Mark Wahlberg Workout & Diet 40 Pounds of Muscle 7 Weeks

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Mark Wahlberg Workout Saturday Routine – Legs, Back & Abs

The Mark Wahlberg workout starts his Saturday routine very early in the morning. He starts with a heavy workout. Today, Wahlberg focuses on legs & back. Then, in the afternoon, he does an abs workout with light cardio. When actually filming, Wahlberg had to do the entire workout at 4 in the morning.

ExerciseSetsRepsRestNotesData
Front Squats48-120 secs
Split Squats48-1245 secsSuperset #1
Leg Press48-120 secs
Jump Squats48-1245 secsSuperset #2
Walking Lunges48-120 secs
Calf Raises48-1245 secsSuperset #3
Barbell Deadlift48-120 secs
Alternating Leg Curls48-1245 secsSuperset #4
Pullups48-120 secs
Dumbbell Rows48-1245 secsSuperset #5
Lat Pull Downs48-120 secs
Seated Pulley Rows48-1245 secsSuperset #6

A.M workout: Legs & Back

Do 4 sets of 8-12 reps. The Legs and Back workout used heavy lifting and supersets. If you can do more than 12 reps on any exercise, then increase the weight to stay challenged.

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.

Asked about his dedication to fitness, Mark Wahlberg says:

People identify me more with fitness than they do with film and television. Something I’ve been doing for a long time. I’ve always tried to identify roles with that. My fitness regimen is dictated by my movie schedule.

P.M workout: Abs, Stretching, and Cardio

For the abs routine, Mark Wahlberg says he would do 2-3 circuits of 15 reps per exercise:

Wahlberg uses the afternoons to stretch, do light lifting, and try new things. Focused on safety, as he says:

I’m getting into the bands, power plate, and kaiser machines. Going in there and lifting heavy weight really takes a toll on your joints and everything.

Mark Wahlberg Workout Routine Sources

Sources for the Mark Wahlberg Workout Routine for Pain & Gain include:

  • Interviews with Mark Wahlberg (@Mark_Wahlberg) (@MarkedNutrition)
  • Interview with Michael De Medeiros on the Livestream network, while promoting his brand, called Marked Nutrition.
  • Magazine Interviews in Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, and Bodybuilding.com

Remember, Sunday for the Mark Wahlberg workout routine = “Rest & Recovery & Family.”

Mark Wahlberg The Fighter Workout

The Mark Wahlberg The Fighter workout incorporated boxing, jump rope, and power plate exercises. Here’s a video showing Mark Wahlberg in action training for The Fighter.

The Fighter workout included:

  1. 8 mile run in the morning
  2. 15 rounds of boxing in the ring
  3. weightlifting, power plates, jump squats and jump rope

Talking about the movie, The Fighter, Mark Wahlberg says:

Fighter was probably the hardest movie to train for. Just because, I never knew if the movie was going to happen or not. I had a promise to Mickey and Dickey to get the movie done. Boxing isn’t the thing where you can stop for 6 months, and then start right up again.

I trained 4 and a half years for that movie. It was about resting and eating what a I want. Then, I just felt bad, and got back in the gym.

mark wahlberg workout the fighter

Now, It’s Time To See What Mark Eats When He’s Trying To Gain Weight.

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43 COMMENTS

      • Chris, steroids do not cause hair loss if you’re not already predisposed, it is hereditary. Granted if you are going to go bald, it will hasten the process. 40 pounds of muscle, especially on an already well formed body, would take years. Of course he is on steroids or something along the same lines… Personally I don’t know what it matters. If someone wants to take a PED, go for it.

        • Yes, I wasn’t on board at first. But, I agree with you guys now: You can take PED’s and still have a full head of hair. The side effects are different for everyone.

    • It’s based on all the interviews and magazine articles that Mark Wahlberg did for Pain & Gain. Sometimes, the magazines use an abridged workout to cater to low-patience audience. So, there may be more exercises that Mark Wahlberg did. Still, all the ones he mentioned are in the workout.

      Also, Mark Wahlberg says that he normally stays in shape by playing basketball a lot. (He has an indoor basketball court in his home). But, for Pain & Gain, Wahlberg was mass building, so he stopped playing basketball to get in shape for the role.

  1. hi chris!… so marc trains early in the mornig on an empty stomach, and after workout has breakfast?!

    • Hey Piero!

      For Pain & Gain, Mark Wahlberg did not train on an empty stomach. He ate all day long to gain weight. To gain 40 pounds, Mark Wahlberg says that it was all about overloading his body with food. Mark Wahlberg says about his workout:

      “I’d wake up at 4:30 every morning, have a nice breakfast…And then a protein shake after the workout. And then chicken, steak, fish, a little bit of past here and there. Just really overloading, meal after meal after meal.”

      But when Mark wants to burn fat, he does cardio first thing on an empty stomach. He plays basketball at his house at 5:30 in the morning. The key to burning fat and losing weight is training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Our bodies are conditioned to hold onto fat the best they can. But, at night the body burns fat for fuel. So, when you wake up in the morning, your body has more fatty acids ready to be burned off. Working out later in the day, you’re less likely to burn these fatty acids, and more likely to burn the food you’ve ate that day. So, working out first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, is what the majority of celebrity trainers do to get their clients to lose weight.

