Translated & Posted in BYJ Quilt by Yoon

Interview with BYJ's personal trainer- Part 1


Trainer Im Jongpil is posing next to BYJ's photo.

"BYJ was the most tenacious among entertainers I taught."

Im Jongpil(29) is a personal trainer who has trained numerous entertainers to become 'mom jjang'(super bodies). People in health and entertainment industry
call him 'JP'.

Entertainers who he instructed comprise Kwon Sangwoo, Be, Cha Inpyo, Fly to the Sky aside from BYJ.

Among them, the one with whom JP cherishes the relationship the most is BYJ. The tanned and resilient body in BYJ's photo collection that made the Japan Isles go wild last year was JP's work. JP emphasizes that such a fantastic body was a result of BYJ's tenacious effort.

He cherishes like some kind of a medal the memory of training with BYJ in a house at suburban LA for 100 days fighting loneliness and pain. He became brother to topstar BYJ thanks to their experience of sharing pains together. He is now working as a personal trainer under exclusive contract with BOF, BYJ's agency. JP is the first who belongs to an entertainment agency under exclusive contract.

JP will publish a book that records the 100 days he spent with BYJ. It is titled, 'BYJ, 100 day diet program' and it will be published at the end of February in Japan. The book targets Japanese fans who go crazy over BYJ's every move. The main contents include what kind of training BYJ went through to get the statuesque body, stories behind the training process, health commonsenses and cooking recipes.

Its Korean edition will be published at the end of March. JP met me prior to publication of the book and calmly revealed his relationship with BYJ, the difficult process of training, and the person BYJ.


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BYJ's body was like an uncut diamond- Part 2 [Joongang Daily]



JP first met BYJ at California Fitness center of Apkoojung branch in the winter of 2002. JP, an apprentice trainer at that time, became friends with BYJ as he helped BYJ with his workout one day. BYJ asked him to become his personal trainer after he found out they went along very well in their one-day workout.

JP gladly agreed. He said when he first saw BYJ's body, it reminded him of an unrefined uncut diamond. He had the impression that BYJ had worked out a lot, but not systematically. But he thought if refined, it would become the best of gems.'

As expected, BYJ was very athletic. His personality is such that once he sets his mind to something, whether it's snowboarding, skiing, boxing or hapigdo (art of self-defence) he would pursue it to the end. JP said, "Behind the warm smile lies a strong tiger."

Their first work together was going on a diet for the movie 'Scandal'. BYJ told him he had to prepare for a movie called 'Scandal' which dealt with hot romance between men and women in Chosun era and suggested to build a body suitable for his role in the movie. They set the goal of losing 8 kg within 2 months because he shouldn't look muscular and needed to look slim as a person living in Chosun era.

JP set up a fitness program which centered on cardiovascular exercises. His diet was chicken breasts, vegetables, fruits and sweet potatos. He minimized salt intake. 'Chicken breast diet' which was widely known through press started at that time.

BYJ complied with JP's suggestions. JP had the impression BYJ was extremely tenacious as he saw BYJ maintain the unsavory diet for two months.

If one sneakily comsumes food not listed in the diet, he would get caught because his eye area would get swollen, but BYJ never showed such a sign.

JP said, "BYJ was a man of few words, and I got the impression that given his tenacity, he would be successful even if he did other things than acting."

Give me a body with charisma of a warrior- Part 3

As 'Scandal diet' ended successfully, words of mouth about JP got out to the entertainment industry. Entertainers like Kwon Sangwoo, Be, Cha Inpyo, Fly to the sky came to him to get trained. The number of his pupils increased with less well-known entertainers and new-comers.

One day early last year JP got a call from BYJ. He asked JP to come to a hairsalon in Chungdam-dong where he was having his hair done. To JP who came in a hurry, BYJ said: "I want to rebuild my body which got slim because of filming 'Scandal'. Let's make 'a body with charisma of a warrior', not a body of an overly muscular bodybuilder."

JP was baffled at BYJ's request. He couldn't figure out what kind of body BYJ wanted. After a long contemplation, he figured out that what BYJ wanted was a strong but agile body, an upgraded version of Bruce Lee. Only later he found out that BYJ asked for the warrior concept for the sake of the photo collection.

