Fine Magazine shoot, DEC 2013 Holiday issue

     Holiday lifestyle editorial shoot for Fine magazine located right here in north county San Diego, was a blast.  Fine magazine is available free, in San Diego, Orange County, and LA, so pick up a copy and check it out.  It was fun for me, as is often the case when I get to do lifestyle shoots, to be somebody I'm not for a day, meet interesting people, and call it 'work'.  I'm a boardshorts & flipflops kind of guy who wears airline pilot uniforms every day.  I have some sense of fashion but my wardrobe emphasizes function over style and is about as boring and one-dimensional as it gets.  Uncharacteristic of most models, I'm also as non-pretentious and non-materialistic as it gets.  I drive a 12 year old pick-up and don't believe in 'status-symbols'.  My status symbols are owning a backyard skate bowl and home-gym, and a 2 year old surfboard.  And a good dog.  Dude, all my time & money goes into my family and kids!  I used to own a really badass British motorbike but had to sell it to pay for skate-bowl repairs - major bummer.  At least I still fly jets.

              My co-talent was Caroline Amiguet, the photographer was Jonah Gilmore, the editor and stylist was Whitney Butler (from Fine magazine), and hair & make-up were by Julz Lujan and Marisol Nunez.  The location was the Kona Kai Resort & Marina on San Diego's Harbor island.

     Did I mention I have the coolest (real-life) wife ever, for encouraging me to go out and have fun on shoots like this one, knowing I always keep it professional?

Time to Hit the Slopes: Getting in Shape for Ski & Snowboard Season!

Snow skiing & snowboard season is officially upon us!  It’s time to tune and sharpen your boards as well as your fitness, if you want maximize your potential for fun while minimizing your risk for injury.  Make no mistake: downhill alpine riding is very high-intensity and very demanding physically, and will test every measure of your fitness.  Trust me, you don’t want to roll up to the slopes on day one of the season totally out of shape and collapse into oxygen debt just getting all your gear on, suffer from low-back spasms on the morning of day two, or worse yet, rupture a knee ligament on your “last run” of the day.  So take precaution and action now!  Pay your dues in these next few weeks leading up to your first trip to the slopes and not only will you avoid injury but you’ll actually be fit enough to enjoy riding the mountain, instead of just suffering through a half day on the slopes, just to make it to the lodge and start downing beers by lunch.  Fellas we indeed have to earn that post-ski beer and it will taste so much better!  And even if you are in good shape right now with a respectable fitness level, it still will make your mountain experience more rewarding if you add some sport-specific exercises into your routine that mimic the movements and intensity level of riding the bumps, carving the groomers, or hucking your favorite cliff.

This article was originally written by me and published in the NOV '13 issue of Four EL magazine

Royal Robbins Outdoor Clothing Fall/Winter 2014 Campaign was a blast - almost spiritual, and definitely NOT work!

     Most who know me, know that 'modeling' isn't work for me.  Seriously - who in their right mind could call modeling work anyway?...No one that has worked a real job, that is for sure.  Modeling is a creative outlet for me, extra incentive to keep fit and take good care of myself, some bonus income, and lately a way to force myself to travel to new locations, experience new adventures, and meet new and interesting people.  Maybe that is why I get invited back by most of my clients - I'm having so much fun on set or on location, that I forget that I'm 'working' and I would never dream of whining about anything.  (This is the kind of perception serving 10 years in the military will give you:)  Don't take this to mean I'm not a professional at my craft.  I am.  I set the standard on shoots!...claiming it!

Lean Abs & Strong Core: Sculpting 6-Pack Abs - The International Benchmark of a Fit Physique!

‘Six-pack Abs’ are considered the international benchmark of a fit physique by many, and while generally speaking, lean abs are associated with healthier bodies, in reality this level of fitness is more about rocking an aesthetically appealing physique than it is a requirement for health & wellness, or a strong core.

