sport she loves and shares some of the secrets to her success

By: Daniel Collier

Jennie Finch is perhaps the most well-known and celebrated women’s fast pitch softball player of all time. With her athleticism and competitiveness on the ball field only matched by her grace and beauty off it, Jennie has vastly helped to move women’s softball into the mainstream public eye. At age 28, her list of career accomplishments already reads like the stuff of legend. As a young girl growing up in La Mirada, CA, it was very clear from a young age there was nothing this tall athletic blond couldn’t do on a softball field. Finch displayed excellent hitting and base-running skills and was an absolutely dominant pitcher. After a magnificent high school career in which she went 50-12, with six perfect games, 13 no-hitters, 784 strikeouts, and posted a 0.15 ERA in 445 innings, Jennie moved to Tucson, AZ to play her college ball for the University of Arizona Wildcats. Playing under Team USA head coach Mike Candrea, Finch solidified her status as a young phenom by becoming a three-time All-American and winning the Honda Award as the nation’s top collegiate player her sophomore and junior seasons. She also helped lead the Wildcats to the NCAA championship title as a junior by going 32-0, and setting an NCAA record for consecutive victories, with an astounding 60 wins.

By the time Finch graduated from college in 2002, she was already somewhat of a household name. While her pitching earned her athletic accolades, Jennie’s beauty vaulted her into celebrity status. The tall California blonde joined baseball’s Alex Rodriguez and auto racer Dale Earnhardt, Jr., as the only athletes among People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in the spring of 2004. In the previous year, Jennie was voted ESPN.com’s “Hottest Female Athlete,” dethroning tennis player Anna Kournikova. Finch also received rave reviews for her work as a correspondent on ESPN’s “This Week in Baseball.” A highlight of that stint included a feature in which she struck out Mike Piazza, Brian and Marcus Giles and several other prominent major-league baseball players.

Since 2005, Jennie has played for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch Softball League, a league that benefits greatly from her star quality. She has also played in two Olympic summer games, leading the USA national team to a gold medal victory in 2004, and a silver medal this past year in Beijing. ProSource recently had the opportunity to speak with Jennie about life, her young softball career, and the fitness routine that has helped her dominate the sport.

Q. When did you first get involved with the sport of fast pitch softball?

A: I was 5.

Q. What sports other than softball did you play growing up?

A: I played basketball and volleyball. It helps to be tall in those too!

Q. What player did you look up to growing up (in softball and or baseball)?

A: Orel Hershiser and Lisa Fernandez were my top two idols. It was so incredible to play with Lisa and other women I grew up admiring and looking up to in the 2004 Olympics. I feel so blessed and lucky to have had that experience.

Q. What was your training regimen like when you were growing up? Did you have one outside of regular team practice?

A: I would have three days of team practice each week, and three days of pitching with my dad. I was really lucky he was so involved, and is still so involved. I couldn’t have done it without him.

Q. You’re from California, what access did you have to recreation/training facilities in your youth?

A: It was great growing up in California. I had a speed and agility coach as I got older and needed one. Plus there were always plenty of softball fields and indoor batting cages. We have such an advantage out here. That’s why I’m so excited about the Jennie Finch Softball Academy in Flemington, NJ. It’s a domed facility and we’re going to be able to give all the girls on the east coast what we’re so used to having out here.

Q. At what age did you start working out/lifting?

A: I started lifting in college. Before that it was mostly resistance training. I always used the product my dad designed, the Finch Windmill. I still do because it’s so great for creating muscle balance and preventing injury.

Q. What does the normal daily workout routine of a pro pitcher consist of? Weight training? Is the workout routine of a professional softball player significantly different from that of a college athlete?

A: The workout stays the same, except that I had more time once I was out of school to work out. And I guess it became a little more position specific as I got older, but we work out six days a week doing aerobic training for 45 minutes, and then interval training and weights for three days a week for 60-90 minutes. And like I said, I still do the Finch Windmill 5 days a week.

Q. How would the workout regiment of a softball player differ from other types of athletes?

A: There are so many different aspects to softball. Running, hitting, pitching. Our workouts have to be well-rounded, too. I think in other sports they maybe get a little more specific. I know that’s true for baseball.

Q. What if anything has changed in your workout routine since going pro and maturing as a pitcher?

A: Not much. That’s the great thing. You just keep building on what’s already there. I guess I have more body awareness now that I’m older, which doesn’t change the routine but it means that I work out a little differently.

Q. Being a professional softball pitcher, how much recovery time do you need between games pitched?

A: None if you’re mechanics are right, but growing up I think it was best if I pitched two games a weekend. In the Women’s College World Series I think I threw 1300 pitches in a week. It means you have to be in good shape!

Q. What is the role of nutrition in an athlete’s performance?

A: It’s so important to put good fuel in your body when you’re working out and playing. It makes such a difference. I’m a mom, too, and a wife, so it’s a hard sometimes because we’re so busy as a family. I like to have things around that I can grab quickly.

