If you are reading this, we can be pretty sure that you have been inspired by Alan Ritchson’s muscular and aesthetic physique and want to know about his training style and diet plan. Right? Well, you are not the only one who falls in that category.
The physique which Alan sported in Jack Reacher made him the new favorite of muscle freaks. After all, his physique exuded perfection. It was big, strong, muscular, and aesthetic as hell.
So how did he build such an amazing physique? The information about it is extremely limited on the internet, but we tried to get as much info about his workout routine and diet plan as possible. And this post is going to provide you with a detailed overview of it.
So without further ado, let’s get to know in detail about Alan Ritchson’s workout routine and diet plan.
Alan Ritchson’s Workout Principles
When Alan Ritchson was finalized to play the role of the iconic Jack Reacher on screen, he was required to look big and muscular. Standing tall at 6 feet 4 inches, Alan weighed around 205 lbs before he began training for Reacher. He had to transform his physique completely to look the part.
Hence, Alan Ritchson’s workout plan was targeted toward making him big and muscular. To serve that purpose, Alan relied on a well-structured weight training regime. To ensure that he looks ripped without his shirt on, Alan also had to incorporate adequate amounts of cardio in his workout routine to burn off excess fat.
Alan’s dedication to his training sessions paid off well and he put on around 30 pounds of muscle mass on his frame in just eight months.
Alan Ritchson’s Workout Routine
Alan Ritchson’s workout routine primarily consisted of weight training and cardio. The former aided him in putting on size whereas the latter assisted in keeping his physique lean and aesthetic.
Before beefing up to portray Jack Reacher on screen, Alan had a lean and athletic physique. Working out had always been a part of his life. To maintain his lean physique he used to rely on bodyweight exercises like pushups, pullups, dips, burpees, free squats, sit-ups, etc.
However, just relying on bodyweight exercises was not something that could make him gain enormous amounts of muscle mass. Therefore, he followed a well-structured workout program that consisted of intense weight training sessions. He even went on to say,
“I built a modest gym in my house and hit weights 5 days a week.”
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.
Performing cardiovascular exercises was another important component of Alan Ritchson’s training routine. This was because the character of Jack Reacher was not only physically huge but also ripped. Moreover, Alan had a few shirtless scenes in Jack Reacher, hence, he needed to look both muscular as well as aesthetic.
Running has always been a prominent part of Alan Ritchson’s workout routine. Even before he started prepping up for Jack Reacher, he used to include running into his workout routine. On average, he used to run around 13 miles daily.
Running significantly helped Alan in keeping his body fat percentage low. It also kept his endurance levels in check along with keeping his body athletic. His cardio routine primarily involved 200-meter sprints which he performed post his weight training sessions.
We know it pretty well that you must be excited to know about Alan Ritchson’s workout split. It looked something like the following:-
Day 1- Lower Body
- Deadlifts supersetted with dumbbell sumo squats- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Hack squats supersetted with walking lunges- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Stiff leg deadlift supersetted with another squat variation- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Leg extension to curls- (3-4) x (12-15)
Day 2- Chest and Back 1
- Push-ups supersetted with pull-ups- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Bench press- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Cable flys- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Lat pulldowns- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Barbell rows- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Cable rows- (3-4) x (12-15)
Day 3- Arms
- Tricep pushdowns supersetted cable overhead extensions- 4 x (15-25)
- Hammer curls supersetted with skull crushers- 4 x (15-25)
- EZ Bar curl 21s x (4-6 sets) supersetted with EZ bar overhead extension- 4 x (15-25)
- Dips- 4 x (15-25)
Day 4- Shoulders
- Dumbbell shoulder press- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Lateral raises- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Front raises- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Upright rows- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Shrugs- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Rear delt flys- (3-4) x (12-15)
Day 5- Chest and Back 2
- Push-ups supersetted with pull-ups- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Dumbbell Bench press- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Incline Dumbbell Bench press- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Dumbbell flys- (3-4) x (12-15)
- V Bar Lat Pulldowns- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Lat pushdowns- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Dumbbell rows- (3-4) x (12-15)
At the end of each of his training sessions, Alan used to run for 10 minutes which provided his body a cardio cooldown. At times he also relied on HIIT to burn off excess fat from his frame.