In fact most of us should know by now that we all have ‘six-pack abs’ hiding under there somewhere, and that it is just a matter of revealing them by reducing the subcutaneous layer of fat lying over top of and obscuring them.  Furthermore, we should all know by now that we cannot spot-reduce this layer of body fat, no matter how many abdominal exercises we do, but rather we most reduce our overall body fat % to approximately less than 8% to begin revealing our abs, through a combination of diet, exercise and genetics.  Of course having visible lean-abs and having as strong core usually go together, but not always. One can have very strong core yet look as soft as a baby seal, and vice versa - one can have the most shredded abs ever, yet be as weak as this same baby seal, (I apologize for the lame analogy). 

This article was originally written for & printed in Four EL magazine, OCT 2013 issue. Photo by Cory Sorensen

Is Beer Healthy? Which Beers are Healthiest?...

Is beer healthy?...

With a resounding YES, I hereby declare that beer consumed in moderation is healthy!  Thank goodness I could honestly say yes here, or I think I might have set off a boycott amongst our readership, and certainly risked losing my job here at Four EL!  Beer is considered divine around here at Four EL and everybody on the staff is an aficionado.  I know that I’m the resident fitness guy here, but we have some (self-proclaimed) beer connoisseurs that write for us, that I’m sure would have loved a chance to field this month’s nutrition topic.  Admittedly, I drink beer almost daily, but I often find myself in a New Belgium Fat Tire (Amber Ale) rut, for lack of a better word.  Hey, when you find something love, why not stick with it?!  But some of our staff is out there field-testing in our local San Diego bars & microbreweries by noon every day, so they no doubt have a more well-rounded palates than I, so I must confess, a lot of my research was done via the internet.  San Diego is also home to some incredible microbreweries like Stone Brewing and Port Brewing, so we are also a bit biased to our home brews! 

                But let me dive into this discussion of what criteria it takes to consider a beer a healthy anyway.  Well I just applied the same criteria that one would to all other foods:  Is it nutritious, low in sugar, low in saturated fats, low in sodium, and relatively low in calories?  The good news is most beer inherently qualifies based on all these criteria!  (Caveat: As long as no more than 2 to 3 are consumed daily for the average man.)  In my consideration, alcohol content was a neutral factor and not a criterion, as there are as many cons as there are pros regarding alcohol consumption.  Generally speaking, the lower the calorie the beer, the lower it is in alcohol content, but then the more likely one is to drink more of that particular beer, to attain the satiety and ‘buzz’ they’re desiring when choosing to drink a beer in the first place.

Originally written for and printed in Four EL magazine by me, OCT 2013

Is Fitness your Sport, or is SPORT what your Fitness Plan is Missing?

Feel like you’ve hit a training plateau?  Can’t bear the thought of another boring bout of cardio on the treadmill?  Does your pending workout session loom over your head like a rain cloud all day long?  Why not do something about it so you actually look forward to your workout because you know it is going to be the highlight of your day?   Why not rediscover an old sport or learn a new one?  Joining a competitive sport’s team will instantaneously renew your exercise regimen with fun, motivation, accountability, intensity and passion! 

While there will always be a need for traditional exercises, both resistance and cardio, in any holistic, well-rounded fitness plan, playing and competing in sports can also be an outstanding path to achieving fitness while bringing some excitement back into your training.  Playing a sport or competing, can also give you something more tangible to train for, other than a scale or the mirror.  Some folks are lucky enough to view traditional exercising as a sport in and of itself, and actually enjoy exercising in the purest sense – they actually trigger a dopamine-neurotransmitter reward response, in their brain simply by going for a jog outside, spinning to good music or busting out a heavy set of squats.  CrossFit for example, once just considered a form of boot camp-style exercising, is now a niche sport followed by thousands.  The best of the best CrossFitters now compete in the national CrossFit Games, broadcasted by ESPN.  However most of us view working out as just that – more work, and just another hour taken from our day that we’re just trying to get over with.

This blog post was originally written for & published in Four EL magazine by me, SEPT 13 issue.

The NFL Workout for the Weekend Warrior!

**(Originally written for my client Four EL magazine, August 2013 issue)

It’s hard to believe football season is just around the corner – pre-season starts this month!  It may mark the end of summer madness and mean shorter days, but just about all of us enjoy a get together with the boys for Sunday afternoon football.  And in the spirit of football season, we bring you this month’s NFL workout:  It’s all about training for power, agility, quickness and explosiveness!  Try this training circuit 2 to 3 days per week for a full-body, functional workout which combines power-lifting, plyometrics, agility and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) strategies.  Think of it is as your own summer training camp!

