The audience cannot believe their eyes, looking spellbound from what's happening on stage and keeping their hands from barely covering their faces, as 15 cars drive over the washboard stomach of 26-year-old Danijel Peric. He sings the Italian song O Sole Mio as each vehicle drives slowly over his abdominals. But how can this be? And how crazy is this guy to get run over by cars? Danijel Peric answers these and other burning questions in an interview below with fitness.com.
Fitness.com: First question, don't your muscles ache?
Danijel Peric: No, not at all. Shortly after the show they did hurt a bit, because of a few cars, but apart from a few blue spots on the left side and slight pressure pain, everything was okay.
Fitness.com: The summer season is approaching, so give us a few tips. How do you get your Sixpack?
Danijel Peric: Consistent training, good nutrition and physical values with the right balance. Pure abdominal training is not enough. The exercises have to be all muscle groups, including the lateral abdominal muscles. In the evening, don't eat carbohydrates because they take longer to be absorbed by the body.
Fitness.com: What does your typical training session consist of?
Danijel Peric: Generally I hit the gym for 35 to 40 minutes of endurance training for fat loss. In my stature, it is important to keep the body at a 127er and 128er pulse. I train mostly on the treadmill, a stepper and a bike for at least 30 minutes. But the longer the better. After the warm-up I do normal sit-ups. Overall, it is between 500 and 700. There are a variety of other exercises for the lower abdominal muscles as well. There is the "Eagle Abdominal" exercise. You sit in a device, where the legs are on a roll angle and it pushes you up guided by a pole with the arms stretched forward. The upper body is always moving forward. This trains the abdominal muscles and strengthens the muscles even more. The aim of the training is to reduce the fat layer so that the skin is directly on a hard surface.
Fitness.com: How do you usually stay fit?
Danijel Peric: I've played soccer since I was nine, and I played for the regional team based in Hamburg. Now I'm an external link here in Hamburg-Barmbek Uhlenhorst. I train three times a week plus every weekend.
Fitness.com: But how did you get the idea of driving cars over your stomach? And how do you train for this?
Danijel Peric: The idea came from my friends. They all know I have strong abdominals and two friends had the idea that my stomach could take on anything. So, then I had the spontaneous idea, to let heavy things go onto my stomach. First we built a temporary ramp. I put a pad on the abdomen, and a friend drove the car over my stomach and it worked. I was able to bear the weight for a bit of time. A friend then said that we must go even further to provide added value. So then the idea of singing came into play.
Fitness.com: Was it all a planned PR gag?
Danijel Peric: I knew that the idea was cool. But it was not the response I expected.
Fitness.com: How has the TV appearance changed your life?
Danijel Peric: The response after the TV show "Wetten, dass ...?" has given me the opportunity to gain popularity on other television programs through requests from production companies and managers. Finally, I owe my appearance on the show some gratitude since I now have a contract position at the Management Company "Pool Position"'.
Fitness.com: What's next for you? Do you have any concrete plans?
Danijel Peric: Yes, I have had several requests from fitness magazines and car dealerships for promotions, but also interest from production companies.
Fitness.com: Let us go back to "O sole mio". Is Opera your passion?
Danijel Peric: I like classical music. I had classical vocal training in Drama School. The first step for me, Luciano Pavarotti.
I like singing Opera for the melody, the poetry and the stories they tell. The idea with "O sole mio" was intuitive. I just knew while in action I had to sing this song.
Fitness.com: Thank you and have fun training!
Additional page:
Here is the video from Danijel Peric, of the TV show "Wetten dass ...?" 15 cars drive over his washboard stomach as he sings "o sole mio".
The Hardest Abs in the World!
