January 29, 2007 - Sitting down with LL Cool J's trainer, Dave "Scooter" Honig

LL Cool J is in the shape of his life - with a body that everyone can admire. The man is really known as much for his music as he is for the shape he is in. But he is a lot more than just a rapper who is in fantastic shape - first of all, everyone one of his albums have gone gold or platinum, he has been in several movies, had a successful sitcom, and now, is a NY Times best selling author of LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout. And I had the luxury of working with him and his trainer, Dave “Scooter” Honig, on this project as the nutrition consultant.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with him, Scooter, and the rest of the crew in New York earlier this month. We taped the Montel Williams Show that will air this Friday, February 2nd. Make sure to check your local listings to see when the show airs in your city; we had the full hour episode and Montel and LL Cool J put together a fantastic show, with Scooter and I as the experts adding additional insight.

We then spent the rest of the day in NYC and of course I picked everyone’s brain- and LL Cool J was nice enough to answer some questions for all of you. BUT, that’s not coming until next time. This is like MTV Unplugged, where one of the biggest celebrities speaks to a more intimate crowd, my audience.

This week, we have the man who helped chisel LL’s body- Dave “Scooter” Honig. Scooter works with a handful of world class boxers, trained Leonardo DiCapprio for a recent movie, and works with folks from all walks of life. The man is good- which is apparent when looking at LL Cool J’s body. Let’s not waste more time.

Chris: Thanks for chatting with me, Scooter- I know you’ve been traveling like crazy promoting this book. You’re most known for your work with champion fighters, so LL was a bit different than your typical clients. Fighters obviously train hard- how did LL fair with your intense training style?

Scooter: When LL Cool J brought me on board, I knew he was serious. He asked me to come on tour with him and the crew and help him get in better shape. I don’t know he knew what he was in for- as you said, most of my clientele are world class boxers, so I know how to make people work. And work he did. You can’t dog it and expect real results. Getting in better shape takes hard work and dedication. We didn’t have the time to spend 60 minutes in the gym training, resting several minutes between sets, etc. It’s not the hours you put in, but what you put in the hours that count.

Chris: Give me an example of a daily routine, Scooter. We’ve always pick each others brains and I train similarly to what you use with LL Cool J and many boxers- I know it works. Get that heart rate elevated, and stay there to burn calories like a human inferno-a fat burning furnace.

Scooter: Remember, time is off the essence. There are weeks where we’re in 10 different cities in 5 days. But that’s no excuse and LL Cool J doesn’t make excuses. I love whole body circuit training. You get all the large muscles involved- legs, back, chest, etc and shoot that heart rate through the ceiling. LL is on stage like a maniac, running around, jumping- if a song is 4, 5, or more minutes, he needs the stamina and energy to perform and not be gasping for air when he’s trying to sing.

We always start our workouts with a warm up. That could be on the treadmill, doing jumping jacks, stationary bike, or maybe just jogging in place. You gotta’ warm up the body, get the blood flowing, and get prepared – even a minor injury will set you back big time, so take the time to warm up properly and cool down.

So when I say whole body circuit training, I like to incorporate movements that really stress the largest muscles of the body. For example, we might do a set of squats, immediately followed by a set of pull- ups, or rows, and alternate back and forth for 3-4 sets. No rest between sets. Then rest 30-60 seconds, hit the chest with some dips, pushups, or bench, followed immediately by jumping lunges done with an overhead press (holding dumbbells). Do this combo for 3-4 sets, and then we might do a boxing circuit where LL is sparring with me for 1-2 minutes and between those sets, he’s doing bodyweight jump squats. Follow all of this with interval training on a treadmill or outside on a track, depending on our setting, and he’s slammed for the day. When I say interval training, we’ll go 30 seconds of an all out sprint, followed by a 60 second jog, another 30 seconds sprint, etc. We did this routine this morning, before heading to the Montel Williams Show --- 10 sets of sprints alternating with 10 jogs.

The book goes through our workouts. And it may sound like it’s only for the advanced trainee. But we have the Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Workouts so it’s for anyone. The Bronze Workout starts you off a bit more slowly, getting the body moving and gearing you up for the next stage, which is Silver. Then that will ultimately progress to Gold, Platinum, and finally Diamond- which is actually the section geared specifically for women. So yeah, we train hard, but I’m not saying right off the bat you need to hit the gym, get under the squat bar and then do sprints between sets. Of course you have to work within your own guidelines, experience, and safety level. Our goal with the book was to give various levels of training, from beginner up through advanced, so it can help anyone.

Chris: I love your stories about getting off the tour bus and running 5 miles to your destination. I guess that’s what you mean when you say dedication.

Scooter: Absolutely. You have to work with your situation. For example, just last week we took the red eye to California, got on a tour bus for 5 hours, arrived at the studio to do some TV appearances, then got immediately back on the bus, went to another filming, and back to the airport to catch the red eye back to Chicago. But excuses don’t work- we’re doing pushups on the bus, using bands, and doing anything to get some activity in. Is it an ideal workout? Nah. Is it better than sitting and stuffing our faces? Of course. If you travel a lot, you can do pushups, lunges, body weight squats, one legged squats- these are all the types of things we demonstrate in the book so anyone can use it and workout anywhere, at anytime. No one can make the excuse that they are too busy to exercise- make the time. I always hear that LL has it easy because he has the money to pay for a trainer, chef, etc. You know what, money doesn’t buy dedication.

Chris: Very well said. And next week I’ll be talking with LL Cool J, so we’ll hear all those stories straight from the horses mouth as well. Thanks, Scooter. Keep up the awesome work!

Make sure you visit the marketplace, where you can pick up a copy of this book and other products to help you reach your goals. In fact, our latest product is one that allows you to create your own meal plans called Meal Plans 101. Talk about simplifying a tedious process of calculating menus, percentages of macronutrients, etc--not anymore.

And, finally, be sure to visit our new blog. This will be more brief than the newsletter, but will be updated much more frequently, so come be sure to check in.

I'll also be posting a rapid fire Q & A I did with LL Cool J very soon so stay tuned.

As always, have a fantastic week and keep working towards those goals.

Chris

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