This Is How You Get Jake Gyllenhaal’s Southpaw Body

It’s a hell of a lot to do.

Getting a ripped body takes way more than strapping on some sort of newfangled technology. You want those v-cuts and Popeye biceps? You’ve got to put in the work, just like Jake Gyllenhaal.

For his latest role — you know where he fronts as light-heavyweight boxing champ Billy Hope on a quest for redemption/revenge in Southpaw(out today) — the 34-year-old star piled on 15 piles of muscle to make himself look like the lifelong athlete he was set to play. Of course this came after his appearance in Nightcrawler where he dropped twice as much to turn into basically skin and bones (he gained that back before adding the muscle). But the bulking up? That was a product of five months of training where Gyllenhaal doubled up on sessions to cram in the transformation.

You want those results? Check out his work out regimen crafted by boxing coach Terry Claybon below. But we’ve got to warn you: 1,000 sit ups a day is no joke.

  1. Hit the ropes: 15 minutes of jumping rope to get the blood flowing Sweet feet: Three sets of three minute footwork drills tighten up agility.
  2. Throwing blows: If you want the arms of a boxer, throw punch combinations for six sets of three minutes a piece.
  3. Meet the bag: Three rounds of drills wither it’s on the speed bag or the heavy bag wil definitely perfect your aim.
  4. The classics: Exercises you used to do in gym class are just as good except now we’re talking 500 sit ups(Gyllenhall ended up doing 1,000), 100 pull-ups and 100 dips. That’s per day.
  5. For all the muscle: You probably don’t have a 300 pound tire but if you do, flip that 20 times and  then hit two sets of 100 speed squats. Up your cardio: Five miles every other day sounds intense but Gyllenhaal upped it to eight miles five times a week.

Photos by The Weinstein Company

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