Creatine: The 'Maximum-Effort' Supplement for Immediate ATP Replenishment!

     I recently wrote this information on Creatine for my new client, Four-El magazine, and thought I would also share it with you all.  The issue is on stands now in San Diego, along with my 'NFL Workout'.  Creatine as a performance enhancing supplement has been around since the early nineties but since it is one of my favorites and one of the most effective & safe supplements on the market I wanted to take an in depth look at it.  Creatine is proven to increase strength, power, and prolong maximum-intensity-effort endurance by rapidly replenishing muscle-ATP supply:  It is a tried and true supplement that is considered safe by all standards.  Before I go any further, I just want to take a moment to speak about supplements in general and their role as healthy lifestyle component along with diet, exercise, sleep and other factors.

Four EL magazine Premiere issue: Max is their fitness contributor:)

     More than just a pretty face with Abs, I'm once again a relevant, active, published writer, thanks to San Diego's newest men's magazine, Four EL.
 
     A San Diego-based Men's magazine, Four EL just launched their premiere issue, May 2013.  I am proud to announce that I am their resident fitness & holistic health contributor, and as many of you know by now, I have just as much a passion for writing about health & fitness as I do training & modeling.  The staff of Four EL recruited me to be their health & fitness consultant and primary writer on matters of health & fitness...subject to extensive editing of course!  Hey!...I welcome all the editing they have to offer, so long as my articles don't get sent back to me too many times for re-write LOL!  Nature of the biz for sure:)  In all seriousness, I'm super stoked to be behind the PEN instead of just in front of the camera for this spectacular publication.  Of course I will also be used in their photos from time to time, to demonstrate exercises that I write about & for physique shots too.  Hey, when they hired me they got two professionals for the price of one:)

Made the cover for REPS magazine, May 2013 issue

     I was fortunate to make the cover for REPS Magazine, May/June 2013 issue.  These covers are not easy to land, and it's very competitive, the irony being they don't pay much either.  Probably because so many models are bribing the editors to be on their cover, haha!  And no matter how many covers one may have appeared on, you always want another one, because few things can boost your modeling career and your relevance as much as a recent cover can.

ABS are NOT Made in the Kitchen...

Abs are NOT “made in the kitchen”…

…they’re not made in the kitchen any more than they’re made in the gym, or made in the bed!

Just because something is repeated over and over again doesn’t make it truth.  It may be cool & cliché but that still doesn’t make it TRUTH.  Shame on all my fitness colleagues out there who keep posting this statement: ‘Abs are made in the kitchen.’  This is an ignorant statement that only teaches part of the formula for sculpting and acquiring lean 6-Pack Abs – The international benchmark of a fit physique.  Just take a moment to consider this statement and you will quickly agree that it makes no sense and in fact you should take this as an insult to your intelligence!  I’m hereby charging YOU to make sure this nonsensical cliché never gets repeated again – the buck must stop with you and I!

But for entertainment purposes and for the sake of naivety, let’s examine this statement at face value and interpret it literally:  So if Abs are indeed made in the kitchen then by deductive reasoning it implies that all one has to do to reveal their dream abs is watch what they eat, i.e.…eat clean with discipline and do not overeat, and voila!...6-pack Abs will suddenly appear!  Okay, okay, so far this is not too far of a stretch for the eager newbie.  However since this kitchen-trumps-all theory does not require you to exercise, slowly but surely, eventually all your muscle mass would atrophy, your metabolism would go into hibernation from your sedentary lifestyle, and your fitness would tank.  Not only would your body composition spiral downward as your muscle vanished, but your physiology would become dysfunctional too.  Without exercise, humans become insulin-resistant and glucose-intolerant, unable to metabolize carbs efficiently or access them for energy among a laundry list of other problems!  Long story short, eventually we would transform into a skinny, soft, frail, unfit & unhealthy person.   In other words, we would be ‘skinny-fat’ – gross!  We’ve all encountered folks like this right?  They look sickly, depleted and androgynous from stunted hormone levels.  And they move like a snail-zombie.  No thanks!

