ОН, WOW, MAN -it's Jeff Bridges. Alive and well, at 72. Like, really well, from the looks of things. He's walking around a photo studio in Santa Barbara on a hot, still Tuesday. When he walks, he leads with his rib cage, his weight in his heels, his whole posture telegraphing a wide-openness to the world.
He's been telling me where that posture comes from- it's thanks in large part to these isometric exercises he learned from a trainer named Eric Goodman, which are designed to get the muscles in the backside of your body to work together to support you better, so that the burden of carrying your weight around the planet doesn't fall solely on your poor, embattled joints, and which have freed Bridges from some hellacious back pain but he'd rather show me.
And that's how he ends up standing over me, a fatherly hand on my shoulder, helping me bend, saying, "Hinge! Hinge!" as I try and mostly fail to hinge myself, and then, to demonstrate how I should be holding my body, he takes a bit of my hair and tugs it upward, not hard, just firmly, directionally.
He doesn't seem, at all, like somebody who was on the verge of death just last year. He was, though. In 2020, the Dude was diagnosed with cancer, specifically lymphoma, and just as he was pulling through that, he caught Covid, and because the chemo that had knocked the lymphoma down to size had also left Bridges severely immunocompromised, the Covid really kicked his ass, making cancer look like a cakewalk in retrospect-and because he is Jeff Bridges, and was already a pretty spiritual guy, all of this did not engender anything you'd call a spiritual awakening. But it's got him thinking more about things about time, mostly, and about the specific strain of neurosis with which he's always approached his work, and about what he wants to leave behind when it's actually all over.
This story is from the July - August 2022 edition of Men's Health US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July - August 2022 edition of Men's Health US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE NEW CHANGE MUSCLE MAKERS
WITH SYSTEMIC ISSUES both inside and outside the health-and-wellness industry, fitness professionals from marginalized backgrounds have long been held back.
ROCK BERMUDA
Cliff-jumping! Lunker-landing! Wreck-diving! I've lived on and off the Isle of Devils for 30 years. These are my five favorite adventures.
AWESOME-IFY YOUR SALMON
Chef CHARLIE MITCHELL says the key to balanced food and fitness is a little bit of everything.
BEET THIS!
Supplement makers say beet powders and juices help your heart and your workouts. We got to the root of those promises.
THE THROAT
Soreness, dryness, coughing-throat stuff can be the worst. Here's how to tell when something's up in there and feel better fast.
ARE YOUNG PEOPLE AGING FASTER?
And is that why cancer is striking earlier and earlier?
THE BAD DOCTOR
When patients kept nearly dying at asurgical center in Dallas, nobody thought it might be an inside job. Here’s howateam of medical investigators uncovered the disturbing truth— and how you can protect yourself from quacks, hacks, and downright dangerous docs.
HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH HIM
Well, not literally. But in the \"gnawing rat\" theory of productivity, making peace with your metaphorical pests might be the quickest way to stop procrastinating and finally ditch dread.
PUT YOUR SAVINGS TO WORK
... with big returns, no hassle, and way less financial stress.
THE STRESS LESS GUIDE ΤΟ MANAGING MONEY
Don't worry: Creating a budget has nothing to do with it.