Q. Do you use vitamins/supplements of any kind? If so what products do you use?

A: Supreme Protein bars are great. They are the perfect post-workout snack for me. It’s quick. It’s easy. I just grab one and go. The good news is they taste great!

Q. Obviously endurance plays a huge role in pitching. What kind of endurance training do you do to build up your stamina?

A: I mix in long runs with intervals, and I’ll do stuff like doing my weight workout first and then my pitching workout so I go into it tired.

Q. What percentage of pitching is physical vs. mental?

A: I think it’s a 50-50 mix. You really can’t have one without the other and still win.

Q. How much does sheer strength have to do with fast pitch softball?

A: That’s hard to say. There are so many things that go into good pitching – flexibility, strength, wrist snap. I’ve heard the term “functional strength” and think maybe that’s more important than sheer strength.

Q. Does fast pitch softball put a lot of stress on your arm/shoulder?

A: Absolutely. There’s a myth out there that because the underhand motion is supposedly more natural, fastpitch is safer than baseball. But we have girls out there having shoulder surgery, elbow surgery and knee surgery. The right mechanics are so important, and the right training.

Q. You’re arguably the face of women’s fast pitch softball. What’s the life of a professional softball player like?

A: [Laughs] It’s busy. I’m blessed to be able to play for Team USA and for the Chicago Bandits. I get to travel and speak to people across our great country. My favorite thing to do still is teach and do camps with girls and their families who love this sport. It’s amazing to look at them and know they have it all in front of them. I like to encourage them to dream and believe.

Q. What is your hope for the future of women’s fast pitch softball?

A: The IOC voted baseball and softball out for 2012. We’re working hard to get it back in for 2016. Our sport is too good not to have it on the world stage! And I hope the professional side thrives. I want today’s girls to have the opportunity to play and achieve their dreams on the softball field. Our games are so fun. They’re great to take your family to and they’re not expensive. It’s fun. We have teams in Akron, Rockford, Elgin and Washington, D.C. It’s great. Where else are you going to see the best softball players in the world competing against each other? We want the pro league to improve and expand. Our sport should continue to allow players to stay active, get their college educations and have the opportunity to compete on a world stage in the Olympics.

Q. What are your future career goals?

A: To keep playing as long as I can and to inspire as many girls as possible to keep dreaming their dreams and believing in themselves.

Q. What have your Olympic experiences been like?

A: They’ve been incredible – beyond words really. The first one I was pretty intimidated. Here I was playing alongside women I’d idolized in the country where the Olympics began. In Athens there were so many things I didn’t know to expect, and it made me a little afraid. In China, it was more comfortable. Unfortunately we lost and that was so hard, but I think life is mostly about how you deal with failure. And maybe that loss will help softball get back into the Olympics, since one of the reasons we were given was that it was taken away because the US has been too dominant.

Q. How does winning an Olympic gold medal compare to winning in college or pro?

A: A win is a win, but nothing compares to representing your country.

Q. What has been your single greatest moment in softball so far?

A: The gold medal in Athens. No doubt.

By John Davies, Founder Renegade Training

When I wrote my first book on Golf, “R-Factor for Golf“, a number of years ago, much of my typical audience was surprised with my choice of topic. In writing the book, it was my intention to address the needs of the sport as well as dispel the myths associated with an endless array of training gadgets and questionable ideas.

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How Tiger changed golf into a fitness-minded sportBy: Daniel Collier

Men’s Fitness magazine recently released their 2008 poll of the top 25 fittest men in America. The list consists of all types of men of various backgrounds and from vastly different industries. Several of the athletes gracing the list are not so surprising such as basketball big man Dwight Howard, Philadelphia Phillies agile second baseman Chase Utley, and ripped up Browns quarterback Brady Quinn. Some of the other guys featured may not seem as familiar and quite frankly not as deserving (a.k.a. reality TV chief Curtis Stone…Who?). But perhaps the biggest surprise to some may be the man featured in the #1 spot and selected as the fittest of the fit, Tiger Woods. What, a professional golfer? He doesn’t deserve the honor of the fittest man in America, does he? YES he most certainly does!

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Opening my morning email I received a request from a major fitness group asking my opinion of the business’ “next big thing.” After going through a number of points including the deeply troubling world’s economy and the return to a notion of “value for service”, the conclusion was the “next big thing” was in-fact a return to tried and true methods and fun exercises that harken back to games of our youth.

While fitness professionals start to re-learn the “fun” side of exercise through the next decade, this is something that my group of training professionals embody, as we take what some consider drudgery and have turned it into a destination hobby. Although the notion of “fun” has long since been taken out of much of the industry whereby many are handcuffed to a treadmill, the newest craze is a step back in time and rope skip.

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