Whether or not you see The Legend of Tarzan is up to you (it’s supposed to be pretty darn good, though), but the one thing you probably won’t be able to avoid seeing is the incredibly fit body of Alexander Skarsgard. He’s in the commercials for the movie, posters, on TV, everywhere. And if you’re at least remotely active, you’re probably wondering how you could attain a body like that.
Well the good news is that Alexander had to transform into Tarzan in four months, so there’s hope for you yet. The bad news is that it was a very, very tough four months. With the help of two different articles, we’ll show you the ropes vines of how you can get your body looking like the King of the Jungle.
Keep in mind that this is an article that uses as much information as possible to get you a fitness plan that closely resembles what Alexander Skarsgard was going through. He’s listed as being 6’4″ and was in very good shape before he started this workout. That being said, if you stick to the plan, you’ll see some phenomenal results. The first part is a bulking (gainzzz) and the second part is a cutting (to show your gainzzzz).
Alexander Skargard’s Tarzan Diet
You don’t want to hear this, but you need to. Once you turn 20, it becomes less about how hard you work out and more about what you eat. So the most important key to looking (and feeling good) is your diet.
As you may have heard, the best diet is one that incorporates multiple smaller meals–which is exactly what Alexander Skarsgard ate. Alex revealed to Conan in an interview that he wasn’t a big fan of the smaller portions:
I had to eat every three hours which meant I spent the entire day thinking about food. So when I finished a meal, I would go ‘alright, 2 hours and 55 minutes until my next meal’.
But still, this guy was consuming 7,000 calories a day. He was extremely lean coming into the movie, so it was necessary for him to bulk up. So what was Alexander eating? Check out the list below.
Alexander Skarsgard Workout Plan
Because Skarsgard had only four months to do a ton of bulking, there were times when he’d be in the gym up to five times a day. Obviously that’s impossible for those of you who have lives or aren’t actors, but it’s important to know the kind of commitment a drastic change like that would require. 7,000 calories a day is a ton of food, and even if they’re “clean calories” you’ll gain a good amount of fat if you’re not putting all that energy to work.
From Unilad:
Each workout session started with big lifts – like bench or squats – for 12 reps on a lighter weight, and working heavier while dropping the reps through 10, eight and six reps, JOE reports. He then further exhausted his muscles by finishing it all with a 10 rep burner.
Designed to hit muscles from every angle, his programme had a range of different exercises on each body part – but they all adhered to an eight to 12-rep range.
Obviously, his core training was equally important to get those ridiculous abs. He did a mixture of static core work (like planks and obliques) every other day.
Bulking Phase
If you’re curious what those first three months looked like, here’s what a typical workout plan he could have done (via Joe.co).
Cutting Phase
After three months of intensive lifts, it was time to lose all the fat and show the world what you’ve got. Calories were reduced for Tarzan about five weeks before filming and they began to reintroduce cardio.
But the biggest thing was the addition of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
Alongside the dieting, Lygdback optimised the fat burning by introducing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in the mornings. The sessions were only 20 minutes long and included lots of sprints and functional movements to give his body a short, sharp shock. This was coupled with increased intensity and high-paced exercises in his strength training.
[Skargard’s trainer Magnus] Lygdback explained that when used in tandem, these two elements are optimal for fat loss. “What people don’t realise is that heavy lifting is one of the best fat burners there are,” he explains. “It takes up to two days for your body and your muscles to recover.
“You will burn fat for up to two days after you’ve done heavy lifting. You burn more when you’re running around or when you’re doing high intensity training, you burn a lot at that moment. But if you combine that with strength training, you get the perfect combination.”
He added: “Heavy lifting also allows us men to produce more testosterone. Testosterone gives us more muscle mass, less body fat and more energy and helps us recover faster. [source]”
