Ryan Reynolds has always been a fun-loving, good-looking guy.
But if you compare his early days in Hollywood to his more recent outing as everyone's favorite
foulmouthed superhero, you might notice that he hasn't always had the beefed-up physique
that looks so good in red spandex.
How did this former child actor turn his body from lean to mean?
Be warned: there aren't any tricks — just time, energy, and dedication.
It all began with Blade
Reynolds' big comic book movie breakthrough came over a decade ago, when he played vampire
hunter Hannibal King in the 2004 film Blade: Trinity.
"The trainer before we started the film wanted to pack on about ten pounds on me and muscle
up"
In the three months before filming began, Reynolds was whipped into good enough shape
to occupy space in a superhero flick, if not headline one himself.
The secret?
Long workouts, heavy weights, and zero cardio — because believe it or not, before he packed
on the muscle to play this role, Ryan Reynolds was kind of a noodle.
Every day is a gym day
Wanna be a superhero?
Prepare not to slack off… ever.
"Mmmmmaximum effort!"
Some of the routines Reynolds has to follow border on the sadistic.
For instance, when he first had to bulk up for Green Lantern, the actor worked out seven
days a week, 90 minutes a day, and never did the same workout twice — for six straight
months.
Even his rest days just involved a less intense type of exercise, like Pilates.
But don't worry; for those of us who aren't putting our abs on display for an audience
of millions, 20 minutes of moderate exercise daily and three gym sessions per week will
be more than adequate to keep you fit.
He eats all of the food
When it comes to playing Deadpool, the first time Reynolds suited up wasn't in his own
stand-alone film — it was in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a regrettable outing that
would eventually become the butt of Deadpool's best marketing jokes.
"But, the movie, that was a career low for me, you understand."
But back then, the actor wasn't going to pass up the chance to bring Wade Wilson to life
onscreen, and he had to bulk up fast — which meant consuming enormous amounts of food.
Reynolds said that he had to eat live children in order to put on so much muscle in so little
time — but he was kidding, of course.
Probably.
He focuses on nutrition
The theme of any good superhero diet?
Protein, protein, and protein — and if you're Ryan Reynolds, plenty of carbs, too.
The actor says, "I really don't believe in that no-carb stuff.
It's probably not good for you — and it makes you pretty cranky."
No amount of exercise will make up for poor nutrition.
Eating the right foods in the right amounts — and at the right times, if you're being
really intense about it — is key to building a physique like this one.
That said, even superheroes get the occasional cheat day to indulge in some not-so-healthy
foods like...
"It's a chimichanga"
But actually, Reynolds prefers to gorge on pizza when he doesn't have to look ripped
onscreen.
He keeps it tight
Ryan Reynolds might shed some muscle or change up his workout between superhero flicks, but
he's basically been in battle-ready shape for the past fifteen years — which makes
it easy to ramp things back up when he needs to slide into a spandex suit.
According to his longtime trainer Bobby Strom, "For [action films] he was 200 pounds and
8 percent body fat.
For rom-coms, he's about 180 and 11 percent body fat."
But even then, Reynolds is a gym regular; says Strom, "When he does a comedy, he probably
goes to the gym to do cable work every other day."
He sets challenging goals
Reynolds has said that getting in shape for movie roles left him astonished at what could
be achieved with a solid workout regimen — and now, he keeps himself motivated by giving
himself new goals to strive for.
Of course, for someone as fit as Reynolds, those goals have to be pretty intense.
Among the items already crossed off his bucket list is running the New York City marathon
in under four hours.
Next up?
He wants to climb Machu Picchu.
He has fun with it Ultimately, Ryan Reynolds approaches fitness
the same way he approaches… well, everything: by not taking himself too seriously.
Sometimes that means finding motivation in unusual places — like a friendly rivalry
with his Deadpool 2 co-star Josh Brolin, who got even more muscled up than Reynolds to
play the character Cable.
But the actor also knows his limits, and isn't afraid to point out when another superhero
star has surpassed him in physical achievement.
When asked how his own regimen stacked up against Hugh Jackman's, who would wake up
at two o'clock in the morning in order to eat enough to fuel his Wolverine workouts,
Reynolds said, "Hugh Jackman has a dedication to his craft that I'm afraid I don't share.
If I'm up at 2 in the morning, it's because something has gone terribly wrong."
That laid-back attitude keeps the actor sane, and it doesn't hurt that it's totally in character.
"Superhero landing!
You know, that's really hard on your knees.Totally impractical they all do it."
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