HOTTER THAN EVER
Tim Franklin
Flipping through his upcoming Home and Away scripts, actor Tim Franklin realised that his role as police Constable Colby Thorne was about to get physical. “We’re in the warehouse and just kicking down doors, and chasing guys all day,” he told tells WHO of gearing up to shoot the Channel Seven show’s more action-packed scenes. “When you’ve got to do that five times, six times where you’re sprinting like 200 metres before you have to spit out the words … it’s exhausting!”To cope, he teamed up with celebrity transformation coaches Chief Brabon and his wife Emilie Brabon-Hames to get serious about training. The pair have previously finessed the famous forms of Rodger Corser, Guys Sebastian, James Stewart and Osher Günsberg. Now, a fitter than ever Franklin, 29, tells WHO about how the workouts helped with his career, the importance of a clear mind and the next conquest in his sights.
What prompted this health overhaul?
I had a lot of action scenes coming up, and a couple of my friends were training with Chief and Ems. They do some boot camps down on the beach. I kind of wanted to see what would happen and how my body would change and adapt. I also knew that I had a lot of long hours coming up, so I wanted the energy to go through all of that. When you’re doing those long days, and you know you’re busting down doors, and you’re doing all these high energy, high physically demanding scenes, it’s kind of cool to see how my body adapted. I found those scenes a lot more fun and enjoyable because of the exercises and everything I was doing
outside of that. Just movement-wise. Movement is such a big thing for me.
What kind of workouts were you doing? I’ve been doing a lot of early mornings. I’ll do a boot camp down on Coogee Beach [in Sydney], and I’ll train in the SKWOD gym with Chief and Ems. They’re very into just using your whole body in the most natural way. It’s a combination of cardio, weights and floor exercises. Each class is different, you never do the same class, but you’ll do half an hour on the treadmill and then half an hour floor, with a bit of rowing and weights in between. It’s like high-intensity training.
Did you do any training on your own? Coming from the Gold Coast [Queensland], I am an aquatic creature, so I surf, snorkel, get down into the water and just swim and run. I also hike long distances. A couple of years ago, my friends and I did a big hike through the Himalayas, so anytime I can get out to the Blue Mountains [NSW] for a hike, that’s fun. What about your diet?
Diet-wise was a slow change for me. Chief and Ems put me onto a meal plan, and just showed me different alternatives to what I was eating. I was more mindful with what I was putting into my body. I’d have my basic meats and then just pile vegetables – lots of vegies. It made a difference with my energy levels because I do such long days on set.
Did you cut anything out, like alcohol?
I wasn’t drinking a lot. I’d have the occasional slip-up, which we all do.
How are you feeling now?
Great! Before I used to struggle to run long distances but now I run 5km to 10km – before I was struggling to get to 5km.
How else has it changed your life?
I’m just sleeping better and am more focused. My other big psychological anchor is meditation. After physical exertion, I’ll have a little sauna, I chill out, I have a stretch, and then I’ll come home and sitting in that place, in my meditation, my thoughts are so much clearer. My inner dialogue is just a lot crisper after doing something like that.
That’s fantastic. Did you anticipate that?
No, I didn’t. My meditations were always as they as they should be – quite difficult. But I think after doing something to your body it just relaxes the mind … and everything is in sync. I believe mediation is just as important as physical exercise. How did you learn? From my dad. As a kid, we’d sneak into his room, and he’d be there meditating. I think at the time he was doing a lot of chanting and stuff. We were like, “Whoa, what is this?” My dad initially taught me, but I probably didn’t start until I was about 18 or 19. Do you have a goal in mind now? I’d really like to visit a hike back in Nepal, which is called the Three Peaks. The last one I did was 25 days and this one is 30 days and you’re walking at about 5500 metres for about 20 days, so it’s like full panoramic views walking to peak to peak. I’d like to do that. The altitude alone, you take a step, and you feel like you’ve sprinted a hundred metres.
How do you prepare for that?
Running the Coogee steps. They’re a light form of torture and then death. Just going up and down carrying a big, heavy bag, it’s the worst thing in the world. But yeah, it helps.
What advice do you have for people who are wanting to make a change? Do what you enjoy. If you love swimming, make that your thing. If you love running, run. You’ve got to enjoy it first and foremost and have good people around you. I sometimes trained with [Home and Away castmates] Jimmy [Stewart], Sarah [Roberts] and Sophie [Dillman]. If you’ve got a cool crew, it’s not really that much work. It’s just fun. So do what you love. That’s the most important thing for me.
“Meditation is just as important as exercise”