Van Damme: Training is my medicine

Jean-Claude Van Damme has revealed he needs to train to feel good.

The Muscles from Brussels - who stars as the villain in The Expendables 2 opposite Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren and Bruce Willis - confessed he feels bad if he doesn't work out.

Van Damme, 51, explained: "I need to train to feel good. If I don't train then I get kind of toxic.

"So four times a week that's my dose. And I do lots of isometry [muscle training], I know my body, less injuries. I've got to go with the signs of training, to know your body."

He added: "You can even invent movement if you want to according to your own anatomy."

The Universal Soldier star credits Sly with rebooting his movie career.

He said: "I thank Mr Stallone and the Expendables for putting me back on the big screen.

"Let's face it, in life you have ups and downs. I was a DVD product and you go from DVD back to theatre and because of that movie I'm able now to show my feelings on a big screen."

Van Damme now has several film projects in the pipeline, including comedy Welcome To The Jungle about a business retreat.