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Phil Collen Workout
We resently had the great honor of getting to interview Phil Collen, the brilliant guitarist from the muliti-platinum Rock Band Def Leppard.
Phil has been sober for 23 years, a vegetarian for 27 and a vegan currently. Additionally, he has become quite a fitness buff over the last 15 or so years. He started out with a black belt in Kempo Karate which kicked off his love of Martial Arts...and now trains with Jean Carrillo, the Muay Thai kickboxing champion. Phil brings Jean on the road with him and is able to maintain his regimen during the Def Leppard tours.
Currently, his workouts consist of extreme cardio, boxing, Muay Thai kickboxing, weightlifting and biking. Before a tour he works out 3 times a day 7 days a week. Right now, he's just maintaining - so it's once a day.
No steroids or Chemical enhancements are involved - he eats a super clean vegan diet. Phil truly feels he has hit upon the fountain of youth and is in the best shape of his life and its just getting better every day. Thats even more incredible when you throw in the fact that the guy is 52 and has lived a temptation-filled Rockin' life on the road for the past 30+ yrs.
Phil also is eager to dispel the myths that one needs to eat meat to pack on the muscle.
Phil is extremely excited to share his experiences and encourage people, at any age , to take their health & fitness seriously.
Phil Collen Interview
A. I'm 52 years old, a vegetarian for 27 years and lead guitarist for Def Leppard, lead singer for Manraze.
Q. What got you started in fitness?
A. 23 years ago when i stopped drinking alchohol and realized I had 2 more hours in each day and tons more energy. I started jogging, and it went on from there.
Q. What are your favorite and least favorite exercises?
A. I actually dont like running. I love doing muay thai kickboxing routines, for cardio and clearing the mind. and I'm constantly changing my weight routine depending on my goals during different time periods (pre tour, tour or just hanging).
Q. What are some fitness tips you can give us?
A. Number one, the diet is the most important aspect of fitness and health, everything is affected by it. Set your goals for different time periods. I constantly change goals. As you cant go 100% all the time. Sometimes I concentrate on creating mass by heavy weightlifing other times cardio is the primary. Diet is always important.
Q. What are your future goals?
A. I have a photoshoot for a magazine in three weeks and I'm getting married in july. So I'm stepping up my training and watching the diet right now. I'll be touring with def leppard in 2011, so 12 weeks before the tourIi turn it up, breaking workouts into three times a day, pad training for cardio, weights a spin bike for extra fat burning.
Q. What is the toughest part about fitness for you?
A. Keeping the diet in check.
Q. What are your workouts like?
A. Depends on what I'm doing. maintaining or training for something - then it's pretty hard core. My trainer, Jean Carrillo is killing me right now, but I never injure myself, so form is important. At one point 2 years ago i was benching twice my body weight. right now i'm building up to 15 three minute kickboxing rounds. It always varies.
Q. What is your diet like?
A. Lacto vegetarian and right now I'm cutting out carbs after 4pm and drink approx. a gallon of water a day.
Q. Anything else you'd like to add?
A. Consistency really helps in everything. It's the opposite to yo yo dieting and starting exercising after a long lay off. The benefits of a healthy diet and exercise are feeling 15 to 20 years younger than you really are. It's really a no brainer.