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Hero Maker: 12 Weeks to Superhero Fit: A Hollywood Trainer's REAL Guide to Getting the Body You've Always Wanted
A breakout training and fitness book by Hollywood trainer and former Navy SEAL, Duffy Gaver, featuring the tried and true workouts used by movie stars like Chris Pratt and Brad Pitt.Former Marine sniper and ex-navy Seal, Duffy Gaver is the unsung hero of Hollywood. As a master trainer to the stars, he has transformed the bodies of actors such as Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johanson, Brad Pitt and many others. He is a Hero-Maker. He gets the most out of his clients by making them rethink their lives. For Duffy, the fitness industry sells a it's all about the latest and greatest fads. Back in 1965, Larry Scott won the first Mr. Olympia. There was no Nike. No thermogenic products. No supplement industry. How did he do it then? With his will, his discipline, his desire. The things that big businesses can't manufacture. The first four minute mile, the first iron man triathlon, and the first world's strongest man all took place before 99% of today's companies even existed. What does this prove? None of this stuff is necessary. Inside Hero Maker, Duffy Gaver shares the knowledge and motivational sit-downs that get his stars to take hold of their own bodies. None of these stars bought their way to their impressive physiques; they earned it with old fashioned work and dedication. He will tell you what you need to do to look super heroic, and he will show you how you too can do this if you put yourself to the task. Inside, you will also find some of his game-changing workouts to help get you there.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 21, 2020
52 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 25, 2021
I don't know how this book got on my Overdrive hold list, or why I still decided to listen to it despite learning it was not another Sports-genetics book which I probably thought it was when I added it.
I listened to this entire book beginning-to-end on my 2 hour long run (I listen at 1.8X), so run-time is probably significantly less than 4 hours (I listened to a different book at the start of my run). I'm not sure who the audience for this book is for, but it is clearly not for me, a middle-age(ish) woman who runs a lot and is already doing some strength training and a whole lot of cardio.
Why give it one star? The book purports that numerous very famous Hollywood stars got into the shape they did for movie roles by a.) diet, b.) exercise, and c.) sleep, sometimes in as little as 12 weeks. I'm not born yesterday, I'm well aware how much doping goes on in sports like distance and track running, where they are tested frequently for drugs, and I know how much work it is to pack on serious muscle. So... perhaps some celebrities this celebrity trainer has trained were not taking performance enhancing drugs, but potentially a very large number of them did not get that way by "lifting weights" alone, and telling people that they too can achieve this look by lifting weights, eating right, and sleeping, is deceptive.
If we're being honest here, I do think these celebrities diet, exercise, and sleep, and "put in the work". You can't put on muscle breaking down the muscle tissue which is going to involve weight lifting. But, in the real world - the results many, many celebrities achieve in short periods often involves "outside help" in the form of certain substances currently not permitted for professional athletes. (Probably not all - and it's very difficult to say who is using and who is not so I'm not going to, but, I'm not just going to ignore this is a thing that goes on in the movie industry.)
The most fun part (while listening to a book that I assume has numerous images of people lifting weights), was the audio description of basic lifts. It turns out that I'm already doing quite a large number of these, which is great because I had no need to look for the pdf booklet that apparently comes with the audiobook (not sure how to access it from Overdrive). The book then goes through a 12 week lifting plan, and repeats itself many, many times. The good news is I already have Long Slow Distance down pat. Am I going to use this plan? Nope. I don't think it is designed for women, and I have a frozen shoulder that I modify/skip lots of lifts with in order not to damage it more.
The diet portion is... what can I say... not teaching people how to have a healthy diet that they can maintain for their lifetime, but rather, what they can eat for at most 12 weeks to lose a lot of weight quickly. Is it sustainable? The sample diet included: Breakfast: eggs, spinach, and oatmeal. Lunch: Broccoli, Chicken. Snack: More broccoli and chicken. Dinner: Brussel sprouts and chicken. I was told to "avoid fruit", and the author himself apparently allows himself 12 blueberries on his oatmeal, but only every other day. (I had about 30 blueberries in my protein smoothie after finishing my run today - we're also supposed to avoid supplements in all forms including protein powder, but I don't like eating a lot of meat and in order to get enough protein throughout the day, I have protein powder and don't worry if I'm eating meat that day or not. It works for me.) Is the diet in this book sustainable for the average person? I think not.
