Hugh Jackman's Workout Plan as Wolverine in Xmen Legends

When Hugh Jackman was getting ready for his famous role, Wolverine, he was in great shape, but decided he needed to add on some muscle. It was also a situation where he needed to stay lean even as he was gaining more muscle. It wouldn't have been appropriate for Hugh to add bulk to his body, since Wolverine was suppose to be ripped (as most of the comic book character are).

Hugh Jackman's Workout Routine was made up of two phases. Tempo Phase for Mass was the first part, and then the second became the Strength Training Phase.

The "Gain Muscle" Phase

To force Hugh Jackman's muscles to adapt and increase, his trainer began with a complete change in the tempo as he was lifting weights. The change involved the weights being lifted up for 3 seconds and then down for one second. In the beginning this definitely put a limit on the amount of weight to be lifted, but as he became use to it, lean mass began to develop.

The Strength Training Phase

This phase has no tempo rules and focus is entirely on lifting weight as heavy as he could handle. It became a challenge to see just how much he was able to life. The payoff from doing the previous phase of holding made the weights seem a lot lighter. Before the filming started, Hugh was actually able to be benching for 315 reps.

He proceeded to alternate between these two phases for some 5 months.

Here is How He Stayed Lean During His Training...

He was only lifting once per week during the last week of each phase, and focusing totally on interval cardio. The intensity of these workouts was planned to help burn off any amount of fat he might have put on during each of the 6 week phases.

Every Friday Was Bootcamp

Because Wolverine has a sleek, strong look, Hugh couldn't follow the regular body builder routine or workouts as the goal was not to have a bulky look. So each Friday he would participate in an hour and a half of boot camp. Boot camp consisted of come fairly brutal body weight, and then interval style of training which boosted his metabolism and kept him looking lean while building strength.

Needless to say, Hugh Jackman ended up looking totally buff in his role as Wolverine. Remember, he did it all by increasing muscles at a slowed down rate, and stayed completely lean the entire time. The biggest mistake most people make is choosing a bodybuilding approach to increasing muscle - it just is not healthy, or effective, when you end up gaining additional fat along with the muscle. Remember to utilize a program like Hugh Jackman and get better results.

While Hugh Jackman's Workout proved to be effective, my opinion is that it had room for improvement...