Actor Bronson Pinchot, famous for portraying Balki Bartokomous on the 1980s sitcom Perfect Strangers for eight seasons, stunned fans by revealing his beefy gym bod on Instagram.
The 65-year-old actor was recently seen reprising his character Serge in the latest film from the Beverly Hills Cop action comedy film franchise on Netflix titled Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
He shared a juxtaposed photo of him and his trainer, Wolf Taitano, flexing their guns for the camera in between sets at the gym.
Whaaat?
@bronsonpinchot/Instagram
Wearing a black t-shirt and shorts, Pinchot rolled up his right short sleeve, exposing his massive shoulder and biceps because "the light was too good not to."
The photos were accompanied by a lengthy post chronicling his health and fitness journey.
Pinchot called the subjects in the image "workout buddies" and introduced followers to Taitano, a "friend, workout partner, and acting student."
He continued, explaining their different childhood upbringing, commonalities, and how they motivate each other to stay fit.
"When one of us is right at the limit of our stamina the other one speaks in a ridiculous voice designed to make the other guy lose it. As kids he was skinny and I was fat."
"We both find it takes mental effort not to continue to see ourselves that way. We don't talk politics and don't miss it one bit. I was on my third TV series at the time he was born."
"Biologically I could be his grandpa though I have to be reminded--constantly--that I'm not eleven. We both had abusive fathers. He is a devoted dad to an incandescent little fellow named Ragnar."
"I think Ima start using the tanning bed because when I'm next to Wolf I look like a Kleenex."
Fans did a double-take.
@bronsonpinchot/Instagram
@bronsonpinchot/Instagram
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@bronsonpinchot/Instagram
@bronsonpinchot/Instagram
@bronsonpinchot/Instagram
@bronsonpinchot/Instagram
Admirers were getting parched observing his rockin' bod.
@bronsonpinchot/Instagram
@bronsonpinchot/Instagram
Pinchot shared his health and diet regimen but strongly discouraged followers from going on a diet strictly "based on a stranger's recommendations."
He wrote:
"I've been vegan for long periods twice in my life, and I think it's amazing… but in MY personal experience and mine alone, one year was just right, while three or four years, even when I was in my 20s, led to lightheadedness and worse....much worse.... no elastic skin and fainting spells too!"
"Then again I was starring in a sitcom with heavy physical comedy and studying the trapeze and working out, so...."
"At the moment, I eat a fairly enormous amount of chicken, eggs, nonfat Greek plain yogurt, some beef, some pork, whey protein powder… Plus high-quality non-processed carbs, vegetables, and fruits."
"BUT it is essential to stress that after 45 years of trial and error and near-disaster, I find that a winning diet cannot, and MUST not be based on a stranger's recommendations, but only on a very private think tank, composed of your personal appetite and preferences, your personal mirror (not the one at the gym or the hotel or the clothes store), your clothes, the ones you fit in and the ones you don't, your energy over long periods, your scale, your self-education on what is out there that will tick off the highest number of boxes, and an expert who will advise you based on your goals and preferences."
He continued his meal preferences, which included frozen types of berries heated in the microwave and poured over non-fat plain yogurt or lots of whey protein with less oat creamer, "so it has a consistency like mousse," if he hadn't reached the day's protein or calorie goals.
He again gave a shout out to Taitano, saying he was "lucky enough to have a trainer who for the first year I worked with him, scrutinized every mouthful of food I took, via his access to my food log 'MyFitnessPal.' "
Pinchot explained in a June 2024 interview with Page Six that the reason he decided to start working with a trainer to gain weight and bulk up was a response to his 94-year-old mother having a bad fall.
"She still had all her marbles and then some," he recalled, adding, "But she was upstairs on the floor and I couldn’t get her up and she didn’t have any core strength to help me. I had to call the paramedics, which was bad.”
He vowed never to be in her position when he got older and immediately began working on building his core.
Pinchot also revealed he lost 60 pounds towards the end of 2020.
His motivation kick-started a workout routine to shed the extra pounds after he was mortified seeing a photo of himself from the 2017 reboot of Battle of the Network Stars.
In March, Pinchot detailed his workout regimen and shared his progress after seven months of weight training, three to four times a week.
"Careful protein intake, calorie mindfulness & tens of thousands of steps later....I am kind of chuffed to say my waist is actually smaller than the smallest it ever was when I played Balki on Perfect Strangers," he wrote, adding:
"BUT my back will not be squeezing into those lil bitty vests ever again."
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