I'm also someone who will frequently run for 2 hours and then go the gym later and swim for an hour and lift weights for an hour, and I know that if I don't eat enough I will injure myself - so - I'd say the diet portion, teaching people "how to eat" is garbage. If you're not properly fueling yourself, you can and will get injured doing these exercises. And if you are limiting the diet so severely that "fruit" is off the table, people are not going to be able to stay on the diet. (The author also mentions the word donut about 10-20 times throughout the book -seems excessive and also, I don't need to be tempted by thinking about donuts while on a long run.)
The author makes a big point to tell people not to expect the same results as Hollywood Stars in 12 weeks because, the Hollywood Stars "work harder" and put their all into "every rep", and will get stares at the gym, not because they are famous, but because they are dripping in sweat. Guess what - if you are heat acclimatized/used to sweating in hot temperatures outside, it's not all that hard to be dripping in sweat inside a climate controlled gym (I do work hard in the gym, but I'm also a not-so-muscular girl, not lifting a whole lot of weight with my arms, and very, very sweaty).
At the end of the book, there is a whole list of "training sessions" the author did with different famous people. What I learned was this trainer trains men with heavy weights and women like Anne Hathaway with a lot of body weight exercises like air squats. And I learned that I leg press 220-230 pounds (for fewer reps - I can't be spending all day at the gym when I have miles to run), which is more than Brad Pitt, apparently.
The author/trainer seems to like doing a whole lot of reps (he mentions he likes to alternate low reps with high weight and high reps with low weight, but it seems like most of these workouts were "just do a ton of reps") - some of the workouts involved 80 or 100 calf raises. Seems excessive to me - a person who uses her calves a lot.
The author mentions that it is important to have a goal you are working to or a reason to get in the best shape of your life, but then also mentions if you are overweight, you should maybe just focus on losing some weight to start with. It's very mixed messaging. And... I think one important point to make is the Hollywood Stars are working towards a very specific goal, potentially one day of filming with their shirts off, while us normal folk are possibly working towards being toned/fit for our lives, and not a specific goal. Sometimes, "wanting to get stronger" is a good enough reason.
Overall, I don't recommend the audiobook version of this book because if you are going to follow the workouts, I don't know how you are going to be able to remember them all unless you write them down as you listen, and if it's that important, just get the physical book. I'm sure there are some very good workouts in here. My own goals for strength training (to become a faster runner), are miles away from the goals of these workouts (presumably better physique) - and I'm very clearly not the target audience - I'm currently building muscle and losing fat by eating what I want (which is mostly healthy foods but not the diet listed here), running, strength training, and swimming, and don't really care how fast I put on muscle or whether I ever have "abs".
And... from my own health perspective - not all people are the same. Not all people put muscle on as quickly as others, or can put muscle on at all. It is ridiculous not to acknowledge that some people (including me) have or have had hormonal issues that can really screw with their weight and metabolism. Again, hormones are very, very important when it comes to how the body stores fat and builds muscles. If for some reason you struggle with hormonal disorders (mine was/is hypothyroidism - I'm much better now but also have no thyroid so I wouldn't say I'm "normal"), you probably won't get the same results as a 20-something man with lots of testosterone. There are genetic differences, and claiming that the Hollywood Stars "just want it more" is ridiculous.
I listened to this entire book beginning-to-end on my 2 hour long run (I listen at 1.8X), so run-time is probably significantly less than 4 hours (I listened to a different book at the start of my run). I'm not sure who the audience for this book is for, but it is clearly not for me, a middle-age(ish) woman who runs a lot and is already doing some strength training and a whole lot of cardio.
Why give it one star? The book purports that numerous very famous Hollywood stars got into the shape they did for movie roles by a.) diet, b.) exercise, and c.) sleep, sometimes in as little as 12 weeks. I'm not born yesterday, I'm well aware how much doping goes on in sports like distance and track running, where they are tested frequently for drugs, and I know how much work it is to pack on serious muscle. So... perhaps some celebrities this celebrity trainer has trained were not taking performance enhancing drugs, but potentially a very large number of them did not get that way by "lifting weights" alone, and telling people that they too can achieve this look by lifting weights, eating right, and sleeping, is deceptive.
