It all began in June 2018 during the Los Angeles Pride Parade. Rob McElhenney, the actor who plays Ronald "Mac" McDonald on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, was spotted alongside co-star Danny DeVito on a float looking less like his beer-bellied bartender character and more like a beast. Mac was jacked. Everyone, from strangers on the internet to former Philadelphia Phillies second-baseman (and Mac favorite) Chase Utley, was impressed by his weight loss transformation.

Once upon a time, McElhenney went in the opposite direction, gaining 60 pounds over the course of 7 months, because he thought a fat Mac would make for a funnier Mac. The 42-year-old gained the weight between the sixth and seventh seasons of the FX sitcom, putting away four 1,000 calorie meals a day.

Well, what's funnier than fat Mac? A fat Mac that's all of a sudden a jacked Mac. So that's what McElhenney did. He went Christian Bale and transformed his body again. All in the name of comedy? Hell no. “The truth is: I have more dedication to the paycheck,” McElhenney explains.



We spent some time with McElhenney, now the star of Mythic Quest, to make sure we could answer some of the most pressing questions that fans online had. In the end, we mostly just talked about his body.

On getting jacked:

"I’m not going to get into the medical science. Let me just tell you something. Increased levels of testosterone is just a cross I have to bare."



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On his diet and workout routine:

"I’m gonna break it down for you, because it’s actually quite simple, and anybody can do this. Anybody on the planet can do this. First thing’s first: if you have job—like a 9-5 job—quit that. Do you like food? Forget about that. Because you’re never going to enjoy anything you eat. Alcohol? Sorry. That’s out. So what you need to do—you have a chef, right? like a personal chef?—make sure the chef makes you a lot of chicken breast. And make sure you keep your caloric intake at a certain level. And as you go to your physician 2-3 times a week—just to monitor all your testosterone levels—because testosterone is important to building muscle. You’re good friends with the trainer from Magic Mike? Arin Babaian. So you want to give Arin a call. And you want to make sure he’s at your house and takes you to the gym at least twice a day, because you’re gonna want to do your muscle-building in the morning and then your cardio in the afternoon. Now, do you have a family? Like a significant other or kids? Yeah, forget about them. You’re not going to have time to deal with them.

"So that’s really all you have to do. And make sure you have a studio pay for the entire thing, because it could become exceptionally expensive. So, I think if you just do all those things, then you too can have an absolutely unrealistic body type, such as me."

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On looking more jacked than Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew:

"I suppose we do look rather similar. Though, I do think I have 22 years on him. But I think I’ve got a better body than you do, and you’re a professional athlete. So work on it. Yes, your face looks significant younger. But that body. Is that a body type of a professional athlete? I’m starting to think I can play quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars."

On no longer being jacked?

"I’m gonna give you a little lesson in biology: the abs are always there. They’re IN there. They’re just behind a bunch of tacos and tequila. I was enjoying myself on vacation. The abs are there. And the second I want to those abs to come back, all it takes is 3-4 months of starving myself."

Josh St. Clair Joshua St Clair is an editorial assistant at Men's Health Magazine.

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