Latest news with #EyeoftheTiger
Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Why men like me admire Sacha Baron Cohen's ‘midlife crisis' makeover
Sacha Baron Cohen's muscular body on the cover of the latest Men's Fitness requires a leap of faith. When a man who adopts comic personas poses looking heroic and ripped on the front of a magazine, you can be forgiven for thinking, 'This has to be a trap. This has to be AI, a new character, a clever body suit that will allow him to expose our vanities and hypocrisies once again.' But no, it appears that Baron Cohen's frankly amazing body is the product of hours of training, combined with careful eating and possibly even weight-loss drugs, although with Baron Cohen it's impossible to know how serious he was when he quipped on Instagram, 'Some celebs use Ozempic, some use private chefs, some use personal trainers. I did all three. This is not AI. I really am egotistical enough to do this.' This happens to more and more men in midlife. The recently divorced 53-year-old actor is starring as Mephisto in the Marvel movie Ironheart, so got in touch with Matthew McConaughey's trainer and started working with steely discipline. I come to his transformation as someone just under ten years older who works out every day and has found himself the focus of well-meaning mockery for (counts on fingers) the past 45 years. While football, rugby and tennis have always been dignified ways for a man to spend his time, lifting weights so you can have cool muscles is deemed somewhat ridiculous. I understand totally. When I stand in front of a full-length mirror to perform a biceps curl there is, even after all this time, just the faintest hint of Eye of the Tiger playing ironically somewhere in my head. But it works, it feels astonishingly good and it's a way of telling the world you are still very much alive. The phrase 'still got it' is fired at older people who have made some undignified attempt at sexy and found themselves with egg and fake tan on their face. But trying to hang on to 'it' is human, hard work and, I think, totally admirable. • Read our expert advice on healthy living, fitness and wellbeing With this in mind I'm seeing two kinds of middle-aged man emerging: the age-accepters and those who challenge decrepitude to come and find them among the machines and dumbbells of their local gym. What is clear is that when a man of a certain age decides to commit, there is no heart gadget, protein shaker or clingy vest that we will not at least think about buying. Cohen says his workout regime with the celebrity trainer Alfonso Moretti stops his mind spinning. 'Instead of lying in bed overthinking and staring at my phone, I get up, jump on FaceTime and train with Alfonso. It sets a positive tone for the whole day.' In our fifties, sixties and beyond, having a purpose and a constructive goal really helps. Knowing I'll be in the gym or on a run at some point every day gives me structure when otherwise, like Baron Cohen, I'd be an Olympic-standard overthinker. The midlife male makeover is obviously rich comedy material and Baron Cohen has declared his midlife crisis before others take aim. The question for later-life men is not 'am I having a crisis?', it's 'what kind of crisis do I want to have?' We all confront mortality, invisibility, loss of sexual appeal and having to use reading glasses in dark restaurants: the task is to work out the most constructive way to deal with all that. I say to all the men out there thinking they too might swap some of their pints for protein shakes, it's never too late and your body will respond to the work you put in. When you feel silly working out, remember that if the man who gave us Borat and Ali G managed to overcome his sense of the absurd, so can you.
Scotsman
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Traitor or Faithful? Stagecoach Stirling students shine on the West End Stage
Students from Stagecoach Performing Arts Stirling stepped into the spotlight last weekend when they had the chance to perform at the iconic Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... As part of the nationwide Stagecoach Performing Arts initiative, the children joined other Stagecoach schools from across the UK to perform an incredible piece of Musical Theatre entitled 'Traitor or Faithful?' The troupe performed rebellious classics such as 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' - Nirvana, 'Ready or Not' - Scala & Kolacny Brothers, 'Eye of the Tiger' - Tommee Profitt & Fjora, 'Figure It Out '- Royal Blood and 'Survivor' - 2WEI feat Edda Hayes . Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Stagecoach Stirling students, aged 8-17 years old, were thrilled to tread the theatre's famous boards to entertain friends and family as they had a taste of West End stardom. Stagecoach Stirling students performing at The Shaftesbury Theatre Stagecoach Performing Arts Stirling Principal, Carris Donaldson says: "For the children to be able to perform at the Shaftesbury Theatre is a dream come true, whether they dream of being West End stars or they dance, sing and act for fun. Performances like this are a huge confidence booster and there is a great sense of camaraderie amongst the pupils." Stagecoach Performing Arts Stirling is part of the biggest network of extra-curricular performing arts schools in the UK. The classes are divided across Early Stages (ages 4-6) and Main Stages (ages 6-18) and cover singing, dancing and acting. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Stagecoach Performing Arts has a proud history of helping children and young people build confidence and life skills. Over the past 36 years, more than one million students worldwide have benefited from its creative programmes. With a network of 60,000 students and 3,000 schools globally, Stagecoach empowers children with 'Creative Courage for Life,' inspiring countless students to pursue their dreams in the performing arts. For more information about Stagecoach Performing Arts Stirling please visit or call Principal Carris Donaldson on 01786 628877.
