Mark Wahlberg worked with trainer Bryan Nguyen. Training for the movie Pain & Gain, Mark Wahlberg said he went back to his old-school movie workouts. But, he did less cardio, and ate more. Wahlberg had just under 2 months to prepare for his role in Pain & Gain. Wahlberg says about the experience:
I was 165 pounds for my last movie, but I had to walk on the set at 205. So, that’s 40 pounds of muscle in 7 weeks. That’s a lot of physical preparation.
The Mark Wahlberg workout is a 5-day routine. He takes Wednesdays and Sundays off. Mark Wahlberg admits that he made most of this workout up himself. He relied on past supersets that did the job. The workout is all about lifting really heavy to gain body weight fast.
Mark Wahlberg Workout
The Mark Wahlberg workout listed below is for Pain and Gain, where he plays Daniel Lugo. In the movie, he gets mixed up in an extortion attempt that goes wrong. Based on a visceral true story, the movie included The Rock, who worked out hard himself, and also has a killer workout routine. Here is the Dwayne Johnson aka “The Rock” workout.
Mark Wahlberg Workout Monday Routine – Chest, Arms & Abs
The Mark Wahlberg workout starts his Monday routine very early in the morning, with a heavy workout. Then, he often takes a “growth nap,” before doing an abs workout and light cardio in the afternoon. When actually filming, Wahlberg had to do the entire workout at 4 in the morning. Wahlberg says that he got up to benching 335 lbs. (152 kg) on this chest workout.
A.M workout: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
Do 4 sets of 8-12 reps. The Pain & Gain workout used heavy lifting, and supersets. If you can do more than 12 reps, increase weight to stay challenged.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat Bench Press | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | ||
| Dumbbell Chest Flys | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Superset #1 | |
| Incline Bench Press | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | ||
| Front Shoulder Raises | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Superset #2 | |
| Decline Bench Press | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | ||
| Side Shoulder Raises | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Superset #3 | |
| Shoulder Military Press | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | Seated | |
| Standing Shoulder Press | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Alternating | Superset #4 |
| Parallel Bar Dips | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | ||
| Cable Triceps Pressdown | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Superset #5 | |
| Lying Triceps Extensions | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | Barbell | |
| OH Triceps Extensions | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Single-Arm | Superset #6 |
- Flat Bench Press
- Superset with Dumbbell Chest Flys
- Incline Bench Press
- Superset with Front Shoulder Raises
- Decline Bench Press
- Superset with Side Shoulder Raises
- Seated Shoulder Military Press
- Superset with Alternating Standing Shoulder Press
- Parallel Bar Dips
- Superset with Cable Triceps Pressdowns
- Skull Crushers aka(Barbell Lying Down Triceps Extensions)
- Superset with Single-Arm Overhead Triceps Extensions
Supersets are done when you perform 2 exercises in a row without stopping. Usually, the first exercise is a compound lift that works multiple muscle groups. While, the 2nd lift is more isolated. For example, Wahlberg would do incline bench to work his chest and arms. Then, he would do shoulder raises to concentrate on just his shoulders.
When talking about accomplishing goals and his workout routine, Mark Wahlberg says:
Whatever it is, you got to ease into it. Don’t try to do it all in a day. You’ve gotta work up to it. If you do it right, do the work and get a lot of rest. And, especially get enough nutrition on top of it. You’ll be surprised what you can accomplish with the goals you set for yourself.
P.M workout: Stretching, Abs, and Cardio
For the abs routine, Mark Wahlberg says he would do 2-3 circuits of 15 reps per exercise:
- Warmup: Stretching, Foam Roller, Bands and Val Slides
- Curl-Ups (McGill) (x 15)
- Bicycle Crunches (x 15)
- Side Crunches (x 15)
- Hip-ups (x 15)
- Medicine Ball Twists (x 15)
- Cardio: Treadmill or Elliptical for 30 mins
Mark Wahlberg uses the afternoons to recover, do light workouts, stretch, and do cardio.
I go in there and warm up. You know, at my age, I can be injury prone. I stretch, I use the foam roller, use the bands, the Val Slides, stuff like that. I want to remain injury free.
Mark Wahlberg Workout Tuesday Routine – Legs, Back & Biceps
The Mark Wahlberg workout starts his Tuesday routine around 4:30 in the morning. He starts with a heavy Legs and Back workout. Then, he often takes a “growth nap,” before doing an abs workout and light cardio in the afternoon. When actually filming, Wahlberg had to do the entire workout at 4 in the morning.
A.M workout: Legs & Back
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front Squats | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | ||
| Split Squats | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Superset #1 | |
| Leg Press | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | ||
| Jump Squats | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Superset #2 | |
| Walking Lunges | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | ||
| Calf Raises | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Superset #3 | |
| Barbell Deadlift | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | ||
| Alternating Leg Curls | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Superset #4 | |
| Pullups | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | ||
| Dumbbell Rows | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Superset #5 | |
| Lat Pull Downs | 4 | 8-12 | 0 secs | ||
| Seated Pulley Rows | 4 | 8-12 | 45 secs | Superset #6 |
Do 4 sets of 8-12 reps. The Mark Wahlberg workout used heavy lifting, and supersets to get the job done. If you can do more than 12 reps, increase weight to stay challenged.
- Front Squats
- Superset with Split Squats
- Leg Press
- Superset with Jump Squats
- Walking Lunges
- Superset with Calf Raises
- Barbell Deadlift
- Superset with Alternating Leg Curls
- Pullups
- Superset with Dumbbell Rows
- Lat Pull Downs
- Superset with Seated Pulley Rows
Supersets are done when you perform 2 exercises in a row without stopping. Usually, the first exercise is a compound lift that works multiple muscle groups. While, the 2nd lift is more isolated. Mark Wahlberg uses supersets to maximize his results, and keep a high intensity throughout his workout.
Since he wanted to get big fast, Mark used very heavy weight. He would increase weight, and lower the reps as time went on. When asked about his schedule, Mark Wahlberg says about his workout routine:
I’d wake up at 4:30 every morning, have a pre-workout igniter, and then hit the weights heavy, depending on the day and the routine for the day. But it always involved heavy lifting, and mostly just weights.
P.M workout: Biceps, Stretching, and Cardio
Mark Wahlberg does a lot of biceps curl variations. His workout starts with 10 reps, then goes to 8 reps, then 6 reps. He tried to add weight each time, making this the opposite of a drop set. Mark would also work with the TRX system in the afternoons.
He gave the example, at one point, where he was using the following for seated bicep curls:
- 1 sets of 10 at 45 lbs. (20 kg)
- 1 set of 8 at 55 lbs (25 kg)
- 1 set of 6 at 65 lbs. (30 kg)
Tuesday:
- Warmup: Stretching, Foam Roller, Bands and TRX work
- Seated Bicep Curl
- Dumbbell Bicep Curl
- Barbell Bicep Curls
- EZ Bar Curl
- Preacher Curl
- Machine Bicep Curl
- Cardio: Treadmill or Elliptical for 30 mins
Asked about his lower body routine, Mark Wahlberg says:
Jump squats, split squats, I do a lot of front loaded squats, also a lot of lunges. I’ll tell you what. Do 30 seconds on the TRX, get bands, elevate with one leg in the air, then try to do a jump squat and lunge for 30 seconds straight. Intense squats and lunges.
Next, See Mark’s Wednesday Routine.
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