Have you ever wondered what it takes to have the body of an action-movie superstar? Well, you’re in luck, because that’s what we are sharing with you today.
If you are looking for an easy way of attaining that movie-star bod, then this isn’t the place for you. Getting silver-screen worthy abs doesn’t happen without a strict diet and commitment to working out, but fortunately, we’ve got you covered on both of those ends.
Is there any better action star in recent memory than Jason Statham? Between the Transporter trilogy and his appearances in the Fast and Furious series, Statham has solidified himself as a bonafide action film superstar.
In order to play these roles and perform the stunts they require, Statham has to get his body in peak physical condition. Here’s a peek into the weekly workout this leading man puts his body through.
Day 1: Progression to his deadlift one-rep max
Warmup #1: To get loose, Jason starts his warmups with rowing. He rows for about 10 minutes at around 20 strokes per minute.
Warmup #2: Next, Jason does a pyramid circuit of push-ups, pull-ups, and body weight squats. For the first round, you do one rep of each exercise and work your way up to five. After the fifth round, you work your way back down to one rep. In total, you’ll do ten rounds.
Workout: Deadlift
This is Jason’s deadlift workout, so the numbers are reflective of his weights. Obviously, if you want to follow this, then put your own weights in place. The first rep should be about 30%-35% of your one rep maximum.
Reps: 10
Weight: 135 pounds
Rest: 1 minute
Reps: 5
Weight: 185 pounds
Rest: 2 minutes
Reps: 3
Weight: 235 pounds
Rest: 3 minutes
Reps: 2
Weight: 285 pounds
Rest: 3 minutes
Reps: 1
Weight: 325 pounds
Rest: 3 minutes
Reps: 1
Weight: 340 pounds
Rest: 3 minutes
Reps: 1
Weight: 350 pounds
Rest: 3 minutes
Reps: 1
Weight: 360 pounds
Rest: 3 minutes
Reps: 1
Weight: 365 pounds
Cooldown:
You might not have access to one, but Jason cools down with 10-minutes of jumping on a gymnastics trampoline. He also has an Olympic diving background, so he’s probably doing things in the air you should never attempt.
Day 2: Functional Circuit Training
Warmup #1: Rowing, the same as the day before.
Warmup #2: Static hold circuit. Jason does these four exercises as a circuit for four rounds. You’ll do each hold for 30 seconds.
1. Ring Dip Hold: While Jason uses Olympic rings for this, you’ll probably have to use parallel bars.
2. Kettlebell Farmer Hold: Grab some heavy kettlebells and let them hang arm’s length at your sides.
3. L-Sit on Parallettes or dips bars: Jason uses paralletttes to do this, but you can do L-sits on a dip station with parallel bars.
4. Bodyweight Squat Hold: The exercise is in the name. Get into a low squat, and hold.
Workout: The “Big Five 55” workout.
Jason will do five exercises 10 times. The first round, he does 10 reps. Second round, he does nine. He does this all the way down to one.
1. Front Squat (95 pounds)
2. Pullups
3. Decline Parrallette Pushups
For this you’ll put your hands on the parrallettes and feet on a box so that they are approximately 1 foot higher than your hands. Do the prescribed number of pushups. Get LOW on the down end of your pushups.
4. Power Cleans
5. Knees to elbows
Here you will get into a pull-up position, and let your feet hang. From this position you will lift your knees up to your elbow.
Day 3: Interval Workout
Warmup: Jason rows for 10 minutes at a steady pace of slightly under 20 RPMs.
Workout: Rowing
Jason rows for 500 meters, and then takes a three minute rest. However, during this resting period, he is still moving around.
Here are his numbers for the sake of comparison:
Sprint 1. 1:40.1
Sprint 2. 1:39.7
Sprint 3. 1:43.9
Sprint 4. 1:41.6
Sprint 5. 1:38.7
Sprint 6. 1:50.3
Cooldown:
Jason finishes this workout with a 500-meter farmer’s walk. He takes two 70-pound kettlebells and goes as quickly as possible.
Day 4: Set work
Warmup #1: Just like every day before, Jason is back on the rower.
Warmup #2: 20 repetitions of body squats.
Workout: Five sets of five repetitions of the front squat. Jason does this with a weight that’s 105% of his bodyweight.
Reps: 5
Weight: 175 pounds
Rest: 90 seconds
Reps: 5
Weight: 175 pounds
Rest: 90 seconds
Reps: 5
Weight: 175 pounds
Rest: 90 seconds
Reps: 5
Weight: 175 pounds
Rest: 90 seconds
Reps: 5
Weight: 175 pounds
Cooldown:
Jason does 200 pushups. Yeah, 200. AFTER working out. He does this similarly to his circuit workouts. He does a pushup, and his partner does one. He does two, his partner does two as well. They do this all the way to 15, and then back to one, until they hit 200.
Day 5: Cumulative Movements
Warmup #1: You guessed it, MORE ROWING!
Warmup #2: Jason alternates between 15 meters of crab walks, and 15 meters of bear crawls. He does this five times each.
Workout:
One round through a series of five exercises. You’ll want to try and get these done as fast as possible.
7-metre Fat Rope Climbs
Reps: 5
Weight: Body
Front Squats
Reps: 5
Weight: 185 pounds
Ball Slams
Reps: 5
Weight: 30 pounds
15-metre Rope Pulls
Reps: 10
Weight: 90 pounds
Bench Press
Reps: 10
Weight: 175 pounds
Ball Slams
Reps: 10
Weight: 25 pounds
Pull-ups
Reps: 15
Weight: Body
Dips
Reps: 15
Weight: Body
Ball Slams
Reps: 15
Weight: 20 pounds
Resisted Fat Rope Pulls
Reps: 20
Weight: Body
Whip Smashes
Reps: 20
Jason’s Time: 23:53
Day 6: Running
Workout: Jason spends at least an hour running through the mountains.
Day 7: Rest
If you were able to complete this workout, you have earned a day (or week) of rest.