This is a post is in response to a recent Men’s Fitness article “12 Most Inspiring Hollywood Fitness Transformations.” Out of the 12 actors selected by Men’s Fitness, Hugh Jackman in Wolverine, stands out:

Next Level Shape: There is no doubt Jackman was ripped for all the X-Men movies. However, in Wolverine he bulked up his skinny 6’2″ frame to 215. Anyone who is naturally thin, understands how difficult putting on muscle can be. Not to mention he was already trimmed down considerably after his previous movie Les Misérables. That might explain why Jackman had to consume around 6,000 calories a day on top of his training.

Weight Room: According to the Men’s Fitness article, “Jackman used to work in a gym before he got famous but never touched a weight.” For someone who does body weight exercises only, Jackman put in work, reaching over a 500 pound max for dead lift. Men’s fitness shared his leg day in the article:

“Dead lift (4 sets of 5, 4, 3, and 10 reps)

Romanian Dead lift (4 sets of 10 reps)

Zercher Squat (4 sets of 12 reps)

Weighted Incline Sit-up (4 sets of 10 reps)

Barbell Landmine (4 sets of 20 reps)”

Men’s Fitness lays out the ‘Wolverine Workout‘ in another article. The article advocates a descending rep and increasing weight format on each exercise. Jackman’s trainer David Kingsbury advocates this format as “a system you can trust to continue to improve your gains.” The article has great recommendations for anyone looking to bulk up and improve their maximum strength threshold.

Sources:

Ambrosino, Kristin, Mark Barrosso, and Brittany Smith. “12 Most Inspiring Hollywood Fitness Transformations.” Men’s Fitness. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.

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