Philip Hitchcock’s first career was sculpting life-size bronzes of the human form. Now he’s helping the rest of us work toward those classical proportions.
Hitchcock Fitness is housed at Muscle Up on Wydown, which he calls “a nice little yuppie gym,” pointing out its immaculate cleanliness, dumbbells up to 100 pounds, squat racks, bent and straight curl bars up to 110 pounds.
All that poundage doesn’t interest me; I’d rather lift spirits than iron. What’s intriguing is watching an artist use his aesthetic sense to train form. And watching a man who radiates energy, health, and strength—but makes a point of saying he’s been sober for a long time—uses relentless honesty to change his clients’ bad habits.
One client’s 70 years old, and she went from 185 pounds to 135 pounds. “It took the better part of a year to get her there,” he says, “and there have been real biological benefits. Her bone density doubled. Her cholesterol and blood pressure are textbook.
“So much of it was about food,” he adds. “Some people just have a twisted relationship with food. They’ll say, ‘I’ve been good.’ I say, ‘Yeah, you have been good. You deserve to skip dessert!’ She asked, ‘Don’t I get a cheat day?’ I said, ‘That was the first 50 years of your life!’”
I wince. There’s gentleness, though, in his eyes. “I’ve had my own demons to wrestle with,” he says. “I have some understanding of the compulsive aspect. When you start taking away your buffers, all those emotional things come to the surface, and life seems to get even harder.” If you keep at it, he adds, the healthy way becomes preferable. People are stunned that he exercises on vacation, but if he doesn’t, “it’s like being so busy you forget to brush your teeth, and you’re miserable all day. Exercise just makes you feel better.” He pauses. “Am I chasing the fountain of youth? Maybe. Although I’ve lived long enough to know that you can do all the right things and…” He shrugs, acknowledging fate.
Matt Seidel
“This is a judgment-free zone,” he remarks. “Most men want a muscular physique with a narrow waist; most women want a classic, toned, hour-glass shape. So you go toward those ideals with how you’re choosing to build muscle and reduce fat. But it’s not a competition. I’m not big on measuring; people know when their clothes fit better. Measuring is like weighing; you get locked into numbers. Ideally, you’re going to weigh yourself once a week at the exact same time. When you first rise, you void your bladder and step on the scale nude. Don’t compare that to what you weigh at 6 pm the next day. You can fluctuate 3 to 5 pounds in a single day, and then you’re constantly thinking, ‘I’m gaining!’ or ‘I’m losing!’ I look for trends. I tell people, ‘Give me 12 weeks before you make any decisions.’”
Meanwhile, he’s working on motivation. “I have a couple of clients sending me pictures of everything they eat. You start stripping away the denial. I want a 7-page plan: 3 meals and a snack totaling a certain calorie amount every day. Because at the moment of decision, most people will choose poorly. There’s this quest for a magic bullet. People ask me how I stay in such good shape like it’s some secret. I exercise every day and I eat right!”
Steel-cut oatmeal every morning for the past 30 years, if you’re wondering. A protein bar a few hours later. “Hard-boiled eggs are great; keep them in your pocket. Greek yogurt. High protein and dark green—chicken, fish, broccoli, asparagus, spinach. No potatoes, no rice, no bread. Guys tell me they want six-pack abs, and then they say, ‘No pasta?’ or ‘I love bread!’ Great. Have the pasta. But you’re not going to get the six-pack abs.”
Realism helps. “The rules change after 35,” Hitchcock says as we tour the gym. “You’ll see younger guys doing the free squats; it’s beneficial, but there’s also some risk. With this”—he points to the equipment’s metal frame—“it’s tracked. So if you get stuck, you just hook the bar. It’s a pure power move, pushing your limits, but you’re not needing to focus on balance and stabilizing” (and not crashing to the ground with the weight, like, on top of you).
On the other hand, realism doesn’t mean resignation.
“A friend had a double hip replacement at a young age, and he came in with a whole list of what he couldn’t do. What I’m hearing is, ‘This is why I can’t succeed.’ I said, ‘We are going to push you beyond those limits.’ And he’s gotten to a place he never thought he could reach, doing stuff he thought was behind him.”
If that’s the fountain of youth, it’s hard to object to a few sips.
Hitchcock Fitness is hosting an open house on Saturday, March 24, from 7 until 9 p.m., with free blood-pressure screenings and (healthy) refreshments.
