TOM HARDY’S ABILITY to transform his body has, in many ways, been the key to his success in Hollywood. The actor has made a career out of playing characters bigger and smaller than his natural weight, and has had to shake up his routine multiple times over the years.
In 2008, he began his first transformation to play Britain’s most violent criminal Charles Bronson. Warrior, where Hardy played lean MMA fighter Tommy Conlon, followed shortly after, requiring him to shed 15 per cent body fat. Next came his role as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, for which Hardy regained 13kg. And while most of Venom’s muscles are CGI, Hardy has had to keep his fitness up for the intense role.
These transformations do come at a price, however. In a recent interview with Esquire UK, Hardy opened up about the cost of staying action-ready for decades. “I’ve had two knee surgeries now,” he said. “My disc’s herniated in my back, I’ve got sciatica as well. And I have that… is it plantar fasciitis? Where did that come from? And why? Why?!”
Hardy has accepted that in his line of work, longevity comes at a price. So he’s adapting, rather than stepping back. He told Esquire he’s exploring options like stem cell therapy and other forms of recovery, but has come to prioritise martial arts over strength training.
In recent years, Hardy’s training routine has moved away from packing on size and instead focuses on combat-readiness, with the actor picking up an interest in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Hardy holds a purple belt in the discipline and has competed in multiple tournaments, even winning the Gi and No-Gi ReOrg Open Championships in 2022.
Tom Hardy’s workout routine
So, how does Tom Hardy stay in shape these days? Well, he has revealed details of his training routine and go-to workouts over the years. Plus, we know he loves Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and trains for it accordingly. From there, we’ve been able to piece together a close approximation of his weekly training split, with days dedicated to strength training, mobility and martial arts.
Monday: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and strength training
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class (90 min)
Drilling: guard passes, sweeps, transitions
Light rolling/sparring
Full body strength training (45 min)
Deadlifts – 4 sets of 5
Pull-ups – 4 sets of 10
Kettlebell Swings – 4 sets of 20
Core circuit: planks, ab rollouts, hanging leg raises – 3 sets
Tuesday: striking and mobility
Boxing or Muay Thai session (60 min)
Shadowboxing
Mitt work
Bag work (3×3 minute rounds)
Footwork and defensive drills
Mobility/yoga (30 min)
Focus on hips, shoulders and spine
Breathwork and recovery emphasis
Wednesday: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu open mat class (90 min)
Live rounds (5 rounds of 5 minutes)
Positional sparring
Takedown drills
Thursday: strength and striking
Full body strength circuit (all exercises completed in quick succession)
Push-ups – 3 sets of 10
Shoulder flys – 3 sets of 10
Dips – 3 sets of 10
Abdominal bridge – 3 sets of 30 second holds
Sit-ups – 3 sets of 10
Butterfly crunches – 3 sets of 25
Striking (focus on sparring and combinations)
Pad rounds and light sparring
Head movement and counters
Bag burnout finisher
Friday: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and core
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class (90 min)
Leg lock entries, wrestling, scrambles
Live rounds
Core and stability work (20 min)
Cable rotations
Turkish get-ups
Medicine ball slams
Isometric holds
Tom Hardy’s bulking diet plan
Men’s Health US has previously gone into detail about Hardy’s diet plan, revealing that in the past, he’s utilised a high calorie bulking diet to pack on mass for roles in Bronson and The Dark Knight Rises.
Hardy’s daily caloric intake comes to roughly 3,300 calories. That figure includes about 450 grams of carbs, 210 grams of protein and less than 90 grams of fat.
“We didn’t have any time to waste [to prepare for the Dark Knight role], so I started eating and my arse very quickly got very fat,” Hardy told Men’s Health US. “For Bronson, I put on about 7lbs (about 3kg) a week with no steroids. In the end, I’d put on about 2 and a half stone (about 16kg) by eating chicken and rice, which was my staple diet throughout the day.”
Using that information, we were able to get an idea of what a sample day of eating might look like under Hardy’s diet plan. Keep in mind that this is not his regular diet, but rather what he eats when he’s trying to bulk up quickly.
Breakfast: oats, eggs and fruit
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 banana
- 4 whole eggs
Mid-morning snack: protein shake, rice cakes, peanut butter
- 1 scoop whey protein
- 4 rice cakes
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 apple
Lunch: chicken and rice bowl
- 200g grilled chicken breast
- 1.5 cups cooked white rice
- Steamed broccoli or spinach
- 1 tbsp olive oil drizzled on veg
Pre-workout meal: turkey wrap
- 1 wholemeal wrap
- 100g lean turkey breast
- Spinach, tomato
- 1 tbsp hummus
Post-workout meal: recovery shake and cereal
- 1 scoop whey protein and water
- 2 cups cornflakes with 1 cup skim milk
Dinner: chicken, rice and veg again
- 150g grilled chicken thigh
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- Steamed zucchini, carrots and capsicum
- Light soy sauce or lemon for flavour
Before bed snack: cottage cheese and almonds
- 150g low-fat cottage cheese
- 10 almonds
- 1 tbsp honey
