If you are reading this, Alan Ritchson’s muscular and attractive body has likely inspired you, and you want to know how he trains and what he eats. Right? Well, you’re not the only person who fits that description.
Alan’s body in Jack Reacher made him the new favorite of people who like to work out. After all, everything about his body was perfect. It was big, strong, muscular, and beautiful as hell. So how did he build up such a great body? The Internet has very little information about it, but we tried to find his workout plan and diet as much as possible. This post will tell you everything you need to know about it.
So, without further ado, let’s find out what Alan Ritchson does to work out and how he eats.
Alan Ritchson’s Workout principles
Alan Ritchson had to look big and strong when he was chosen to play the famous character Jack Reacher on screen. He had to change everything about his body to look the part. Alan was about 205 pounds and 6 feet 4 inches tall before he started training for Reacher.
So, Alan Ritchson’s plan for working out was meant to make him big and strong. Alan used a well-planned weight training program to help him reach his goal. Alan also had enough cardio to burn off extra fat as part of his workout routine to look good without his shirt on.
Alan worked hard at his workouts, and it paid off. In just eight months, he gained about 30 pounds of muscle mass.
Alan Ritchson’s Workout Routine
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Most of Alan Ritchson’s workouts consisted of lifting weights and doing cardio. The first helped him gain weight, while the second helped him stay slim and attractive.
Alan used to be thin and athletic before he put on weight to play Jack Reacher on screen. His life had always included working out. He used to do bodyweight exercises like pushups, pullups, dips, burpees, free squats, sit-ups, etc., to keep his body in good shape.
But just doing bodyweight exercises wasn’t enough to make him gain muscle mass. So, he followed a well-planned workout plan that included intense weight training sessions. He said, “I put together a small gym at home and lift weights 5 days a week.”
We are sure that Alan Ritchson’s workout split will make you happy. It looked a little bit like this:
Day 1: Legs and Feet
- Deadlifts replaced with dumbbell sumo squats: 3–4 reps, 12–15 reps.
- Hack squats replaced with walking lunges: 3–4 reps, 12–15 reps (12-15)
- Stiff leg deadlift followed by a different kind of squat- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Leg curls to leg extensions—(3–4) x (12-15)
Day 2: Back and Chest
- Pushups replaced by pull-ups—(3-4) x (12-15)
- Bench press: 3–4 reps (12-15)
- Cable flys- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Lat pulldowns: 3–4 sets (12-15)
- Barbell rows: (3-4) reps (12-15)
Day 3: Arms
- Superset tricep pushdowns and overhead cable extensions four times (15-25)
- Instead of hammer curls, I did skull crushers four times (15-25)
- EZ Bar curls 21s x (4-6 sets) replaced with an EZ bar overhead extension (15-25)
- Dips- 4 x (15-25)
Day Four: Shoulders
- Shoulder press with dumbbells: 3–4 times (12-15)
- Lateral raises- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Front raises- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Rows that stand up: (3–4) x (12-15)
- Shrugs- (3-4) x (12-15)
- Rear delt flys- (3-4) x (12-15)
Day 5: Back and Chest
- Pullups took the place of pushups—(3-4) x (12-15)
- Bench press with dumbbells: 3–4 times (12-15)
- Inclined dumbbell bench press: (3–4) x (12-15)
- Dumbbell flys- (3-4) x (12-15)
- V Bar Lat Pulldowns- (3-4) x (12-15) (12-15)
- Lat pushdowns—3–4 times (12-15)
- Rows with dumbbells: (3–4) x (12-15)
Alan used to run for 10 minutes at the end of each training session. This gave his heart and lungs a chance to cool down. He also sometimes used HIIT to get rid of extra fat on his body. Alan Ritchson’s training program is now more about health and living. He doesn’t like strength training much and would do more reps with lighter weights.
Alan Ritchson’s Diet Plan
Alan had to train hard and eat well to get the most out of his workouts. His diet plan told him to eat like a horse to gain enough muscle mass. Even though Alan’s genes make it easy for him to get bigger, he kept track of how many calories he ate daily to gain lean muscle mass. He used to eat 4500 calories and 300 grams of protein every day.
Alan had to eat every few hours to be in a caloric surplus. But he made sure that all of his calories come from whole foods that are healthy and full of nutrients. Alan Ritchson ate rice, chicken, eggs, turkey, fish, vegetables, and smoothies as part of his diet plan.
Alan ate a diet high in protein, medium in fat, and low in carbs. Alan Ritchson ate seven meals a day as part of his plan. His plan for the day’s meals was something like this:
Breakfast
- Chicken sausage
- Avocado toast
- Scrambled eggs
Snacks
- Smoothie with protein
Lunch
- Rice
- Broccoli chicken breast grilled.
Evening Snacks
- Smoothie with protein
- Meal Snack in 6 Seconds
- Chicken salad
Dinner
- Rice
- Sauteed vegetables
- Smoked salmon
Conclusion
So, that’s everything you need to know about Alan Ritchson’s workouts & diet. But to build a body like Alan’s that is both muscular and attractive, you must be patient. To get a great body, you must put in a lot of hard work. No matter how well you work out and eat, your body won’t change overnight, no matter how good they are. But if you stick with the process, you’ll get the results you’ve always wanted.
If you want to follow Alan Ritchson’s workout and diet plan, you should make changes to fit your training goals and experience level. That way, you could get the most out of it.
