IT IS RARE that an actor will have to play someone more jacked than a superhero. But for Anthony Mackie, his first superhero wasn’t nearly as jacked as his second. After debuting in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Falcon (whose principal power is flight), Mackie has traded his wings for Captain America’s shield, meaning he had to look the part of someone with superhuman strength, endurance and agility – with even more pressure after Chris Evans filled the role so well in the past.
Against the odds, Mackie has managed to get even fitter, sculpting a physique that was worthy of donning the red, white and blue suit. “With the way the costume was made, I wanted to be bigger up top. I wanted more caps on my shoulders. I wanted more of a barrel chest effect,” Mackie told Men’s Health US. “I did a ton of cardio. Just more upper body workouts. More legs and shoulders. I did legs and shoulders, like three days a week, whereas I used to only do it two days a week.”
With Captain America: Brave New World releasing on February 13th, the time has come to see if Mackie’s hard work has paid off. But whether or not the film is a success, it’s plain to see from trailers and promotional material that Mackie’s work in the gym was well worth it.
Here, we breakdown Anthony Mackie’s complete workout routine and diet plan.
Anthony Mackie’s workout routine
Mackie explained his usual workout split to Buzzfeed, saying that he usually hits chest and triceps on Mondays, followed by back and biceps on Tuesdays and legs and shoulders on Wednesdays. He repeats this cycle for the next three days and reserves Sundays for rest. On top of his time in the gym, Mackie completes a 20-min ab workout everyday to chisel out his six pack.
As for the specifics of his workouts, Mackie has been sparing in revealing the details, but we do know some of the facets of his regime. For starters, Mackie gets his cardio in on his way to the gym. “I run 4 miles to the gym,” he told Vanity Fair. That’s just shy of 6.5 kilometres, for our non-American readers. This helps him warm up so he can jump straight into his strength work.
Heading into filming Captain America, Mackie began his transformation by bulking up. A focus on stripping away fat came later. “For me, it’s impossible to burn fat and build muscle at the same time. One of them has to be sacrificed, so I try to put the muscle on my frame first, because I have the muscle memory,” he told Men’s Journal. “After that, I strip all the water and fat out of my system by doing lightweight, cardio-heavy workouts in the morning then cardio again in the evenings. So, the first three months, I lift as heavy as possible – literally everything I can pick up – and that last month, that’s when I’ll just run and burn as much fat as I can.”
As you’d expect, Mackie doesn’t skip leg day. In fact, he looks forward to it. “I love doing legs. I’m into deadlifts, squats, lunges, and burpees. Anything with legs, I’ll do it,” he said. “When I switch over to the high-cardio workouts, I’ll do more explosive leg workouts with lighter weights.”
While we don’t have Mackie’s exact training routine, we can make an estimate as to what it looks like based on his weekly split. Below, you’ll find a training routine similar to Mackie’s that will build full-body strength and mass.
Monday & Thursday: chest, triceps & abs
- 6.5km run to the gym
- Bench press – 4 sets, 6-8 reps
- Incline dumbbell press – 3 sets, 8-10 reps
- Dips – 3 sets, 10-12 reps
- Cable flyes (high to low and low to high) – 3 sets, 12 reps each
- Close-grip bench press – 3 sets, 8-10 reps
- Overhead tricep extensions – 3 sets, 10-12 reps
- Hanging leg raises – 3 sets, 15 reps
- Cable crunches – 3 sets, 12-15 reps
Tuesday & Friday: back, biceps & abs
- 6.5km run to the gym
- Deadlifts – 4 sets, 5 reps
- Pull-Ups – 3 sets, 8-10 reps
- Bent-over barbell rows – 3 sets, 8-10 reps
- Lat pulldowns – 3 sets, 10-12 reps
- Seated cable rows – 3 sets, 12 reps
- Barbell or dumbbell bicep curls – 3 sets, 10 reps
- Hammer curls – 3 sets, 12 reps
- Ab rollouts – 3 sets, 12 reps
- Russian Twists – 3 sets, 25 reps
Wednesday & Saturday: legs, shoulders & abs
- 6.5km run to the gym
- Squats – 4 sets, 6-8 reps
- Deadlifts – 3 sets, 5 reps
- Walking lunges – 3 sets, 12 reps per leg
- Bulgarian split squats – 3 sets, 10 reps per leg
- Burpees – 3 sets, 15 reps
- Overhead shoulder press – 3 sets, 8-10 reps
- Lateral raises – 3 sets, 12-15 reps
- Rear delt flyes – 3 sets, 12-15 reps
- Hanging knee raises – 3 sets, 15 reps
- Planks – 3 sets, 45 seconds
Anthony Mackie’s diet plan
Mackie understands that any decent workout routine is underpinned by a solid diet. For his meal plan, he tends to go light to cut down on fat. “My goal with my meal plan was to lean out,” Mackie told Men’s Health US. “I find that because I lift heavy, I tend to bulk easily. So I try to use my diet to cut as much fat as possible.”
While filming Captain America, Mackie’s breakfasts consisted of a cup of oats, sometimes with berries, but always with six scrambled eggs, and occasionally sautéed onions. “My body uses those carbs to burn off when I workout in the morning,” Mackie said.
After his morning workout, Mackie opts for a protein shake with one scoop of vegan protein powder, a tablespoon of almond butter, almond milk and almond water. He also throws in some turmeric and collagen, for good measure. “My big thing now is collagen,” Mackie said. “Because I like to lift heavy, my joints get really stiff and really sore.”
Lunch is Mackie’s largest meal of the day – and he usually goes Mediterranean, with 2-3 pieces of grilled chicken breast, vegetables with hummus and a salad. For dinner, the focus is also on lean protein with fish, chicken, bison, buffalo or lamb served with brown rice or sautéed veggies and quinoa on the menu.
That’s what Mackie’s day-to-day diet looks like, but it changes dramatically depending on what his goals are. If he’s trying to bulk up, he’ll eat more meals. But lean protein remains the cornerstone of his diet no matter what his focus is. “I go to a lean protein and veggie diet of fish, chicken, and turkey with assorted vegetables. I don’t really need carbs for energy. I have high energy already. So I just kick out all the bad stuff,” he said. “I’ll do that for three months – eating five to six meals a day so I can get some bulk on my frame – then I’ll carb-load for about a month.
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