the The Premier League is full of ripped abs and rippling biceps. To build all that muscle, players have to spend a lot of time lifting weights, right? Wrong, according to Newcastle and West Ham United strikers Callum Wilson and Michael Anthony.
Speaking on his podcast, The footballer’s football podcastthe couple revealed that they don’t lift weights, and according to Wilson, “the arms are…just natural.”
“For a footballer, you don’t want to carry that extra muscle, so I wonder if I need bench press? No, not really,” Wilson explained on the podcast. “What difference is it going to make? You have natural strength anyway, so I stay away from weights in the gym, believe it or not.”
Antonio went on to explain how his decision to avoid the weight room is also due to his age, with the West Ham man preferring to stick to bodyweight exercises to maintain his fearsome pace.
“If I look at the weights, I immediately gain weight and instantly bulk up. If I’m going to do something, it’s going to be core or body weight stuffSo I don’t wear anything. If I go to the gym and gain weight, I’ll slow down and things like that, and as I get older, I really don’t want to slow down.”
When we spoke with Antonio last year, he also demonstrated his propensity for bodyweight exercises. The 32-year-old showed us one of his favorite full-bodyweight exercises, which consisted of command planks, side planks, single-leg RDLs, jump split squats, and palm curls.
So while the body you see in bullying advocates on a weekly basis is “entirely genetic,” there’s also plenty of work heard.
