Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and comedy have seen Paul Rudd across their screen for decades now, but if you look real close (real, real close) you may notice something's up.
While most of the people reading this will know the 49 year-old actor for his work as the super fit Ant-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or even as Phoebe's piano-playing husband in Friends, Rudd has been around in the industry for more than 20 years. Ask your parents about some mid-90's movies called Romeo+Juliet and Clueless.
We're not sure whether to be worried for him or to celebrate on his behalf. In short, the man just refuses to age. If anything, he seems to be ageing in reverse.
Looking great as you get older is all often about paying attention to the details and being consistent. Routines such as applying moisturiser daily, constant grooming, and age-appropriate dressing all have a cumulative effect that becomes more and more apparent over time.
And while there are several skin-care measures and grooming hacks that you can employ to chase the Rudd-effect, Paul puts it down to diet, nutrition, and avoiding alcohol.
“I basically didn’t eat anything for about a year,” Rudd semi-joked to Variety when talking about gearing up for his role in Ant-Man. “I took the Chris Pratt approach to training for an action movie. Eliminate anything fun for a year and then you can play a hero.”
The Ant-Man star also told People he did away with alcohol for an entire year, focusing instead on a no-carb diet and a 24/7 dedication to fitness. “My day was centered around fitness and health, and that was kind of a first,” he said.
“Every other time, I had to go about my day and try and find the time to work out. But (this time) everything else about my day kind of had to fit in around the workouts. I was going to be held accountable for it, and there was a reason for doing it. I wasn’t just randomly doing this kind of arbitrarily, which would have made it a lot harder.”
Trying this for a week or even a month might not get you in superhero shape, but it sounds like it will set you on the right track. Who knows, you may even end up with your own fan-made Twitter account dedicated to your abs like Rudd.
Rudd incorporated a ton of gymnastics-centered workouts and strength-training into his routine, which he says was the most he had consistently worked out in his life. Talking to Bon Appetit about the first Ant-Man, Rudd gave the journalist a toned down version of his day to day eating schedule. I imagine a similar routine was followed for the second instalment.
The journalist had a small bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and some sort of protein, like hard-boiled eggs. He has a protein shake later in the morning and again after lunch, made with banana, almond butter, almond milk and ice.
His mid-day meal and dinner are usually pretty similar and often consist of a salad with grilled chicken, cranberries, and an oil and vinegar dressing. Doing so lost him 12 pounds, so the results are there to be lapped up. Sticking to the plan, though, is a whole other ball game. One you will almost definitely need superhero will for.
