Fight Club is the 1999 film that turned Brad Pitt into an action star. If before he was perceived more as a romantic actor (“Legends of the Fall,” “Meet Joe Black,” “Interview with the Vampire”), then the role of Tyler Durden finally opened the way to blockbusters.
Preparing for filming in Fight Club required serious training from Brad Pitt - the main task was to dry out the muscles and create the most prominent abs. In addition, he was involved in boxing, taekwondo and wrestling. The training program and diet are in the material below.
Muscles for "Fight Club"
During the filming of Fight Club, Brad Pitt weighed 72 kg with a height of 182 cm, and the percentage of subcutaneous fat (bodyfat) was only 5-6%. It is important that, according to Russian doctors, this percentage of fat characterizes extreme exhaustion of the body.
It is believed that in order to look muscular, mass work is necessary. In fact, this is not entirely true - it is not so much the volume of muscles that is important, but rather their outline and relief, achieved by a low percentage of subcutaneous fat.
General information
Brad Pitt (Brad Pitt) USA Born: December 18, 1963 Height: 180.5 cm Weight: 79 kg *(in Fight Club - 74 kg)
Brad Pitt has always tried to be a sports guy. When Brad was a student, he actively participated in various competitions : swimming, tennis, and even golf. William Bradley Pitt did all this to keep his body in good shape. Brad Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. From childhood he was taught self-discipline very strictly. After school, William entered the University of Missouri, from which he successfully graduated with a degree in journalism and advertising . Then he went to Hollywood to start his acting career. After changing his name to a shorter and more sonorous “Brad Pitt” , he began auditioning for his first roles. However, he did not give up daily sports, but on the contrary, he constantly increased the load. Thanks to his attractiveness, Brad received a small role in the famous television series Dallas. And this work became his serious step towards success. After this success, there were roles in the films “Thelma and Louise”, “Parallel World”, “Legends of the Fall”, “Interview with the Vampire”, “12 Monkeys”, for which he received an Oscar nomination. In 1999, Pitt played one of his most popular roles in the film based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel Fight Club. After the film was released, fans spent a long time discussing Brad Pitt's gorgeous, pumped-up chest. And the actor himself said in numerous interviews that he specially selected a training program for the film, which he followed daily.
Perfect abs
Looking at photographs of Brad from the early nineties - “Thelma and Louise” (1991, Thelma and Louise), “The Service” (1994, The Favor) it is easy to notice that he is naturally quite thin, and it is difficult for him to gain weight and muscle - this type body type is called ectomorph.
In an interview, Brad mentioned that in preparation for filming Thelma and Louise, he did not adhere to a special nutrition plan, and his workouts were aimed primarily at his abs. In general, this once again proves that the secret to a flat stomach is genetics and the right diet.
Nutrition
Like many Hollywood stars, Brad Pitt followed a high-protein diet. Meals should be 6 times a day . The basis of the diet should be : meat, eggs and dairy products. For sports products, the actor consumed protein shakes and protein bars. It is necessary to minimize the consumption of carbohydrates. It is worth increasing the consumption of fiber, vegetables and whole grain cereals - rice, oatmeal, buckwheat and others. Carbohydrates should be consumed in very small portions. Brad Pitt Menu For breakfast: eat 6 egg whites, 75 g of oatmeal with raisins, a protein shake. Morning cereal: canned tuna with whole grain pita bread. For lunch: 2 chicken breasts, 75-100 g brown rice or green vegetables. Lunch cereal: protein bar or protein shake and one banana. Post-workout: You can have one protein shake with a banana. For dinner: grilled fish or chicken, side dish - brown rice, salad, green vegetables. Evening dry breakfast: cottage cheese or casein shake.
Find out more about proper nutrition:
- Nutrition during training
- Breakfast of the champion
- Best Foods for Weight Loss
Training for "Fight Club"
To prepare for the filming of Fight Club, Brad trained extremely intensively for several months: four days a week strength training, two days of cardio and one day of rest. Plus, he followed a strict diet.
Each exercise was performed in three sets with 60 seconds between sets using the drop set technique. Additionally, it is important to note that the last exercise in the rep was performed to failure, which is critical for muscle growth.
Training for a week
Monday. The emphasis of the classes is aimed at pumping the chest muscles:
- Push-ups – 3 sets of 25 reps.
- Bench press - 25 repetitions with a working weight of 75 kg, 15 times with a working weight of 90 kg, 8 times with a working weight of 100 kg.
- Seated press – 15 times with a working weight of 40 kg, 15 times with a working weight of 45 kg, 15 times with a working weight of 60 kg.
- Incline bench press – 15 times with a working weight of 40 kg, 15 times with a working weight of 45 kg, 15 times with a working weight of 60 kg.
- Reduction and extension of arms in the simulator - 15 times with a working weight of 30 kg, 15 times with a working weight of 35 kg, 15 times with a working weight of 40 kg.
Brad Pitt
Tuesday. The emphasis of the classes is aimed at pumping the back muscles:
- Pull-ups – 3 sets to failure.
- Block rows to the belt in a sitting position - 3 sets of 15 times with a working weight of 30/45/60 kg.
- Vertical pull-down – 3 sets of 15 reps with a working weight of 60/70/75 kg.
- T-bar rows – 3 sets of 15 reps with a working weight of 35/40/50 kg.
Wednesday. The emphasis of the classes is aimed at pumping up the shoulders:
- Seated dumbbell press – 3 sets of 15 reps with a working weight of 25 kg.
- Lateral arm raises – 3 sets of 15 reps with 15 kg dumbbells.
- Raising arms in front of the body - 3 sets of 15 times with dumbbells 11 kg.