If we're being honest here, I do think these celebrities diet, exercise, and sleep, and "put in the work". You can't put on muscle breaking down the muscle tissue which is going to involve weight lifting. But, in the real world - the results many, many celebrities achieve in short periods often involves "outside help" in the form of certain substances currently not permitted for professional athletes. (Probably not all - and it's very difficult to say who is using and who is not so I'm not going to, but, I'm not just going to ignore this is a thing that goes on in the movie industry.)
The most fun part (while listening to a book that I assume has numerous images of people lifting weights), was the audio description of basic lifts. It turns out that I'm already doing quite a large number of these, which is great because I had no need to look for the pdf booklet that apparently comes with the audiobook (not sure how to access it from Overdrive). The book then goes through a 12 week lifting plan, and repeats itself many, many times. The good news is I already have Long Slow Distance down pat. Am I going to use this plan? Nope. I don't think it is designed for women, and I have a frozen shoulder that I modify/skip lots of lifts with in order not to damage it more.
The diet portion is... what can I say... not teaching people how to have a healthy diet that they can maintain for their lifetime, but rather, what they can eat for at most 12 weeks to lose a lot of weight quickly. Is it sustainable? The sample diet included: Breakfast: eggs, spinach, and oatmeal. Lunch: Broccoli, Chicken. Snack: More broccoli and chicken. Dinner: Brussel sprouts and chicken. I was told to "avoid fruit", and the author himself apparently allows himself 12 blueberries on his oatmeal, but only every other day. (I had about 30 blueberries in my protein smoothie after finishing my run today - we're also supposed to avoid supplements in all forms including protein powder, but I don't like eating a lot of meat and in order to get enough protein throughout the day, I have protein powder and don't worry if I'm eating meat that day or not. It works for me.) Is the diet in this book sustainable for the average person? I think not.
I'm also someone who will frequently run for 2 hours and then go the gym later and swim for an hour and lift weights for an hour, and I know that if I don't eat enough I will injure myself - so - I'd say the diet portion, teaching people "how to eat" is garbage. If you're not properly fueling yourself, you can and will get injured doing these exercises. And if you are limiting the diet so severely that "fruit" is off the table, people are not going to be able to stay on the diet. (The author also mentions the word donut about 10-20 times throughout the book -seems excessive and also, I don't need to be tempted by thinking about donuts while on a long run.)
The author makes a big point to tell people not to expect the same results as Hollywood Stars in 12 weeks because, the Hollywood Stars "work harder" and put their all into "every rep", and will get stares at the gym, not because they are famous, but because they are dripping in sweat. Guess what - if you are heat acclimatized/used to sweating in hot temperatures outside, it's not all that hard to be dripping in sweat inside a climate controlled gym (I do work hard in the gym, but I'm also a not-so-muscular girl, not lifting a whole lot of weight with my arms, and very, very sweaty).
At the end of the book, there is a whole list of "training sessions" the author did with different famous people. What I learned was this trainer trains men with heavy weights and women like Anne Hathaway with a lot of body weight exercises like air squats. And I learned that I leg press 220-230 pounds (for fewer reps - I can't be spending all day at the gym when I have miles to run), which is more than Brad Pitt, apparently.
The author/trainer seems to like doing a whole lot of reps (he mentions he likes to alternate low reps with high weight and high reps with low weight, but it seems like most of these workouts were "just do a ton of reps") - some of the workouts involved 80 or 100 calf raises. Seems excessive to me - a person who uses her calves a lot.
The author mentions that it is important to have a goal you are working to or a reason to get in the best shape of your life, but then also mentions if you are overweight, you should maybe just focus on losing some weight to start with. It's very mixed messaging. And... I think one important point to make is the Hollywood Stars are working towards a very specific goal, potentially one day of filming with their shirts off, while us normal folk are possibly working towards being toned/fit for our lives, and not a specific goal. Sometimes, "wanting to get stronger" is a good enough reason.
Overall, I don't recommend the audiobook version of this book because if you are going to follow the workouts, I don't know how you are going to be able to remember them all unless you write them down as you listen, and if it's that important, just get the physical book. I'm sure there are some very good workouts in here. My own goals for strength training (to become a faster runner), are miles away from the goals of these workouts (presumably better physique) - and I'm very clearly not the target audience - I'm currently building muscle and losing fat by eating what I want (which is mostly healthy foods but not the diet listed here), running, strength training, and swimming, and don't really care how fast I put on muscle or whether I ever have "abs".