After he won the grand prize at 'Mr. Seoul (bodybuilding) contest' last May, JP was exclusively hired as a fitness trainer for BOF, BYJ's agency. JP accepted BYJ's request to concentrate on building his body.

Before they flew over to the US for bodybuilding, JP made BYJ promise one thing. When JP asked, "My training is very harsh. One singer even threw up while training with me. Will you bear it well?", BYJ simply said, 'Of course.'.

100 days of living as a recluse- Part 4

BYJ and JP flew to the US last May in order to shape up his body for the photo collection. They got a house in quiet suburb of LA to concentrate on body building. As they entered the house, they promised to each other not to come out of the house for 100 days.

They were determined to be come the bear, not the tiger who gave up half way to become a human in 'Dangoon mythology'(*old Korean mythology).

There were only basic fitness equipments like dumbells, barbells, a bench press and a squat machine in the house. The local manager provided food and JP cooked.

Their basic diet consisted of 1kg of chicken breasts a day, 800g of cooked rice, 300 g of vegetables(broccolis, onions, mung-bean sprouts, zuccinis, carrots and mushrooms) at every meal. JP minimally seasoned them with garlics and spicy peppers.

BYJ had two snacks made with sweet potatos and corns a day. If the level of blood sugar drops too low, one gets dizzy and weak. So JP made BYJ take fruits several times during the day. BYJ especially liked melons and tomatos. He drank 7, 8 liters of water a day.

JP had BYJ 'rigorously' train 4 hours a day, 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. JP's diet theory was eat well and lose weight by training hard. He says that's the only way to keep the body firm. This training is so taxing even many professionals give up halfway, but BYJ followed JP's lead without complaining.

Good resting was as important as training was so demanding. BYJ brought a bag full of books and movie DVDs from Korea. JP remembered there were a book by Tolstoi and 'Ramses' (It is said that one room in BYJ"s house is filled with stacked books). JP said movie DVDs were somewhat boring (to himself) but of good quality.

What's harder than harsh training and unsavory food was fighting with loneliness. Later they missed other people's company so much they even fought to answer the door or phone calls first. They never turned on the TV in the house. Because it could distract them and the food commercials could hinder their diet.

When they got out of the house after finishing 100 days training, they were so happy with the achievement that they were almost chocked with tears. JP described it as 'I felt like I just got out of the military service.' When he came back from the US, BYJ weighed 82kg, 4kg heavier than before due to the added muscles. Strength and definition of the muscles improved.

They had another 10 day finish-up training to refine the muscles for photo shooting. BYJ maintained 4 hour-a-day training and quit salt and sugar intake altogether. The day before the shooting, JP had BYJ not to drink water. But BYJ went further and quit drinking water for a day and a half. Right before shooting BYJ weighed 76kg.

BYJ's warrior like body, product of rigorous preparation was shot for 2 days at a studio in Chungdam-dong last October. After he finished shooting, BYJ took calluses in his hands as a proud medal.

Human BYJ close-up- Part 5 (Final)

When JP saw a part of outsole of BYJ's sneakers worn out and suggested him to buy a new pair, BYJ said, "It's still ok. They are still wearable so why buy a new one?" JP said when they were in the US, BYJ couldn't bear leaving a light on in empty rooms.

JP says he discovered BYJ as someone like his own brother, not as a star during the days in the US. BYJ massaged JP's feet when JP was tired and put ointment on JP's face when it had breakouts. They took turns with house chores like laundry and cleaning the house.

According to JP, BYJ's favorite food is Korean miso soup with cabbage and fermented soybean soup. These days BYJ is into wine. He not only enjoys drinking wine, but he is also studying hard about culture of wine.

When they did the finish-up training right before the photo shooting, stress like insomnia and weakness could be unbearable beyond imagination. But JP said BYJ never fretted or showed temper to his staffs. JP said he almost had a feeling of awe at BYJ's perseverance. Even during the finish-up, BYJ maintained enough peace of mind to read books.

JP said that BYJ is well-read and speaks logically and persuasively when he gives out advices about life and the opposite sex.

When JP asked what happened after he read the newspaper about BYJ parting with his girlfriend last November, BYJ simply said, "It just happened. It's been a while since the breakup."

According to JP, BYJ likes a cute and girly girl. He told JP, 'Don't meet a woman you like, but meet a women who can raise your kids well.'. We can guess his take on marriage with that comment.