Hugh Jackman made a name for himself when he took on the role of Logan a.k.a. Wolverine in the 1999 film X-Men. Since then, fans have associated him with the popular superhero. In preparing for his Wolverine films, he had to work hard in the gym so he could give justice to his role. Do you have any idea how tough the Hugh Jackman workout is?
What was impressive in the training program that Jackman took was that he was in his 40s when he started to work out like a madman. It was in 2008 when Jackman began to work out a lot in preparation for the 2009 flick X-Men Origins: Wolverine and by the time he was done with the movie “The Wolverine” in 2013, he was so big and muscular that he could give younger bodybuilders a run for their money.
The workout routine that Hugh Jackman followed ran for only four weeks, as he had just finished filming the movie “Les Miserables” before he reported to the filming of “The Wolverine.” According to his training, the training program’s goals were to increase his size and strength, while maintaining body fat to a minimum.
While Jackman did a variety of exercises, he had four main lifts—barbell bench press, deadlift, back squat, and weighted pull-ups.
Below is Hugh Jackman routine:
| Workout Options | Repetition |
|---|---|
Week 1 | |
Day One | |
| Barbell Bench Press | 20 |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 40 |
| Behind the Neck Press | 40 |
| Cuban Press | 30 |
| Shoulder Circuit consisting of lateral Raise | 4 Rounds |
| Front Raise | 4 Rounds |
| Overhead Press | 4 Rounds |
| Rear Flyes | 4 Rounds |
Day Two | |
| Barbell Squat | 20 |
| Front Squat | 20 |
| Single Leg Press | 20 |
| Calf Raise | 10 |
| Hanging Leg Raises | 10 |
| Ab Wheel Roll-Outs | 10 |
Day Three | |
| Weighted Pull-Ups | 20 |
| Dumbbell Single Arm Rows | 20 |
| Bodyweight Rows | 20 |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 20 |
Day Four | |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 20 |
| Incline-Drop Dumbbell Bench Press | 20 |
| High to Low Cable Flyes | 20 |
| Narrow Grip Bench Press | 20 |
Day Five | |
| Deadlifts | 20 |
| Romanian Deadlift | 48 |
| Zercher Squat | 20 |
| Weighted Incline Sit-Up | 20 |
| Barbell Landmine | 20 |
Weeks 2 to 3 | |
| Same as Week 1, only increase weights | Week 1 |
Week 4 | |
| Same as Week 1, only increase repetition with lighter weights | Week 1 |
Week 1
In the first day of the week, start with warm-up exercises like foam roll and dynamic stretch. Then he would do four sets of five repetitions of barbell bench press, giving yourself 2 and a half minutes of rest in between sets.
The next exercise is dumbbell shoulder press, with four sets of 10 repetitions and 1 minute rest in between. He then performs four sets of behind the neck press and three sets of Cuban press. Jackman proceeds with four rounds of shoulder circuit consisting of lateral raise, front raise, overhead press and rear flyes.
On the second day, Jackman would do four sets of 5 reps of barbell squat. He continues with four sets of front squat and four sets of single leg press. A superset that includes calf raise, hanging leg raises, and ab wheel roll-outs ends the workout.
On the third day, Jackman would do weighted pull-ups of four sets and 5 repetitions. He also performs dumbbell single arm rows, bodyweight rows, and incline dumbbell curl.
By Day 4, Jackman would four sets of incline dumbbell bench press, then drop a bit further for four sets of incline-drop dumbbell bench press. The workout continues with high to low cable flyes and ends with four sets of narrow grip bench press.
Day 5 sees Jackman doing deadlifts (four sets of 5 repetitions), Romanian deadlift (four sets of 12 reps), Zercher squat, weighted incline sit-up, and barbell landmine.
As you may have noticed, all the exercises that Jackman did in the first week called for 5 repetitions per set. In the following weeks the number of repetitions would shrink to four and three, before increasing to 10 in the last week.
Weeks 2-3
Jackman would basically do the same exercises on the second week, but this time increasing the weights. By the second week, the weights that he would have to deal with are from 65 to 85 percent of his one-rep max. On the third week, the weight that Jackman would be lifting would weights are 70 to 90 percent of his working one-rep max.
For instance, a barbell bench press calling for Jackman to do a single rep max of 225 pounds would require him to do the same exercise on the second week with an adjusted weight of 146 pounds. This is up from the 135 pounds of barbell that he lifted on the first week. He will then have to do the same exercise lifting a barbell that weighs 157 pounds on the third week.
While the weights become heavy on weeks 2 and 3, the repetitions are reduced to four and three, respectively.
Week 4
However, things change on the fourth week. Instead of increasing the weights, the workout calls for lighter weights. Going back to our example, Jackman will now have to deal with a barbell that weighs 40 percent of his one-rep max of 225. So for the barbell bench press, Jackman would have to lift only a 90 pound barbell. However, the catch is that he has to increase his repetitions to 10.
While he worked hard in the gym, Jackman also watched what he ate. His trainer instructed him to eat lots of carbs on weight training days, and go low-carbs on rest days (usually Saturday and Sunday).
This is basically the Hugh Jackman workout that helped the Australian actor prepare for his role as Wolverine. As you can see, Jackman put himself to the limit and the results were very satisfactory as he was able to develop his body at the advanced age of 44.