Hugh Jackman's Wolverine Training Program

Hugh Jackman typically adds 20-30 minutes of cardio in addition to his weightlifting, whether he's bulking or cutting. To fully emulate his routine, you can add this cardio at the end of your workouts while following this training program. However, it is not necessary if your primary goal is to bulk up and build muscle. That being said, for optimal health and results, incorporating 20-30 minutes of cardio 2-3 times a week in addition to this program would be beneficial.

This program has two types of training days

High-volume bodybuilding days & Lower volume strength-focused days

The high-volume days are dedicated to accumulating a large amount of volume through classic muscle-building movements like machine chest presses, dumbbell curls, and lat pulldowns, etc.

The lower-volume, strength-focused days aim to stimulate muscle growth with an emphasis on functional strength training.

Hugh’s trainer David Kingsbury incorporates lower-volume heavy strength work because it’s crucial for Hugh Jackman to not only look good but also maintain his strength and resilience, especially as he ages. Mixing in lower-rep heavy-strength compound lifts is an excellent way to achieve this. After all, no matter how muscular he is, Wolverine wouldn't look very cool if he was limping around everywhere.

DIET - (VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ)

As this is a muscle-building program, you NEED to have your diet at least somewhat dialed in if you want to see results from this program.

To put on a significant amount of muscle while using the Wolverine plan, follow these guidelines:

1. Caloric Surplus: Eat 250-500 calories over your maintenance calories each day.

2. Monitor Weight: Weigh yourself in the mornings 3-4 days a week. Aim to gain 0.25-0.5% of your total body weight per week. If you're gaining slower than this, increase your daily calorie intake by 200. Wait a week to see if you start gaining at the desired rate, and repeat this process until you achieve the correct rate of gain. If you’re gaining weight faster than the desired rate, do the opposite: decrease your daily calorie intake by 200, wait a week, check, and repeat until you're gaining at the right rate.

3. Balanced Diet: Follow the 80-20 rule:

   - 80% whole, unprocessed foods (e.g., beef, rice, veggies, fruit)

   - 20% processed foods (e.g., candy, fries, chips, pizza)

4. Protein Intake: Consume 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily, spread across 4-5 evenly sized meals.

How much should you be resting between sets? 

Between sets, rest until you've caught your breath, feel strong, and are mentally ready to tackle another set. As a general rule, the larger the muscle group you're training, the more rest you should take. For example, 60-90 seconds of rest between sets of lateral raises should be sufficient, but you might need 3-5 minutes between sets of heavy squats or deadlifts. Optimal rest times will vary from person to person, so experiment to find what works best for you.

Complete the following warm-up before every workout-

5-10 Minutes moderate intensity cardio

Hamstring Sweeps x30 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSUfsT3D2rQ&ab_channel=ItIsWellPTLLC)

World’s Greatest Stretch x10/side

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CiWQ2IvY34&ab_channel=SquatUniversity)

Downward Dog To Plank x10

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8eUdDxyAMg&ab_channel=ReactPhysicalTherapy)