Jake Gyllenhaal Diet & Workout Plan - Pat Fitness

Jake Gyllenhaal Diet Plan

As one might suspect, the Jake Gyllenhaal “Southpaw” Diet Plan went big on building mass and keeping fuel in the tank. Specifically, he was eating 6-7 meals per day, at increments of about one meal every three hours. Because he was training more than once every day, the actor’s eating habits served a dual role, restoring energy from the previous workout while increasing energy for the next one.

Most fitness regimens of this magnitude incorporate tons of protein, and Gyllenhaal’s was no exception. We’re talking fish, chicken, eggs, and other common protein-rich foods. However, he did consume a fair amount of carbs for breakfast, turning the excess fat into muscle at the gym. On the direct heels of any given workout, it was mostly vitamins and proteins, lest those bulging muscles lose their momentum. That included protein shakes, naturally.

Somewhere in there, Gyllenhaal was also reportedly chowing down on Chipotle. We’ll just assume he was getting burrito bowls, but on the other hand, he was trying to build mass so maybe he went all-in on the tortillas. Whatever he was doing, it worked. Should you adopt the Jake Gyllenhaal diet plan, feel free to eat all the Chipotle you want, presuming you go to the same extremes he did in the weight room and elsewhere.

Putting Chipotle aside, Gyllenhaal’s diet focussed on natural foods and avoided anything that was fried. For the most part, he drank lots of water and consumed copious amounts of salads, veggies, and lean meats. That was joined by occasional pasta dishes and things like potatoes or rye bread.

Here’s a breakdown of Gyllenhaal’s diet.

Eggs – Health experts are still hashing it out as to whether eggs are actually good for you, but their value as a source of protein is beyond reproach. Gyllenhaal ate a ton of them and it seemed to work for him. Of course, if you have issues with cholesterol, you should proceed with caution before going hog wild on the omelets.

Fruit – Goji berries, apples, bananas, and raisins are some of the fruits Gyllenhaal consumed on the regular.

Almonds – From each serving of this low-glycemic index food, you get 6 grams of protein, 4 grams of fibre, and a fair amount of vitamins and minerals. A perfect snack.

Cacao Beans – Presuming you can tolerate their bitter taste, raw cacao beans make for a veritable superfood. Not only are they chock full of flavonols and other antioxidants, but they’re also known to induce a euphoric effect. Just don’t get hooked.

Vegetables – When Gyllenhaal wasn’t consuming steamed veggies, he was eating them raw. That included broccoli, leafy greens, avocado, and tomato. Yes, we know that avocadoes and tomatoes are fruits. We don’t care.

Chicken – We have yet to discover a celebrity diet plan that didn’t consist of chicken.

Fish – Low in calories and high in nutrition, fish is an essential part of any healthy diet.

Rye Bread –  Some fitness freaks might consider bread—even rye bread—an indulgence. We say if it’s fresh-baked and free of preservatives, it’s probably healthier than you think. Regardless, Gyllenhaal clearly made it work.

Pasta – When you’re working out as much as Gyllenhaal did, you get to eat pasta guilt-free.

Couscous – Fat-free, sugar-free, and loaded with selenium, couscous is a carb you can trust, especially when it’s the whole wheat variety.

Potatoes – We’ve been trained to avoid starches, but potatoes are better for you than you might expect. They contain over half your daily value of vitamin C, and more potassium than a banana. They’re also a good source of vitamin B6, fibre, and magnesium.

Supplements – Vitamin supplements (Vitamins D3 and C, in particular) and protein shakes were a big part of the Jake Gyllenhaal diet plan. He downed a shake post-workout and you should too.

Jake Gyllenhaal Workout Plan

We all remember the movie “Rocky,” which featured its title character whipping himself into shape by way of an arduous fitness regimen. Well, take Rocky’s workout plan and crank up every conceivable dial and you’re now in “Southpaw” territory. No pun intended, but Jake Gyllenhaal put himself through the wringer when preparing for the role of Billy “The Great” Hope. It all came at the behest of director (and boxer) Antoine Fuqua, who teamed Gyllenhaal up with boxing coach Terry Claybon.

To put things as succinctly as possible, Gyllenhaal trained the way a professional boxer would. However, whereas most boxers start from a point of reasonable strength, the actor started from skin and bones. After all, he’d just come off the film “Nightcrawler,” for which he’d dropped 30 pounds. If this isn’t starting to sound insane to you, then you might actually be insane yourself.

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Anyway, the Jake Gyllenhaal “Southpaw” workout is so broad and epic that we’re going to stop skirting around it like some sort of fancy-footed boxer. Just remember: the actor increased things like reps, rounds, and weights as he gained strength. To say that you should do the same would be putting it mildly. In fact, we’re still not convinced you should do this at all. Nevertheless, here’s the Jake Gyllenhaal “Southpaw” workout at the height of its intensity.

Jake Gyllenhaal Workout Schedule

• Wake Up
• Perform 1,000 sit-ups
• Run 8 miles
• Eat breakfast (mostly carbs)
• 1-2 hours of boxing and sparring
• 1-hour core workout routine
• Eat protein
• 1-2 hours of boxing and cardio
• 1-hour weightlifting workout
• 1,000 sit-ups
• Go to bed

Jake Gyllenhaal Core Workout Routine

Collectively, the following exercises make up 1 round. Gyllenhaal performed 2-3 rounds total, resting 1-2 minutes between each round.

• Pull-ups (1 set of 10 reps)
• Arm walk-outs (1 set of 10 reps)
• Bicycle crunches (1 set of 20 reps)
• One leg/arm plank (1 set of 10 reps)
• Dips (1 set of 10 reps)
• Pushups (1 set of 10 reps)
• Deadlift (1 set of 10 reps, 1-2 minutes of rest)

Jake Gyllenhaal Boxing Exercises

• Jump rope
• Footwork drills
• Shadow boxing
• Bag work
• Speedball
• Focus pads
• Sparring
• Flip a 250-lb tractor tire 20 times a day
• Pound a 250-lb tractor tire with a sledgehammer for 3 minutes at a time
• Get punched in the face by real fighters

Jake Gyllenhaal Weightlifting Workout Routine

Collectively, the following exercises make up 1 round. Gyllenhaal performed 2-3 rounds total, resting 1-2 minutes between each round.

• Dips (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Crunches (1 set, 25 reps)
• Weighted pull-ups (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Barbell squats (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Barbell deadlift (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• DB shoulder press (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Walking lunge (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Dumbbell shrugs (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Bench press (1 set, 8-12 reps)

Two boxing sessions. Core workouts. Strength training. 8 miles of running. 2,000 sit-ups. Lots of eating. This was, in essence, Jake Gyllenhaal’s life as he trained for the role of Billy “The Great” Hope. The experience took him to various gyms in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York. It also put him in the ring with boxing professionals, as coach Terry Claybon dispensed with pep talks and pointers.

All the while, Gyllenhaal watched live Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fights. Somewhere along the way, he presumably memorised his lines. Put it all together and you get the Jake Gyllenhaal “Southpaw” diet and workout routine, which must have made his Mysterio fitness plan seem downright tame by comparison. We’d say you shouldn’t try this at home, but where’s the fun in that?