When Fight Club was first released in 1999, people were impressed with more than just the incredible big-screen adaptation of this story. Most who were watching couldn’t take their eyes off of Brad Pitt in Fight Club. His physique for the film was rock solid to the point that it is still a topic of conversation in the bodybuilding community 21 years later.
What was Brad Pitt’s incredible secret to maintain a body like this? It required a lot of hard work, determination, and a very strict diet. What’s more, his body fat for the film was only six percent. Brad Pitt is 5 feet 11 inches tall, so that means he only weighed about 155 pounds at the time of filming.
Brad Pitt worked incredibly hard to completely transform his body for this movie, and it is still the body that so many men wish they would see looking back at them when they look in the mirror. For this role, Pitt exceeded the requirements and expectations for his character’s body physique.
What Does the Training Plan Look Like?
For the role of Tyler Durden, Brad Pitt wasn’t too focused on becoming muscular, more so being shredded. For him to be small instead of large and muscular, he had to focus on a very strict work out plan, thus the name of the Ultimate Brad Pitt Fight Club Workout Plan.
According to weightlifters and bodybuilders, there is a way to put on muscle and a way to lean out using weights. If you want to get larger muscles, lift heavier weights with fewer reps. If you want to lean and tone, lift lighter weights with more reps.
The Fight Club Body plan also focuses on only working one muscle group per day. For example, day one of your workout week will focus on your chest, day two will work your back, day three will focus on your shoulders, day four will be biceps and triceps, and the other three days will focus on cardio and resting muscles.
If you want to follow this kind of training plan, you are going to need to be extremely strict with yourself. You will need to follow a strict training and diet plan for around 12 weeks, depending on what your body type is like currently.
What Was Brad Pitt’s Exact Routine?
I’m sure you have looked all over the internet scrounging for a workout plan that will help you look ripped and shredded like Brad Pitt in Fight Club. Why not just use the actual workout routine he used his body to prepare for this role?
On day one he would focus on his chest. The workouts would include three sets of 25 pushups, 25, 15, and 8 bench press reps at 165, 195, and 225 pounds, 15 reps of nautilus press at 80, 100, and 130 pounds, 15 reps of incline press at 80, 100, and 130 pounds, and 15 reps of pec deck at 60, 70, and 80 pounds.
Day two would be workouts for his chest. The workouts would include three sets of 25 pullups, three sets of seated rows at 75, 80, and 85 pounds, three sets of lat pull downs at 135, 150, and 165 pounds, and three sets of t-bar rows at 80, 95, and 110 pounds.
Day three is for the shoulders. His workouts would include three sets of Arnold press at 55 pounds, three sets of lateral raises at 30 pounds, and three sets of front raises at 25 pounds.
Day four focuses on biceps and triceps. Workouts would include three sets of preacher curls at 60, 80, and 95 pounds, three sets of EZ curls cable at 50, 65, and 80 pounds, three sets of hammer curls at 30, 45, and 55 pounds, and three sets of push downs at 70, 85, and 100 pounds.
Days five and six both are strictly cardio. He would run on a treadmill for one hour at 80 to 90 percent of his maximum heartrate. Cardio is an essential for fat loss, so you will need to incorporate it into your workout routine.
Cardio
As mentioned above, during filming Brad Pitt had only six percent body fat. This is absolutely incredible, as that is an extremely low percentage. Abs usually start to appear at 13% body fat, and anything 10% body fat or below will look extremely shredded. So how did Brad get his body fat so low? His secret was cardio.
Weight training will help you develop your muscles, but only cardio (and a significant amount of it) is going to burn the fat needed to make your muscles show. He was only running 2 hours per week, but he was making those two hours count. He pushed himself to work at 80 to 90 percent of his maximum heartrate. That is some serious cardio.
Diet
In order to achieve those washboard abs that Pitt is so commonly known for, the Fight Club diet requires extremely clean eating. This means eating mostly chicken and fish, brown pasta or rice, green vegetables, and oatmeal. It is extremely difficult to eat like this, and it will normally mean a lot of meals will be eaten throughout the day.
Brad Pitt’s diet consisted of seven meals throughout the day. He would eat breakfast, a midmorning snack, lunch, midafternoon snack (also his pre-workout meal), post workout meal, dinner, and an evening snack. He would eat less than 2,000 calories each day. His diet was extremely protein heavy to build and repair his muscles, and he would eat only enough carbs to power his body for his workouts.
Supplements
While it is not exactly certain what (or if) Brad Pitt took for supplements during his transformation, but there are some recommended supplements for you to take to achieve your goals. Supplements are always optional, you don’t HAVE to have them to achieve your goal, but they can definitely help you head in the right direction.
The first recommendation is creatine. This supplement is highly researched and can help you build muscle. It’s also incredibly budget friendly!
BCAAs are another recommendation. The acronym stands for branched-chain amino acids, and they are normally found in protein rich foods like eggs, meat, and dairy. This type of supplement can help you increase muscle growth, decrease soreness, and reduce fatigue.
You should also consider taking a multivitamin, as they will help you stay generally healthy not only during your training process, but any other time of the year as well.
Related: Best Plant-Based Protein Powder
Frequently Asked Questions Related to the Fight Club Physique
This has been a lot of information to process, so what does it all mean? Let’s take a look at a few of the most asked questions about the Fight Club body plan.
Is this plan suitable for everyone?
This workout style is considered a semi-bodybuilding type workout. This will not be suitable for everyone, and you will have to consider your current fitness condition before attempting this workout routine.
How many days a week is this routine?
This routine consists of four consecutive days of strength and resistance training, followed by two days of cardio, one day of rest. This helps ensure your body will stay in fat burning mode. As long as your body stays in a fat burning mode, you will continue to lose fat even on your rest day.
Why was this workout so effective?
One reason this workout was so effective was the fact that Brad already had such a low body fat percentage. If you are already skinny or very lean, you will build muscle more effectively. He also followed a very strict diet, along with a very strict schedule to achieve the result that he did.
Should I diet first or go straight into workouts?
It is highly recommended to start with a diet before taking on an intense workout routine. Your diet can determine how you lose fat without adding in any exercise in the beginning. Once you start to lose weight and keep it off, you can add in some intense workouts to tighten your skin and increase your muscle mass.
Related: How to Get Flexible Fast
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A Final Word From Energetic Lifestyle
There is no doubt that Brad Pitt looked great in Fight Club. But he worked incredibly hard to achieve that body type for the movie. He worked out six days a week and followed a very strict diet to reach his goals. He was extremely disciplined throughout his process which makes a difference every time.
It is important to remember your end goal when you might feel discouraged or like your progress just isn’t coming along. Body transformation will take time and it will not happen overnight. The most important thing to remember is to stay dedicated, disciplined, and on track.
If you are looking for a way to shred your already lean body, this workout and diet plan might be an excellent choice for you. However, if you need to lose some serious weight, it is recommended to diet first to lose weight then work out more intensely when you come closer to your weight goal.
