Triple H Making the Game

Book excerpt: Love him or hate him, Triple H does what he wants, when he wants to do it. And now, for the first time anywhere, he tells youhowhe does it -- and howyoucan, too. More than a personal account of life in and out of the ring,Making The Game: Triple H's Approach to a Better Bodyis Triple H's verbal and visual blueprint for building your body. The leader of Evolution discusses how "a jones for bodybuilding and a love for wrestling" morphed a skinny, 135-pound fourteen-year-old from Nashua, New Hampshire, into one of the biggest superstars ever to dominate World Wrestling Entertainment. But be warned -- the "Cerebral Assassin" has zero tolerance for anything less than a hundred percent effort. He's spent the past twenty years living by the philosophy that training results in improved strength and conditioning, self-discipline, and an ability to focus on setting goals. This book isn't for big mouths who'd rather exercise their egos than their deltoids. Of course, even Triple H had help along the way. He didn't get to be "that damn good" without the support of a loving family. And over the years several bodybuilders (including world-renowned trainer Charles Glass) worked with him to develop the best training regimens. Their advice, plus hardcore commitment, helped Paul Levesque survive "The Hard Way In" through Walter "Killer" Kowalski's wrestling school in Malden, Massachusetts, and go on to become "Terra Ryzing" within Kowalski's International Wrestling Federation; enabled a "GUD" ("Geographically UnDesirable") to adjust to a difficult life on the road as "the French guy" in World Championship Wrestling; and gave "Hunter Hearst-Helmsley" the self-assurance to earn his stripes in WWE and eat something that literally made other up-and-comers squeal. On the subject of food consumption,Making The Gameimparts tips as essential as exercise is for burning off calories and adding on muscle. Triple H spends over two hundred days a year on the road, and his traveler's guide will help you find ideal meals even in fast-food restaurants. He also provides the template for a must-have training-and-meals diary. Triple H reveals the dietary plan that he claims stokes his furnace 24/7 -- the plan he believes is "the single biggest element" in transforming his physique. Nevertheless, for a World Champion in WWE, it's as the saying goes: "No pain, no gain." That's whyMaking The Gamebreaks down and demonstrates the split-training workout program Triple H has embraced to achieve new levels of success in sculpting his body. Between drilling you with reps and sets, he relates in painstaking detail how training gave him the inner strength to shoulder the brunt of a controversial "Curtain Call" in the ring and, later, to elevate his position with Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock as one of the "Big Three" in WWE. Then, after breaking a sweat with Triple H reliving the fateful Raw events of May 2001 that left him with a torn quadricep muscle, you too can feel "The Triple H Burn," one of the exercises he endured through nine months of intense physical therapy to repair his leg that had been destroyed and resume a career most considered was "Game Over." Pain is temporary...but "The Game" is forever. Besides offering step-by-step exercises for both novice bodybuilders and those looking to radically advance their workout,Making The Gameweighs in on the science behind progressive-training resistance and rest-pause techniques; the significance of exerciseformovervolume;the truth behind achieving "six-pack abs"; the dangers of overtraining and "skullcrushing" exercises that risk injury; and how creativity can go a long way in your workout. Triple H sees it as his mission to provide the guidelines for you to follow in the months and years ahead. And if there's one thing he knows how to do, it's succeed. It's time to stop playing The Game...and time to startMaking The Game.