Belieber or, uh, unbelieber, at some point you’re probably going to have to acknowledge that Justin Bieber, AKA that dude you thought was a girl the first time you heard him singing, is actually more jacked than you. Yes, sometimes celebrities are airbrushed for ad campaigns; no, they can’t do it for their entire social media presence. So, however snortingly dismissive you were when that Calvin Klein ad came out, it turns out the little guy actually does have a six-pack. Here’s what half a day of trawling through his social media posts taught us.
Consistency Works
Bieber’s been training for years with strength coach to the stars Patrick Nilsson, apparently using a five-day split and training abs three days a week. Is this the most time-efficient approach? It’s arguable, but he’s undeniably putting the work in. Advantage: the Biebertron.
You Can Always Train Something
When JB got a broken foot, video emerged online of him training on crutches. That takes commitment, but it’s also an object lesson in gains - if you injure a limb, do something else with all the other ones. Studies on athletes bear this out, and there’s even evidence that, by training one limb, you can stop the others from atrophying when they’re hurt.
Sit-Ups Are Dead
To the best of our knowledge, Beebs has never once lain on a gym floor to do a set of crunches. He will however, bust out an L-sit, which modern coaches will tell you is a vastly superior way of conditioning your core, relying on isometric strength through the obliques as well as the more traditional rectus abdominis.
Burn Every T-Shirt You Own
How else will you stay motivated? Or, to put it another way: if you know you’re going to be popping down to Nuffield Health in nothing but a snapback and cargo pants, then are you really going to reach for the custard creams at 11am? C’mon, son.
