The Wolverine
So, I am sure we all know about Weapon X and one of its most famous projects, but just incase we don’t …
Weapon X is a Canadian government genetic research facility created to produce genetically enhanced human weapons. Weapon X executed a number of successful experiments, but none as well known as The Wolverine. Wolverine is a fighter, a lover…and, most importantly, Hugh Jackman…umm…sorry about that fellas…lets try again…and, most importantly, an X-Men.
Most of us know about Wolverine’s awesomeness – his adamantium (a practically indestructible metal alloy) claws and his healing factor.
Wolverine’s “healing factor” is basically his ability to recover from practically any wound or injury and is what allowed him to survive the Weapon X experiment that created the walking human weapon we’ve all come to love over the years.
What If You Don’t Have A Healing Factor?
Well, since most of us out there are normal-every-day-run-of-the-mill humans we don’t have a mutated/elevated healing factor.
So, what does this mean for us?
Well, it pretty much means we have to be;
- Careful when it comes to injuries,
- Smart about how we recover from injuries,
- Cognizant and Proactive about preventing injuries in the future.
Though today’s Wolverine, Hugh Jackman, seems as indestructible as the “real” Wolverine, this wasn’t always the case.
Hugh Jackman’s Healing Factor…or lack thereof
When today’s Wolverine, Hugh Jackman, was about 13 years old he was in the middle of a cricket game…
…“Cricket?! Nobody understands cricket. You got to know what a crumpet is to understand cricket!” Sorry to digress but I love that scene – see what I am talking about at the end of this post if you ain’t know…
…So ,back to the story, a young Hugh was in a middle of a cricket game when he had to make a sudden-split-second leap to catch the ball. Well, he caught the ball….but passed out in the process.
When Hugh Jackman exploded up as quickly as possible to catch the ball he actually went so fast and stretched out so much that he ‘“ripped out all the muscles attached the lower left part of [his] spine.”’
Say What?
Lets repeat that little tidbit…
…HE RIPPED OUT ALL THE MUSCLES ATTACHED TO HIS LOWER SPINE!
Hugh Jackman’s Healing Factor Trick – His Core
I just wrote a post about my lower back situation yesterday, but I am pretty sure I didn’t detach muscles from my spine when I was giving the kids a bath.…but you get the similarities here…back injuries.
So, there was young Hugh, in bed for weeks trying to let his muscles reattach to his spine. When it finally came time for rehab he found himself a bit confused at the approach.
Young Hugh Jackman had a bad back and countless hours of rehab for a number years after “the catch.” Hugh found himself a bit confused during rehab when he noticed most of the physical therapy was devoted to primarily developing his abs. You see, 30 years ago, the modern-day buzz words known as “The Core” didn’t exist…but it seems like the medical field knew what they were doing.
Over the years Hugh Jackman found himself continuing to develop his core strength via exercise like weight lifting and dancing – years of core training that both strengthened his lower back and prepared him for the grueling workouts he’d be enduring in preparation for his role as Marvel Comics’ Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman’s Core Feature
We could argue for hours about Hugh Jackman’s “Core” Feature – his ridiculous looks, his dancing skills, his singing chops, his likability, his acting skills, his coolness, etc., but, for the point of this article I am literally talking about his core.
Nowadays we don’t need a pretty intense back injury to get us interested in developing our core. I mean The Core is where it’s at in today’s health and fitness world – everything is about “core development.” I read countless articles on the subject over the 12 or so year period I was picking up health and fitness magazines religiously, but was I, or were other regular gym goers, really taking it to heart? Nope.
You see, I was just going through the motions and so was everyone else at the gym. We were just throwing in a few ab moves here and a few ab moves there. We weren’t really attempting to develop The Core. Everyone was just sort of hoping it’d happen.
You see, The Core IS INVOLVED IN EVERY MOVE WE DO.
Be it an exercise or everyday-life move (like standing or even sitting), The Core is always engaged…yeah, sometimes more than others but it’s still engaged almost every second of the day. This being the case, the folks at the gym, myself included, knew they were “developing” their cores by simply working out, playing sports, and doing sit ups. But was it enough…I mean did our cores look like Hugh’s does now…?
Again…NOPE!
So Why Wasn’t My Core Looking Like Hugh’s Does Now?
Well, because, as I just recently learned after finishing P90X2, my core was no where near “developed!” Insert ominous music here and….To Be Continued….
In the meantime check out this two links below for some more Wolverine / Hugh Jackman training tips.
What’s The Wolverine’s Diet?
What’s The Wolverine’s Workout Plan?
The Cricket Quote
…“Cricket?! Nobody understands cricket. You got to know what a crumpet is to understand cricket!” Sorry to digress but I love that scene – see what I am talking about below if you ain’t know…