And... from my own health perspective - not all people are the same. Not all people put muscle on as quickly as others, or can put muscle on at all. It is ridiculous not to acknowledge that some people (including me) have or have had hormonal issues that can really screw with their weight and metabolism. Again, hormones are very, very important when it comes to how the body stores fat and builds muscles. If for some reason you struggle with hormonal disorders (mine was/is hypothyroidism - I'm much better now but also have no thyroid so I wouldn't say I'm "normal"), you probably won't get the same results as a 20-something man with lots of testosterone. There are genetic differences, and claiming that the Hollywood Stars "just want it more" is ridiculous.
May 4, 2020
Not bad - the info found in the book is spot on. Ditto for the disclaimers - you can't go into this advanced in age and 200 pounds overweight and expect to look like Thor in 12 weeks. The author goes to great lengths to temper expectations and implores the reader to be realistic. He also rails against the false promises promulgated by the fitness industry. I like that. However, the claims and buzz on the cover seem to be a bit hypocritical when shone in that light: "A Hollywood Trainer's REAL Guide to Getting the Body You've Always Wanted" and "12 Weeks to Superhero Fit".
January 19, 2023
Five stars from me, my context is that I’m someone who’s fit but wanting to take it to the next level. I’m not new to the gym and I’ve read multiple fitness books. I thought this book was great, and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to get healthier and is newer to the gym or someone who’s experienced but still not getting the results they want. Gaver doesn’t overcomplicate things, he’s straight forward, no bullshit, which is great in an industry filled with bullshit. I personally think listening to a book like this is stupid because you want to have the workout plan in print in front of you, so I’d recommend buying a hard copy of this book, however he does go over the mentality needed for fitness which is fine for audio. This will be the book I recommend people read who are serious about getting in better shape.
September 4, 2022
Duffy Gaver's "Hero Maker" has changed the way I look at rest, nutrition, exercise, supplements and mindset in my Wellness Journey, and is helping me with my continued physical and mental development. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to be their own hero, and for anyone who uses the excuse that A-list actors only get into shape because they can afford to etc.
It's not about that - it's about making yourself accountable. You want a better body? You have to put in the work. You want a better lifestyle? You have to put in the work. You want a happier life? Yep - put in the work.
It doesn't matter if you've got a private chef, a personal trainer, a million dollars, your own gym or whatever - none of that matters unless you make yourself accountable and put in the work.
It's not about that - it's about making yourself accountable. You want a better body? You have to put in the work. You want a better lifestyle? You have to put in the work. You want a happier life? Yep - put in the work.
It doesn't matter if you've got a private chef, a personal trainer, a million dollars, your own gym or whatever - none of that matters unless you make yourself accountable and put in the work.
July 11, 2021
Solid material that comes from one of the best Hollywood trainers and an ex marine. Although cliched to hear those will power, discipline etc., it is indeed true. Without pains no gains. One of the best things about the author is the revelation of the sick health industry and how they market products that a human body wouldn’t need and Duffy explained it better than anyone. This book made a significant impact in me hiring a personal trainer and take care of my own fitness. For that alone I will give 5 stars.
July 12, 2021
Good book for an beginner lifter with less than 12 months experience or if you’ve never followed a basic strength program with progressive overload.
I personally found the book very repetitive and limited in good information like rest time for specific goals etc
I personally found the book very repetitive and limited in good information like rest time for specific goals etc
December 4, 2021
The information in this book is great, the only problem is to actually follow everything haha.
Eating healthy, heavy lifting and good sleeping hours to recover. The book is very straight forward and simple to understand.
And of course you also need Dedication and consistency.
Eating healthy, heavy lifting and good sleeping hours to recover. The book is very straight forward and simple to understand.
And of course you also need Dedication and consistency.
December 10, 2020
Pretty motivating. It is a short quick listen. You should.
January 1, 2021
Duff has a refreshing straightforward approach that you would expect from someone with his background. He doesn’t dance around it, either you are going to put in the work or you are not.
August 30, 2022
Quick and easy read with lots off good advice in a compact form. I especially liked seeing several workouts, with weight used, for celebrities.
February 1, 2023
8th book in Readathon! I completed my goal.
One of the best books I've ever read. So encouraging.
One of the best books I've ever read. So encouraging.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews