Miraculously, the 41 year-old, North Dakota native managed to put on about 13.6 of muscle – over two stone – all under his own steam. If appetite is the limiter, add calories with shakes, nut butters, oils, fattier cuts of meat, or a planned dessert. A “good meal” is whatever is on the diner menu, plus a lot of black coffee. It does not work when your job is to add serious size for a role. He stands in front of the cable stack and presses up and forward at a steep incline angle.
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To gain a decent amount of muscle mass, his diet plan required him to eat like a horse. To put on a decent amount of lean muscle mass on his frame and that too in a limited period, Alan had to train his butt off. Training with weights was something that he had seldom done before. Nevertheless, his body responded pretty well to his intense training regime.

Tuesday – Cardio
Having played big lads before, including a football player in Blue Mountain State, Ritchson was no stranger to working out. Still, he called getting in shape for Reacher a “full-time job,” telling Men’s Journal that he “was grinding it out five days a week for the eight months that we had to prep.” Um, ouch. Want to build muscle like Alan did while preparing for Reacher but are not keen on following his exact routine?
How You Can Train and Eat Like Alan Ritchson

Moreover, Alan had a few shirtless scenes in Jack Reacher, hence, he needed to look both muscular as well as aesthetic. If you are reading this, we can be pretty sure that you have https://programminginsider.com/is-madmuscles-legit-real-user-reviews-and-expert-insight/ been inspired by Alan Ritchson’s muscular and aesthetic physique and want to know about his training style and diet plan. Well, you are not the only one who falls in that category.
- Training for Jack Reacher came naturally to him because he’d spent time in the gym throughout his life and wasn’t starting from scratch.
- That changed with Reacher, as Ritchson was told that he’d need to gain around 12kg to get the role.
- But, if you are willing to go the distance, you’ll be well on track with your mission to reach your potential.
- This wobbly, single-leg warmup exercise is no weight, no equipment, and all glute.
- Alan trains five or six days a week when preparing for Reacher.
- This is supplemented by conditioning work, from running to mixed-modal circuits.
Who needs to pay for a gym when you can train at home?
In fact, most people spend too much time in the gym talking and messing around. If you’re training with intensity, you can pack on muscle with 30-minute sessions. In the recent Instagram post, Ritchson pushed through multiple sets of curls, overhead triceps extensions, and upright rows. He said he finished the workout with leg and core work, making for an effective full-body training session. To develop a physique similar to Alan Ritchson, who is renowned for his lean and muscular body, a well-thought-out nutrition plan is essential. To get into the www.topendsports.com/fitness/products/apps/mad-muscles.htm shape he is today, Ritchson was consuming around 4,500 calories daily, including 300 grams of protein.

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Alan’s second training day is all about building a thick, powerful back. He kicks things off with four grueling sets of pullups to failure—one of his go-to bodyweight staples. First up is a standing cable row using a low pulley attachment, mimicking a T-bar row for that deep, mid-back contraction. Ritchson trains 6+ days a week because his training revolves around staying active. He runs a ton, and also incorporates a lot of bodyweight training on top of sometimes using Tabata-style circuits.
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You can still incorporate some of his key principles into your own workout plan and see impressive results. Alan Ritchson says he’s is madmuscles legit not aiming to hit new PRs and keeps his time in the gym to 30 minutes. However, for those 30 minutes, he gives his all to training, utilizing training to failure, supersets, or even tri-sets. Research shows that supersets and tri-sets effectively enhance training efficiency (2). Many people have been inspired by Alan Ritchson’s muscular and aesthetic body, wanting to know more about his training and diet. His physique in Jack Reacher has made him a popular figure among muscle enthusiasts and bodybuilders.
His workouts are often short and efficient, lasting just 30 minutes. In the weight room, Ritchson says his routines have always been primarily based on bodyweight and plyometric exercises. His latest workout regimen includes a Tabata-style program of five rounds lasting 1 minute each, with 10 seconds of rest between sets. Alan Ritchson follows proven training protocols to get results and look like he does in Reacher.
Early Life
This compact, zig-zag bar offers joint-friendly hand positioning, especially during curls and extensions. The simplicity of one tool and three moves makes this workout adaptable, whether you’re at a commercial gym or in a home garage setup. In a recent Instagram post, Ritchson demonstrated a brutal but efficient high-volume giant set designed to build muscle without burning him out. “I would hop the fence and I would do pushups, pullups, dips, and situps to try to get bigger, and make my body grow and develop.”
Your Reacher-Inspired Calisthenics Plan
Alan Ritchson found the five bodyweight calisthenic routines helpful for training and says he’s been doing them for over 20 years. He would combine them in a 30-minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible) routine. Even when he’d had to add weight lifting to his routine, these exercises will still be included.
Bodyweight Exercises ‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson Uses to Build Action-Hero Muscle
You’ll be taxing your pecs further with the renegade row into pushup and twist. When executing the twists, be sure to look at the dumbbell as you twist it towards the ceiling. Reacher’s fighting style requires a lot of elbow action, meaning plenty of body rotation, so the core needs to be able to support his twists and turns, making these exercises extra valuable. Working with a heavy dumbbell, Ritchson is a proponent of single leg glute bridges and Russian twists in able to hit that core all the more, while building a solid back.