  2. It is obvious the author has no knowledge of (AAS). Jay Cutler, Kai Greene and many more professional body builders juice to the gills and do not experience acne, hair loss, nor do they experience gyno. When it comes down to how steroids effect an individual it is all genetic.
    Previous user of Dbol, winstrol, tren and testosterone. I experienced gyno but letrezole took care of that, but no hair loss. ~retired body builder~

    • What I do know is that the major side effects of steroids include:

      “Increased risk of cancer, increased risk of heart and liver disease, jaundice, fluid retention, reduction in HDL-C (“good cholesterol”), high blood pressure, changes in blood coagulation, increased risk of atherosclerosis, swelling of the soft tissues of the extremities (edema), and obstructive sleep apnea. Side effects specific to men can include testicular atrophy or the shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, and the development of breasts.” (cited from: DrugFree.org/drug-guide/steroids)

      But you’re right, the effects for an individual will be based on genetics, so despite all these risks, each individual will have a different array of the side affects listed above.

  3. With the intensity of these workouts, would doing the muscle groups twice a week be considered over training?

    • The Mark Wahlberg workout focuses on eating a ton of food to recover from his training. By eating all day long (and taking naps he says), Mark Wahlberg was able to recover faster than normal. In turn, he was able to train muscle groups twice per week with great results. Wahlberg had a small window, within which he had to put on weight, so he turned to training muscle groups twice per week. Doing this results in bigger gains in shorter time. But it should also be added that Mark Wahlberg has weight trained for over 20 years. Someone much newer to weight training would surely want to start with only one training session per muscle group. From there, you would have to assess your diet/recovery to decide when to jump to the 2x/week schedule.

      • “But it should also be added that Mark Wahlberg has weight trained for over 20 years”

        That’s really what it comes down to. Go back to his Calvin Klein ads waaay back in the day. He’s always been in great shape. It’s much easier for him to do what he did than for somebody who has never worked out a day in their life.

  4. It’s easier just to say “I gained 40lbs of muscle” than it is to say “I gained 40lbs”. Sounds cooler, too.

    There’s no way he gained that much muscle in that period of time. If he did, forget movies… write a book and become a billionaire.

  5. Great info man, but you mention ‘Mark Wahlberg’ in literally every sentence. It seems like keyword stuffing to get your SEO right for Google, but these days Google penalizes this amount of keyword stuffing. Just giving you a heads up. The info is awesome though!

      • Awesome article….. Having bulked up effectively more than a few times myself I would say it is the MOST effective way of training for size.. But 6-8 weeks max is about right for all the eating as it burns out CNS after that time with heavy squats. I am currently 184lb, 5 feet 8, but would love to aim to be around Warlbergs size given enough time. And I’ve had 20+ years training myself now.

      • Awesome article….. Having bulked up effectively more than a few times myself I would say it is the MOST effective way of training for size.. But 6-8 weeks max is about right for all the eating as it burns out CNS after that time with heavy squats. I am currently 184lb, 5 feet 8, but would love to aim to be around Warlbergs size given enough time. And I’ve had 20+ years training myself now.

      • Awesome article….. Having bulked up effectively more than a few times myself I would say it is the MOST effective way of training for size.. But 6-8 weeks max is about right for all the eating as it burns out CNS after that time with heavy squats. I am currently 184lb, 5 feet 8, but would love to aim to be around Warlbergs size given enough time. And I’ve had 20+ years training myself now.

  6. There’s no question that Wahlberg used steroids. There’s also no question that he’s a greedy pig for not being up front about it, but rather, attempting to fool gullible people.

    • Yes, I tend to agree with you. Still, he had to put in the work to get big. This is a challenging workout, and it gives you results. Even if you just stick to a clean diet, lots of protein and fibrous carbs, creatine and whey.

  7. He doesn’t take steroids!! He says he gained 40 lbs but that’s from his last movie! He sits at around 185, but for The Gambler he dropped weight but when you try to put that weight back on it is VERY EASY!! He probably gained that 20 lbs back in a week, just like how MMA fighters get ready for weigh ins!! So he actually pretty much gained 20 lbs in 7 weeks which is easily possible!! Everybody just accuses every celebrity of being on steroids!

    • No … That is so dumb… Sorry.. You misread the article he basically gained 40 lbs in that time, not 20lb. He had to lose weight for a different movie, down from 180lb to 160lb then he had 2 months from 160 to 212.. Pay attention.

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  9. Why do so many people hate on the man?
    He’s a great actor who could easily have excelled at boxing, bodybuilding, or any sport that he dedicated himself to.
    Fact is, Wahlberg is the real deal.
    Years ago when he publicly stated that had he been on the plane on 9/11 the hijackers would have received a “beat down” from him.
    The majority of the public chastised him.
    Truth is, with some assistance Mark Wahlberg had the mental and physical capabilities to make good on that promise.
    I could honestly see Wahlberg putting a real hurtin on those hijackers.
    Would it have changed the outcome?
    Who knows.

  10. If I add a lot of cardiovascular 45 min steady,could this workout ad the muscle while losing the fat?

    • Yes, especially if you do that cardio 1st thing in the morning. In the afternoon, it’s better to do HIIT cardio. More importantly, your diet is where fat loss will really come from. It’s 70-80% of body composition. To add muscle, make sure to eat protein/carbs both before/after your workout. Otherwise, stick to clean foods.

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