Curious about what training routine Reacher star Alan Ritchson used to build his amazing physique? We’ll share some of his training techniques with you right now!
Alan Ritchson explains how he combined his favorite exercises into an AMRAP work out that can be done virtually anywhere and at any time!
Forget about Hemsworth, Wahlberg, or Dwayne Johnson’s workout, we have a new player entering the action hero arena.
Reacher came out on Amazon Prime Video a while ago, so if you haven’t seen it already, you should definitely watch it. It’s based on the bestselling books by the author Lee Child, the series that follow a former US military police officer turned into a drifter called Jack Reacher that finds himself caught up in quite the deadly conspiracy.
However, before Reacher premiered, we caught up with the show’s star to find out exactly how he got so jacked to play Jack, pun intended.
Considering the interview he gave to Men’s Health, Ritchson explained how he had about 8 months to prepare for the role, so he actually built a whole gym in his house, and began lifting weights while also eating a lot of calories. He says: “It was a full time job trying to eat enough to bulk up for this role.”
Even more so before that, Ritchson says that only five sample bodyweight exercises, which he’s been using for practically decades, provided the necessary foundation for the “Reacher physique”. Luckily for you, we have them listed below, as well as a trainer’s take on them and a useful 30 minute AMRAP that should have you prepared to get ripped just like Reacher.
“These five are the core foundation for my routine, and it’s been that way for decades and they’ve served me well,” says Ritchson. “[With these exercises] you can still achieve hypertrophy and put on size and you’re doing it in a safe and comfortable way.”
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Dips
Here’s how to do them, you start off by grabbing the bars of a dip station with your palms facing inward with your arms straight, then continue by slowly lowering yourself until your elbows are at the right angles, making sure that they stay tucked against your body and don’t flare out. Then push yourself up to the top and repeat.
What Ritchson has to say about this: “I’ve done, I don’t know, a billion dips in my day. It’s one of my primary exercises, and I do them almost every workout, so I’ll start or finish off with some dips. I just love what they can do for a physique.”
What a trainer has to say about this: “Rivalling the bench press for chest-building prowess, dips work the triceps hard too. Raise your legs in front of your body throughout for a core building bonus.”
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Pull Ups
Here’s how to do them: start off by grabbing the bar above you with your palms facing away from you with your arms fully extended. Your hands should be around a shoulder width apart.
Continue by squeezing your shoulder blades together, then exhale and drive your elbows toward your hips to bring your chin above the bar, slowly lower under control back to the starting positions.
What Ritchson has to say about this: “If I do 25 pull ups, my abs are tight at the end of it… so I kind of kill two birds with one stone.”
What a trainer has to say about this: “Building the muscles of your upper back and biceps while challenging your grip and core – a seriously functional movement and sign of upper-body strength.”
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Sprints
How to do them: While maintaining maximum speed, keep your torso upright and your shoulders back, while at the same time, driving off hard from the middle of your foot on each.
Make sure that your breathing is rhythmic and controlled to avoid a potential burn out. Remember: in through the nose and out through the mouth. Cover around 80km while keeping pace until you cross the line.
What Ritchson has to say about this: “A lot of dudes they want to skip on the cardio but man you got to exercise the heart just as much as the other muscles.”
What a trainer has to say about this: “Burning calories, building stamina and working the muscles of the legs without necessarily adding size, sprints are a great option for building a more athletic build.”
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Sit ups
Here’s how to do them: Start off by lying on the floor with your knees bent and your hands lightly touching your head, while engaging your core, lift your upper body until your chest almost comes into contact with your knees.
Finish off by returning to the starting position and repeat until done.
What a trainer has to say about this: “An abdominal-building classic. To focus on the abs and avoid overworking the hip flexors, push your lower back into the ground and avoid sitting up all of the way to keep the tension on your core.”
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Push ups
Here’s how to do them:
Start off in a plank position, then slowly lower your chest toward the floor all the while ensuring your abs are tight and your spine is in neutral position. Then continue by slowly pushing yourself back up to the start position, that would be one rep.
What a trainer has to say about this: “Try performing these after dips for what is known as a ‘mechanical drop-set’. It’ll allow you to work the same muscles, but from a slightly ‘easier’ angle, so you can keep repping out and pump up your chest, triceps and shoulders.”
Reacher’s 30-minute AMRAP workout
So are you finally ready to work out like the legendary Reacher? Try to complete as many rounds of the following circuit as possible in 30 minutes or however long you have.
That way, if you find yourself in a situation where you have to fend off against 5 guys in the prison brawl, you that you will end up victorious.
Ritchson says: “For 20 years all I’ve ever done is this routine where I will run to whatever park is near me and I do press-ups, pull-ups, dips and sit-ups and then I sprint in between and then I run home.”
Pull-ups x5
Dips x10
Press-ups x15
Sit-ups x20
200m sprint
Again do this circuit for as many rounds as you can in 30 minutes !
