Relationships November 21, 2016
Forty years ago, director John G. Avildsen brought the world one of film’s most iconic heroes: Rocky Balboa. Played by the then-little-known Sylvester Stallone, Rocky, a small-time, working class boxer overcomes all odds when he reluctantly agrees to fight the World Heavyweight Champion, Apollo Creed. No one expects Rocky to last long in the ring – least of all himself – but the “Italian Stallion” trains hard to give it everything he’s got.
The classic rags-to-riches story culminates in a brutal fight wherein the overly-confident Apollo Creed underestimates his amateur opponents determination. Both fighters sustain severe injuries, but Rocky refuses to stay down. In the end, Creed wins the match in a spilt decision, but we all know who the true winner was; Rocky, the underdog, wins the hearts of the audience and goes down in history for his unprecedented tenacity and courage in the ring.
To celebrate the beloved first movie that inspired six sequels, ENTITY spoke with Noah Neiman, an Eat the Bear Elite Trainer and co-founder of Rumble — New York’s Newest Boxing Studio — to discuss how Rocky continues to encourages us all to try our hardest no matter what obstacles may stand in our way.
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ENTITY: Did Rocky Balboa influence you in your life or career path?
Noah Neiman: As a kid growing up — I watched it when I was 10 or a little younger — you see these kind of Greek statues, just working incredibly hard and it makes you a real life superhero. You know, you can never be Batman or Superman but we can be Rocky! I can be Rocky – I can put in the work and do that, so, it was almost like a much more relatable kind of superhero figure. It also just taught me training in general – what really hard training looks like.
ENTITY: What can we learn from the Rocky films about fitness and determination?
NN: I think nowadays, especially in this modern-day kind of “6 Minute Abs” [fitness culture] and all the propaganda that was sold to us about what it really takes to be fit or in shape, it’s what I find to be the most baseless part of working out: to achieve a body.
Originally working out was supposed to empower you – it was supposed to strengthen your body, it was supposed to teach you this mind/muscle connection where you really learn what your body can do, and it’s empowering to test yourself. I feel like we’ve lost our path over the last 20+ years. It really did start with the “6 minute abs” – the “OK, now I want to work out for a body type” [mentality].
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Rocky wasn’t working out for a body type; Rocky was working out because he wanted to train his body to step into the ring ultimately, and he knew what it took to do that – intense effort and preparation. And from that he happened to have a really ripped physique.
[Rocky] really brings out what’s good about fitness, which is that this is a purpose and the purpose is confidence. The body comes; the look comes. But, in the search of this perfect body…this [boxing] style of working out, it’s not easy by any means, but it always works. I think boxing is so incredible because it really does focus on becoming a confident person in your own skin.
ENTITY: Rocky is seen as an underdog hero that perseveres against all odds. Do you have any moments like that where you felt a parallel in your life to Rocky’s?
NN: In the same year, Noah’s parents both fell gravely ill. He quit his job as an accountant and also quit the gym.
Watching my parents almost die over the course of that year really beat me up. I stopped taking care of myself I stopped working out and really let it get to me.
After his parents were both given a clean bill of health and discharged from the hospital, Noah returned to the gym, taking up jiu-jitsu and boxing.
That moment saved my life. I was in a really bad place, I had gained a lot of weight I was just in a really terrible spot and so I trained again and it reminded me what I can feel like and how when I work out and when I train – when I challenge my body.
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My mom taught me, ‘you’re only as good as your last sale,’ so everyday I wake up and I’m only as good as my last interview with you, I’m only as good as my last class, my last client, so I push forward — It’s incredibly inspiring.
Boxing and the gym teaches you how to get comfortable putting in hard work — which is the common denominator for a successful and happy life. It’s just learning how to be comfortable in extremely uncomfortable situations.
ENTITY: There are a lot of iconic scenes in the movie where Rocky working out using the city and whatever resources are available to him. Are there any city-friendly exercise you recommend?
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NN: I love stair running – There’s nothing better than stair sprints. Distance running is not my thing; it’s a necessary evil for conditioning sometimes. To get the endorphins firing, stair sprints are amazing.
Also calisthenics: squats, lunges, pushups, sit-ups, planks; these are all equipment-free moves…that’s all something you can do outside.
Doing rounds of shadow boxing, getting comfortable throwing punches, it’s all extremely effective and empowering.
