Actor Joe Manganiello is one of the most physically imposing men in Hollywood. At 6’5 and 230 pounds, Manganiello has the size to compete in the NBA and NFL. He has the physical tools to match up with any leading man in the big and small screens, with a chest measuring 47 inches and massive arms measuring 18 inches.
It’s not surprising that a lot of women go gaga over Manganiello’s body. But the actor, who has Italian, Armenian, and Australian blood running in his veins, wasn’t this sexy before he took on the role of a werewolf in the hit TV series True Blood. In fact he had 18 percent body fat before the said series. So he worked hard in the gym, working 12 times a week, just to have a more defined body.
The Werewolf workout that Manganiello did in preparation for his role in True Blood was designed for six weeks. It was detailed in Manganiello’s book “Evolution.” Manganiello would work out his back and chest on Monday and Thursday and focus on his legs and triceps on Tuesday and Friday. The shoulders and biceps are the focus during Wednesday and Saturday.
Manganiello would usually gave himself a rest of 1 minute after finishing a set, then repeat the said set three more times.
Chest and Back
The workouts for Monday and Thursday are aimed at strengthening his back and building a bigger chest. He starts with incline barbell bench press, doing 15 repetitions. He then does the pronated wide-grip pullup with repetitions ranging from 4 to 10.
After a minute of rest, Manganiello proceeds to do four sets of cable chest flye with 12 to 15 repetitions. This is an exercise specifically targets the muscles in the shoulders, triceps, and chest.
Resting for a minute, Manganiello then drops to the floor to complete four sets of 15 repetitions of pushups. He continues with four sets of neutral narrow-grip low row, with 12-15 repetitions.
Then Manganiello grabs a pair of dumbbells for four sets of dumbbell bench press, with 12 reps for each set. After a minute of rest, he performs four sets of pronated wide-grip bentover barbell rows with 10 reps for each set.
Manganiello finishes his workout with low to medium intensity cardio for 20 minutes.
Legs and Triceps
Tuesdays and Thursdays are reserved for working out the legs and triceps. After warming up, Manganiello performs five sets of back squat using a barbell and squat rack. He will have to complete 10 reps for each set before resting for a minute.
The next exercise is the plyometric jump squat. Five sets are required for this exercise, with each set having 10 repetitions. After this, he performs five sets of squats, with 10 reps for each set.
Manganiello then proceeds with the triangle pushup consisting of 15 reps for each set. After completing five sets, he rests for a minute.
Next up is the single leg curl, with five sets consisting of 12 repetitions for each leg. He then does five sets of the dumbbell lunge, with 12 reps for each leg. After a one minute rest, he performs three sets of the v-bar triceps extension with 10 reps per set.
The next exercise is high box jump, which needs to be repeated 15 times per set. Five sets are needed for this exercise. After completing the five sets of high box jump, Manganiello performs five sets of the bench dip. Each set should have 15 repetitions.
The last two exercises are the single leg bench bridge, with 15 reps for each leg and 5 sets in total, and burpees which should be completed in five sets of 15 repetitions.
Shoulders and Biceps
For Wednesdays and Thursdays, Manganiello’s workout begins with an hour of cardiovascular exercise using mainly an elliptical machine. He then does three to five sets of military press, with eight reps per set.
After a minute of rest, he does three to five sets of lateral dumbbell raises. Each set should have eight repetitions. He then proceeds to do three to four sets of triceps press downs and three to four sets of cable flyes. After a minute of rest, he does three to four sets of diamond push-ups, three to four sets of dips. Each exercise should be repeated eight times per set.
The workout continues with three sets of plank pushups with 15 or more repetitions, and three to four sets of abs crunches consisting of 25 or more repetitions.
Sundays are usually reserved for rest.
With such a grueling workout schedule it is not surprising that Manganiello quickly developed a body that left a lot of women giggling. The actor’s dedication and work ethic helped a lot in sculpting one of the most muscular bodies in all of Hollywood.