How did J.K. Simmons get so swole? 'He's a beast in a whole 'nother category'

LOS ANGELES -- The photos of J.K. Simmons are not to be believed: Outside of Photoshop or some kind of prosthetic, how does an old guy get guns that cartoonishly huge?

It turns out there's a bit of an optical illusion at work -- a piece of equipment called an "arm blaster" helps flare out the triceps, and the type of workout he's been doing makes one more temporarily swoll than the average at-home pushup. 

But make no mistake, that's really Simmons, who's been pumping iron -- hard -- for more than two years. And man, he is ripped.

The pics started flying around Wednesday: Here was a 61-year-old dude with arms so jacked that an action-figure version of the Whiplash star wouldn't do him justice. And speaking of justice -- why is the guy who's playing Commissioner Gordon in Justice League, shooting as we live and breathe, trying to look more like Superman?

Mashable spoke with Aaron Williamson, the Hollywood trainer to the stars who posted the pics of Simmons to his Instagram over the past few weeks -- and now we feel a lot better about what our eyes are telling us.

It's true. All of it.

First of all, Williamson swears that the photos are pure and unaltered. 

"No Photoshop," he told Mashable over the phone Wednesday. "Thats' all him. Yeah man, he started training with me and another trainer ... he lost a lot of weight for Whiplash and got in shape, and wanted to see how far he could take it."

Williamson said the other trainer works more on core strength, while he focuses on specific body parts. Simmons "wanted to do something cool with his arms, so we started working on shaping, making the muscles rounder ... we work on them from different angles, try to flush as much blood as you can, not as much weight and with a shorter rest period."

In some cases, there is no rest between different exercises, which flushes even more blood to the muscle -- giving them a more swollen look.

"It really depends on how dedicated someone is," Williamson said. "Most people do a set, check their phone, walk around for three or four minutes."

Not Simmons.

"When you're in the gym and you get a good pump going," Williamson said, "you look a little bit bigger than usual."

Or, you know. A lot.

Master the blaster

So about those bulging triceps ... 

Triceps do not bulge like that when you're doing curls -- unless you're using an "arm blaster."

Notice the gold band around Simmons' chest? It wraps behind the triceps, which not only isolates the bicep muscle during a standing curl, but also pushes the triceps out to the sides -- hence the Popeye look.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Williamson told Mashable that this photo is a bit more realistic, in terms of what Simmons looks like in real life:

A little dedication helps. Or a lot.

Williamson said Simmons has been on a two- to three-days-a-week regimen with him, and also does two to three days with the other trainer -- then takes weekends off.

And like his other (much younger) star clients Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, he is completely committed.

"He's a beast in a whole 'nother category, mainly because of his age," Williamson said. "But I would compare him with the Zac Efrons and James Brolins -- he's right up there with the dedication. If I tell him to eat three almonds, he eats three almonds."

And what does this all have to do with Commissioner Gordon?

"As far as the movie goes, I know he was cast as the commissioner," Williamson says. "That's something he's trying to prepare for. But that's it. As far as the movie goes, I'm totally in the dark."

Sorry guys. No help there.

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