Muscle Training Inspired by a Tuna Demolition Show? Hidehiko Ishizuka of Honjamaka’s “The Secret to Living a Healthy Life Even if You’re Fat

The “Ishizuka Way” of Health

Hello, everyone. It has been so hot that a “fat curfew” has been issued. Are you walking in the shade? My name is Hidehiko Ishizuka.

This time, I would like to share with you my own health tips. Health is not only physical but also mental.

First of all, when I wake up in the morning, I open all the windows in my house to ventilate. This is because I want to let fresh air into my house. Next, I brush my teeth in the bathroom. This is something I learned from the director of “Kinuta Dentistry,” whose sign I often see on the street: bacteria in the mouth multiply at night, so it is best to clean the mouth at the start of the day. Until then, I had been brushing my teeth after meals, saying, “I’m going to eat anyway.

After brushing my teeth, I would clean around the house. I clean not only in front of my own house, but also two or three houses away. I’m the type of person who feels uncomfortable if I don’t clean up the trash I see. I also want to be considered a “good person” by my neighbors (laughs).

Next, I water the planters in my garden. I started this when I entered my 50s. Until then, I had only been interested in food, but I discovered the joy of growing beautiful flowers. Whether it is people or flowers, I find happiness in the joy of growing something. That is why I grow flowers from seeds instead of buying flowers in potted plants. A bud appears, a stem grows, a bud emerges, and a flower opens. I understand how the president of an entertainment agency who nurtures talent feels (laughs).

Then I stretch while looking at the sky. Rotate joints and stretch muscles. I feel it helps prevent injuries and improves blood flow. I enjoy the joy of stretching outside, exchanging morning greetings with schoolchildren on the street, seeing birds whose names I don’t know, and finding clouds that resemble eclairs.

When I have time, I also do strength training and walking every other day. When I do strength training, the protein I drink before I work out is “yummy”. I add milk to chocolate flavored powder, shake and drink. Perhaps this is why I do muscle training, because I want to drink it.

Why did you start muscle training?

Why did I start muscle training in the first place? It all started more than 10 years ago when I covered a “tuna demolition show” on location for television. The fact that I couldn’t lift an 80kg tuna by myself ignited a fire in me.

I thought to myself, “I can’t believe I can’t lift what I want to eat by myself. Thinking this, I started muscle training the next day, and now I can bench press 80 kg. But when I thought about it, I realized that even in the market, you may hold a tuna with your arms, but you never lift it from below. ……

Then there is walking. In my case, it is more like walking. I walk around my house for about 30 minutes. The walking course includes uphills, which I don’t like. There is also a shrine, so I put coins in the pocket of my sweatshirt and visit the shrine.

I sweat so much while walking that a housewife in my neighborhood worries if she should call an ambulance. After returning home and taking a dip in the water, I start my day refreshed.

I hope you too can have a wonderful day by refreshing your body and mind in a way that suits you.

From the September 26, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY