The Brad Pitt Fight Club workout and Exercise Guide

The Brad Pitt Fight Club workout is one of the most sought after workouts today. Fight club is one of those cult classic movies that still has a huge following, to this day – almost 20 years later. What is it about the movie that holds such appeal, especially to men and young men between the ages of 16 and 45? 

The movie and book have a romanticized appeal to them, the fit, no nonsense anarchistic portrayal of one of the main characters Tyler Durden, played by none other than Brad Pitt envelops a persona that most of us strive for. Someone who doesn’t care… someone who has had enough of society’s rules, and of the corporations that run our culture. Yet he is suave, smart, and extremely fit, he’s brash sardonic, yet understandable. Many of us yearn to be able to just leave it all behind, and live freely, the way we think we were meant to live without society’s constraints.

Although it may be impractical to ditch the 9 to 5, the mortgage and car payments, we can still definitely get as shredded as Pitt. This exercise guide, and meal plan will show you exactly how to get Brad’s shredded physique with this Brad Pitt Fight club exercise guide.

 

A not so typical diet – where it all starts

*If your wakeup time varies, adjust accordingly.

We’ve all heard the expression abs are made in the kitchen, this definitely holds true when trying to get down to an astounding 6% body fat, like Brad Pitt was in Fight Club. If your day starts with work, and you cannot get a workout in until the evening after work, try going to the gym in the morning.

 

• 6- 7 a.m. Pitt definitely stepped up his diet game for this movie. Think egg yolks, and oatmeal for breakfast.

 

• 10 a.m. – Midday protein shake (Check out this article for great protein shake ideas from a nutritionist at USC medical center to help spice those shakes up).

 

• 12 noon – For lunch, leafy greens with 2 chicken breasts, or 80 grams of brown rice. Or 80 grams of pasta with 2 chicken breasts. Alternatively, substitute the chicken with two cans of tuna, in water.

 

• A pre workout meal would consist of fat free yogurt or a banana, and a protein shake. We recommend going with the “shake options found here” formulated by a USC certified nutritionist. Add a banana to it if you’re on the move.

 

• A post workout would consist of another protein shake, or salad with shredded chicken.

 

• Dinner would consist of grilled fish or chicken, with a cup of brown rice, or pasta, and some healthy green vegetables on the side. Your choice if you want it grilled or fresh from the fridge.

 

• Finally for your final snack, find a food with slow release protein that will keep your body building muscle, even while you sleep. Some foods that contain casein in them are pretty much anything with dairy. Cheese, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, tuna, and butter. Check out this Casein protein powder.

 

*Remember diet is half of the battle to get down to an astonishing 6% body fat, which is what Pitt was rocking in this movie.

This was a typical day, but feel free to mix it up, just as long as you keep it under or around 2,000 calories depending on your BMI. Also get rid of the sugars, and processed foods! A man that is 6 foot, and weighs 220 lbs. can consume a bit more of the unhealthy stuff, but add those calories in where it counts. Add an extra chicken breast, or extra leafy greens for lunch. An extra shake during midday to quench the afternoon hunger pangs. Also going Keto is absolutely beneficial for getting a lean body, with the added benefit of not inducing hunger early, but like all diets, it’s not for everyone. However I have done the ketogenic diet for 2 months and have never looked or felt better.

 

The Exercise Routine:

Brad Pitt used an alternate muscle group targeting workout, meaning he would target a body part/group per day, so expect to do some sort of exercise daily, with only one rest day, but that is to be expected to achieve some fantastic results. For example you would start with arms, then chest, back, shoulders, and legs. Followed by a full cardio workout, and a light abs, and cardio workout on the final day. Here is the complete breakdown:

Note: Feel free to mix up the routines, but stick with the plan! If you know that your gym is busy for chest on Mondays (as usually is), mix it up with back, or shoulders, and do chest the following day. This is meant as a guide for you to follow, but it does not have to be in any particular order, although it is recommended to follow as closely as possible.

 

Keep in mind: Brad Pitt is about 5’11 and walks around at 185 lbs. This diet and exercise routine got him down to 155 lbs and an astounding 6% body fat. The weight recommendations are based on his physique, if you are shorter or are just beginning, feel free to adjust the weights accordingly. A good rule of thumb would be to subtract around 5% of the weight for every inch below 5’11.

Practice these exercises for your body and strength capacity. The goal however is to start relatively light but at high repetitions, then move up increasing the weights while decreasing the reps!

 

Day 1: Chest

 

Bench Press

Set 1 : 25 reps at 165 lbs

Set 2: 15 reps at 195 lbs

Set 3: 10 reps at max weight (225 lbs or higher if you can manage)

 

Nautilus Press:

Set 1: 15 reps at 80 lbs

Set 2: 12 reps at 100 lbs

Set 3: 210 reps at max weight or about (120lbs)

 

Incline Press:

Set 1: 15 reps at 80

Set 2: 12 reps at 100

Set 3: 10 reps at 125

 

Pec Dec:

Set 1: 15 reps at 60

Set 2: 12 reps at 75

Set 3: 10 reps at 90

Day 2: Back

Pullups:

Set 1: 20 pullups

Set 2: 15 pullups

Set 3: 10 pullups

 

Seated Rows:

Set 1: 15 reps at 75

Set 2: 12 reps at 80

Set 3: 10 reps at 90

 

Lat Pull-downs:

Set 1: 15 reps at 115 lbs

Set 2: 12 reps at 125 lbs

Set 3: 10 reps at 135 lbs

 

T-Bar Rows:

Set 1: 15 reps at 80 lbs

Set 2: 12 reps at 90 lbs

Set 3: 10 reps at 100 lbs

 

Day 3: Shoulders

 

Arnold Press:

Set 1: 15 reps at 35 lbs.

Set 2: 12 reps at 40 lbs

Set 3: 10 reps at 50 lbs

 

Laterals:

Set 1: 15 reps at 20 lbs

Set 2: 12 reps at 15 lbs

Set 3: 10 reps at 30 lbs

 

Front Raises:

Set 1: 15 reps at 15 lbs

Set 2: 12 reps at 20 lbs

Set 3: 10 reps at 25 lbs

 

*Shoulder day is probably the second most important day after cardio. If you notice Brad Pitt’s physique, it isn’t all that huge. What he did was increase the mass of his shoulders giving him a wider appearance. Try hitting these at higher numbers a few weeks into the workout for maximum effect.

 

Day 4: Biceps and Triceps

 

Preacher Curls:

Set 1: 15 reps at 60 lbs

Set 2: 12 reps at 75 lbs

Set 3: 10 reps at 90 lbs

 

EZ Cable Curls:

Set 1: 15 reps at 45 lbs

Set 2: 12 reps at 50 lbs

Set 3: 10 reps at 60 lbs

 

Hammer Curls:

Set 1: 15 reps at 30 lbs

Set 2: 12 reps at 35 lbs

Set 3: 10 reps at 40 lbs

 

Push Downs:

Set 1: 15 reps at 60 lbs

Set 2: 12 reps at 80 lbs

Set 3: 10 reps at 90 lbs

 

Day 5: Cardio + Abs

Running – 90% of max heart rate for one hour

1 set: V sits  – 50 reps x 2

1 set: Plank – 1 minute x 3

1 set: Bicylce kicks x 100

Leg lifts: 3 reps – 20 times

 

Day 6: Cardio

 

Running – 90% of max heart rate for one hour

Day 7/Rest day:

 

Take a break you’ve earned it!

Bonus: Take this day to work on legs, though it’s not necessary to get into Fight Club shape you will definitely benefit all around with a leg day.

*Keep in mind these numbers were what Pitt used. If you are a smaller individual or, just starting out, cut this number by about 25%. Therefore, instead of 100lbs do 75lbs. Instead of 50 do 37.5 lbs. The key here is high reps lower weights, moving to lower reps with heavier weights on each consecutive interval.

 

Notice leg day is optional! Although leg day isn’t necessary to get into the shape brad Pitt was in for the movie Fight Club, engaging your legs, and core allows you to lift heavier, making the whole process easier. Use one of the cardio days, or your rest day, to engage legs if you do not want to remove it from your workout routine. Check out this article on adding a leg day routine to your regimen. It keeps your entire body proportionate and looking good. Running the 2 cardio days should build a bit of muscle but for advanced strength, always incorporate at least deadlifts, and squats into our routine.

Let us know how we did! Drop a comment, and like MyTotalOptimization on Facebook. Sign up on our page for more exercise guides like these, sent straight to your inbox. Have fun out there.

 

 

**Sources: Special shout out to the following websites for use of their images. All credit goes to them**

Fitnessblackandwhite.com

Strongmusclepro.com

Gymflow100

MuscleandFitness.com

Weighttrainingexercises4you

Bodybuildingtamil.blogspot.com

Ihealthassist.com

Sportshealth.wordpress.com

Armsworkoutswithweights.blogspot.com

skmble.com

TheKetogenicDiet.org

popworkouts.com

betterhealthsolutions.com