Alan Ritchson’s workout routine consisted of both compound and isolation lifts. Usually, he performed the first two exercises of his training program with heavy weights, lower reps, and longer rest periods. This approach assisted him in building up muscle density.
On the contrary, the last exercise of his workout routine usually consisted of performing higher reps with light-moderate weights and taking short rest periods between the sets. This training approach gave his muscles a decent pump.
Alan Ritchson also incorporated certain intensity techniques into his training program to gain the most out of it. He often relied on performing supersets for training certain muscle groups. He even stated,
“With supersets on cables, dumbbells, barbells, we’re confusing the muscles as much as possible.”
Alan has always been a big fan of performing bodyweight movements like parallel bar dips, pull-ups, push-ups, etc. Even when he was training for Jack Reacher, he used to perform a few bodyweight movements at the end of his workouts.
By combining all these training approaches, Alan Ritchson was able to put on around 30-35 lbs on his frame in just 8 months.
At present, the training program of Alan Ritchson is more focused on health and longevity. He is not a very big fan of strength training and prefers to do high-volume training with lower weights.
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Alan Ritchson’s Diet Plan
Apart from training intensely, Alan also had to feed his body well to get the most out of his training sessions. To gain a decent amount of muscle mass, his diet plan required him to eat like a horse.
Even though Alan’s genetics are blessed enough to let him size up quite easily, he ensured to track his everyday caloric intake to gain lean muscle mass. He used to consume 4500 calories every day along with 300 grams of protein.
To be in a caloric surplus, Alan had to eat every few hours. But he made sure that all his calories are coming from nutritious and healthy whole food items. Alan Ritchson’s diet plan consisted of rice, chicken, eggs, turkey, fish, veggies, and smoothies.
Alan followed a high protein, medium fat, and low carb diet plan. Alan Ritchson’s meal plan consisted of 7 meals a day. His meal plan for the day looked something like the following:-
Meal 1- Breakfast
- Chicken sausage
- Avocado toast
- Scrambled eggs
Meal 2- Snacks
- Protein smoothie
Meal 3- Lunch
- Rice
- Broccoli
- Grilled chicken breast
Meal 4- Second Lunch
- Rice
- Asparagus
- Grilled chicken breast
Meal 5- Evening Snacks
- Protein smoothie
Meal 6- Second Snack
- Chicken salad
Meal 7- Dinner
- Rice
- Sauteed vegetables
- Smoked salmon
Alan Ritchson follows the 80/20 rule for keeping himself fit and in great shape. This means that 80% of the time he eats clean. However, for the remaining 20%, he likes to have some sort of cheat meal. He even claims,
“I give myself permission 20% of the time to eat whatever I want.”
But after having his cheat meals, Alan always makes it a point to burn off the bad calories through his intense training sessions. That is how Alan maintains his lean and muscular physique year-round.
However, certain food items have no place in Alan’s diet chart. Some of them include dairy products, refined sugar, processed carbs, alcohol & artificial additives.
Alan Ritchson’s Supplements
Whether it was his training or his diet plan, Alan Ritchson made sure to give in his one hundred percent to build his monstrous physique for Jack Reacher. Along with eating clean, he also incorporated a few supplements into his diet plan, to make it more wholesome and nutritious.
Alan Ritchson’s supplements stack included those supplements that can enhance his strength levels, promote muscle recovery and growth, and can fetch his body good calories. To serve that purpose, he relied on the following:-
- Whey protein powder
- Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA)
- Creatine
- Multivitamin
However, Alan never over-relied on the above-mentioned supplements. A major share of his everyday nutrition came from eating whole food items.
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Final Words
So that was all about Alan Ritchson’s workout routine and diet plan. But to build a muscular and aesthetic physique like Alan’s, you would also have to be patient with the process.
Hard work happens to be the key to building a top-class physique. And no matter how perfect your exercise routine and nutrition plan is, your body won’t transform overnight. However, if you stay consistent with the process, gradually you would surely get the results that you always wanted to have.
If you intend to follow Alan Ritchson’s training routine and diet plan, make certain modifications to it to suit your training goals and experience. That way you would be able to gain the most out of it.