Egypt Today
02-06-2025
- General
- Egypt Today
Pre Eid Burnout: How to Combat Procrastination Before Eid
A few days separate us from Eid Al Adha holiday, and as much as people are excited to sit back, relax, or travel and have fun, all of us, including me, are staring blankly at the screen, having brain fog and cannot finish any task required of us, or we spent the day procrastinating and not making any efforts. So what can we do to fix that? How can we finish the delegated tasks at hand so we can enjoy Eid stress-free? Since I'm also in the same predicament as you, I will offer some relatable advice that works for me and hopefully will work for you too. LEAVE YOUR PHONE I cannot emphasize enough that it's very important to leave your phone and TikTok behind and focus on work. The doomscroll curse is real, and that 5-minute window where you just catch up with the news or see who got engaged, it ends up being an hour and even more. So leave your phone, it's not going anywhere, and do the pending tasks. Make a Good Playlist to Motivate You While Missy Elliot said that music makes you lose control, it also gives you a mood boost. With the right playlist, you can do everything you set your mind to. Choose songs that are guaranteed to make you feel pumped, whether you're going to play Seven Nation Army, Eye of the Tiger, or Work. Just put your headphones on, turn on the volume, and immerse yourself. Ask For Help Work is always difficult and plenty before the holidays that it becomes stressful, so to avoid feeling overwhelmed, ask for your coworker's help, even if it's for a small task that can be done in minutes. This is not the time for pride and not admitting that you need help. Finish up the tasks, see which coworker you can trust to ask for some assistance, and lift some weight off your shoulders. Take It One Step at A Time The key thing to remember is not to panic. I REPEAT, DO NOT PANIC. Those emails are not some scary monsters, and those clients are not vindictive. Just take a breath, focus, and make a to-do list, prioritizing which task is more important and which one can be done later, and do things one step at a time. Refresh, Restart, Repeat. Zoning out too much and feeling lazy, then it's time to leave your computer, go refresh, whether that's washing your face or having an iced coffee, your body is literally giving you signs to stop and restart the progress. Give yourself a proper break and then begin again. Time is of the essence, and we all want to enjoy Eid al-Adha without any stress or any work left behind. So hopefully, when you follow these steps, you will be ready to have the days off without worrying about emails, meetings, or tasks. You got it, champ.
AsiaOne
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
Jackie Chan wanted to 'give up' his acting dreams before seeing Karate Kid and Rocky, Entertainment News
Jackie Chan wanted to "give up" his acting dreams before seeing Karate Kid and Rocky. The 71-year-old movie legend — who plays kung fu mentor Mr Han in new movie Karate Kid: Legends' — has opened up on how the original 1984 film inspired him to keep going with his own Hollywood dreams. He told Extra: "This year, I'm in the film industry 64 years. "I remember when I was a stunt guy, at that time, action movie not popular anymore. We don't know what to do. I try to give up. "Then, when the Karate Kid coming, I went with some friends, we buy the ticket, we go see it. And when I see it, I see the energy, I see the positive message, then I think, 'I should not give up. Life knock me down, I get back up'. "Then I go back to training… another movie coming up called Rocky. Then I see Rocky, Eye of the Tiger, wow! And suddenly full of energy." At the time, he was focused on training in the dojo, but a director saw his moves and instantly advised him to take a big step. He recalled: "'You be an actor'. Luckily, I didn't give up. I still keep training. That makes me day." The Rush Hour actor turned 71 in April, but Jackie isn't interested in slowing down, revealing that he'll always perform his own stunts and that he has no plans to retire. Speaking to Haute Living magazine, Jackie shared: "Of course, I always do my own stunts. It's who I am. That's not changing until the day I retire, which is never!" Jackie is well-known for performing acrobatic and innovative stunts. But at this stage in his career, Jackie doesn't require much preparations for his action scenes. The movie star explained: "When you've done it for 64 years straight, there's no physical preparation anymore. Everything is in your heart and soul; it is muscle memory." Jackie noted that technological advances have also changed the movie business. The Foreigner star said: "In the old days, the only [choice we had] was to be there and jump; that's it. Today, with computers, actors can do anything, but there's always a sense of reality that you feel is missing." [[nid:718451]]
Perth Now
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Jackie Chan reveals how Karate Kid and Rocky stopped him from 'giving up'
Jackie Chan wanted to "give up" his acting dreams before seeing 'Karate Kid' and 'Rocky'. The 71-year-old movie legend - who plays kung fu mentor Mr. Han in new movie 'Karate Kid: Legends' - has opened up on how the original 1984 film inspired him to keep going with his own Hollywood dreams. He told Extra: 'This year, I'm in the film industry 64 years. 'I remember when I was a stunt guy, at that time, action movie not popular anymore. We don't know what to do. I try to give up. "Then, when the 'Karate Kid' coming, I went with some friends, we buy the ticket, we go see it. And when I see it, I see the energy, I see the positive message, then I think, 'I should not give up. Life knock me down, I get back up.' "Then I go back to training… another movie coming up called 'Rocky.' Then I see 'Rocky,' 'Eye of the Tiger,' wow! And suddenly full of energy.' At the time, he was focused on training in the dojo, but a director saw his moves and instantly advised him to take a big step. He recalled: "'You be an actor'. Luckily, I didn't give up. I still keep training. That makes me day." The 'Rush Hour' actor turned 71 in April, but Jackie isn't interested in slowing down, revealing that he'll always perform his own stunts and that he has no plans to retire. Speaking to Haute Living magazine, Jackie shared: "Of course, I always do my own stunts. It's who I am. That's not changing until the day I retire, which is never!" Jackie is well-known for performing acrobatic and innovative stunts. But at this stage in his career, Jackie doesn't require much preparations for his action scenes. The movie star explained: "When you've done it for 64 years straight, there's no physical preparation anymore. Everything is in your heart and soul; it is muscle memory." Jackie noted that technological advances have also changed the movie business. The 'Foreigner' star said: "In the old days, the only [choice we had] was to be there and jump; that's it. Today, with computers, actors can do anything, but there's always a sense of reality that you feel is missing."