Brad Pitt with glasses
Thursday. The classes are aimed at pumping up your hands:
- Curling arms using a Scott bench – 3 sets of 15 reps with a working weight of 27/36/45 kg.
- Bending arms on a block using an EZ bar – 3 sets of 15 times with a working weight of 22/30/36 kg.
- Raising your arms in the “hammer” position – 3 sets of 15 times with dumbbells 13/20/25 kg.
- Pumping the triceps with push-ups on a bench - 3 sets of 15 times with a working weight of 30/40/45 kg.
Friday. Cardio: Run for an hour on an aerobic running machine with your maximum heart rate between 80 and 90%.
Saturday. Cardio: Run for an hour on an aerobic running machine with your maximum heart rate between 80 and 90%.
Sunday. Rest.
Brad Pitt's workout and diet for filming Troy
To play the mythical demigod warrior Achilles in the film Troy, the actor needed to completely get rid of excess fat and gain at least 5 kg of muscle mass. Brad Pitt turned to his previously proven training program for the filming of “Fight Club.” Tyler Durden appears on the screen only with a naked torso, while the warrior Achilles, paying tribute to the fashion of Ancient Greece, is eager to fight, flashing a pair of naked muscular legs. That is why the training program has undergone such changes as reducing the number of repetitions to 10-12 and adding leg exercises. Achilles training required 3 to 5 sets of 8 to 15 repetitions of exercises to develop leg muscles. The actor did leg extensions on the machine, leg curls on the machine, leg raises on his toes in a sitting and standing position, as well as squats, which alternated weekly with leg presses. Being an ectomorph by nature, it was extremely difficult for Brad Pitt not only to build muscle mass, but also to maintain it later.
Brad Pitt achieved such a stunning athletic physique not only through training, but also thanks to a diet developed based on the standard pre-competition diet for bodybuilders with a lot of protein and low in carbohydrates and fats. An excellent source of protein for this type of training is lean beef and chicken. The actor's diet also included a large amount of greens (broccoli, lettuce, spinach) and important supplements such as multivitamins, thermogenics, whey protein and creatine monohydrate.
How to recreate the relief of Achilles yourself?
The perfectly sculpted torso of the demigod Achilles from Troy excites not only women’s minds, but also men’s – it’s hard not to want to have the same luxurious, muscular body. But desire alone is not enough. For example, it took Brad Pitt almost a year to do several hours a day of strength training, running, yoga and fencing. He quit smoking and strictly followed the prescribed diet. Daily hard work on his body, acting talent and natural charisma make Brad Pitt one of the most attractive men in the universe.
Sex with Angelina Jolie is the best exercise
The affair with Angelina Jolie, contrary to all forecasts, continues to this day. The couple is raising a common daughter, Shiloh, and three children adopted by the actress from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Angelina, unlike Jennifer, gives her friend maximum scope for action. If his ex-wife hated his passion for motorcycles and cursed when he saw Brad taking his beloved Ducati out of the garage, Jolie, on the contrary, encourages her chosen one’s passion for extreme sports. Recently, she, a professional pilot, even taught him how to fly a small plane. And on vacation, the two of them enjoy surfing the ocean waves and diving.
After settling with Angelina, Brad stopped visiting beauty salons and spas. Instead, the actor happily rides a motorcycle, cuts his hair short, wears leather jackets with scuffed boots and often hangs out in the company of his best friend George Clooney, thoroughly enjoying the life of a mature man.
Pitt calls healthy sex the main secret of his great shape today. “We try not to limit each other in this activity,” the actor, who once received a public reprimand for inappropriately loud behavior in the company of Miss Jolie in a Kenyan hotel room, modestly noted. “There is no better way to keep your body in good shape!”
Jennifer Aniston's set of fitness rules
And yet, his first and only legal wife, Jennifer Aniston, played the main role in instilling a healthy lifestyle in Brad Pitt. As you know, the Hollywood heartthrob in his youth had affairs with many beauties, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Juliette Lewis. However, his longest relationship was with the star of the television series “Friends”.
Aniston immediately after the wedding in 2000 took her husband at a tight rein. At her suggestion, Pitt immediately went on the strict Atkins diet, which severely limited carbohydrate intake in favor of an unlimited amount of protein and fat. Jennifer organized a series of sessions for him at spas and beauty salons, hired Brad a stylist and even a personal shopping specialist - people responsible for his hair, makeup and wardrobe.
Endless photo shoots and appearances of the star couple on the red carpet gave journalists plenty of reason to discuss either the actor’s new hair shade, his fashionable suit from the latest collection of a leading designer, or the shape of his eyebrows or a fresh manicure. The daily routine included procedures for hair removal, Botox injections, peeling and other cosmetic tricks that Aniston was obsessed with. During the five years that Brad spent next to Jennifer, his portrait did not disappear from the covers of the tabloids - the image of an exemplary metrosexual and one of the sexiest actors of our time was discussed much more often than his professional achievements.
Perhaps all this fuss around Pitt’s appearance was the reason for the cooling of relations in one of the most beautiful couples in Hollywood. Brad and Jen separated and filed for divorce in 2005. Immediately after this, Pitt began an affair with his partner in the film “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” Angelina Jolie. According to him, his new girlfriend turned his world upside down.
Pitt calls healthy sex the main secret of his great shape today. “We try not to limit each other in this activity,” the actor modestly noted.
“Angie is the first girl in my life who truly understood me,” admits the happy father of biological daughter Shiloh Nouvel and adopted Zahara, Maddox and Pax. “She allowed me to feel freedom - something that I had been missing all these years!”