So you can bet when applying basic logic and in conclusion, that Abs are made through a holistic, lifestyle approach combining nutrition, exercise, sleep, and genetic components!  Not one of these components can be minimized or ignored.  They all are equal players!  I should know – lean, sculpted Abs & a flat, tone gut are my bread & butter!  Check out my Lean-Body pyramid…

Max invited to become honorary Raw Brah!

So if you haven't heard of the Raw Brahs, now you have, as I am here to tell you about them.  They are 3 brothers who are part of the holistic-health movement.  They are 'raw' in many senses of the meaning of this word: They're are not following a raw-diet per say, but do incorporate raw foods, but more importantly, they are so into experiencing life and living it to the fullest, organically, that they are very raw - and RADical - in this regard.  Their level of stoke on life is perhaps unparalleled, and their fun-meter is always pegged!

'Guide to Athletic ABS!' DVD Chapter 4: Making Fitness Fun

So what most of you who have actually been following our slow (but FREE) release of my 'Guide to Athletic ABS!' DVD (featuring Chelsea Cruz), might not realize is that:
1. We shot the ENTIRE 'DVD' in 1 day. (To put this in real-world perspective, for the Perfect Fitness 'Ab-Carver Pro' I just did, we shot for a 12 hour day to produce a 1 MINUTE TV spot!)
2. We shot the entire DVD in 1 take.
3. We shot it in January '12, (1 year ago today!) when the sun was setting around 5:15 PM, so daylight to film in was scarce!
4. The executive producer, Gregory Mantell, happens to NOT be an 'early-bird' and he was sleeping on my sofa.  At 0600 on shoot day, I was running around amping getting everything ready and he was literally out cold dreaming.  We didn't start rolling camera until almost 9 AM!
5. We shot at 4 different locations and we managed to pull it off, but as you will see in this latest and final chapter, (Making Fitness Fun!), we kind of ran out of light & subsequently footage, so its just a fun little bonus of clips, but if nothing else you get to see the beautiful & fit, Chelsea Cruz bust out some dance moves, so it's worth pressing play!

But what is cool, is we released the entire high-def 'DVD' on YouTube, FREE - over 60 minutes of jam-packed information on exercise, nutrition, my holistic-approach, 'Abs-Awareness', basic abs & core physiology, and more.  So be sure to hit up YouTube and just search 'Max Wettstein's Guide to Athletic ABS!' and all 4 chapters will come up...perhaps not in order.  While there, you will also see trailers for my first DVD, my Guide to 'Amazing ABS!' - only avail on DVD, but hit me up if you want a copy.

Making fitness FUN, is the key, if you want to keep it consistent and not be limited by traditional fatigue barriers acknowledged during blander workouts.  Once it becomes fun, you forget about the grueling time left on the clock, and exist in the present moment, and trigger reward-neurotransmitter dopamine, and want to keep going.  The easiest way to achieve this is to participate in some kind of sport. I'm not saying that you don't have to push yourself or feel some sort of discomfort from exertion, but if you're adequately challenged & immersed in something physical that you enjoy, you're more likely to push through and charge ahead, upping your intensity inherently.

Here's a sample of Chelsea & I making fitness fun in our own unique ways, yet still an effective full-body, FUNctional workout:

...and the direct link here: 'Max Wettstein's Guide to Athletic ABS!: Making Fitness Fun!'

Some folks have it in them to torture themselves for hours on a treadmill, or bootcamp class, but if that is not your style, then FIND YOUR SPORT!
-Best,
Max  & Chelsea
www.maxwettsteinfitness.com

Men's Fitness magazine editorial & workouts, FEB '13 Issue

I have a few workouts in the Men's Fitness magazine FEB 2013 issue shot by photographer Dustin Snipes.  I did not write these workouts, but while doing them for the shoot, I did find them to be technically correct and effective.  Pick up a copy on stands now, or subscribe digitally, or just go to their website and check them out.  Thanks for your interest! - Max