WHEN GLEN POWELL takes on a role, he goes all in. Earlier this year the 37-year-old gave up alcohol and donned a prosthetic snoz for his role in Chad Powers. And in the past, he got his pilot’s license to fly jets in Top Gun: Maverick. Clearly, Powell is a dedicated guy. He had to be to prepare for his latest role in The Running Man.
Taking on a role as a character previously played by Arnold Schwarzenegger must be a daunting task. But Powell was up for it. For his latest transformation, he enlisted the help of strength coach Nick Mitchell. The goal wasn’t to get huge, but to build a body that was functional, agile and combat-ready.
To achieve his desired physique, Powell trained just three days a week. His training split was relatively simple. One day focused on arms, abs and shoulders, another on chest and back. Day three was leg day, with a focus on building athleticism and conditioning his body.
Below, we take a closer look at Powell’s workout routine.
Glen Powell's workout routine
Day 1: arms, abs and shoulders
This session was dedicated to core sculpting and building definition on Powell’s arms and shoulders. The day began with a structured ab circuit, followed by a lengthy upper body workout.
Ab circuit:
- Hanging leg raises
- Decline crunches
- Overhead cable crunches
- Stability ball pikes
Arms and shoulders:
- Hammer grip cable curls
- Decline EZ bar tricep extensions
- Incline curls
- Rope overhead extensions
- Military press
- Arnold Press
- Lat raises
Day 2: Chest and back supersets
Powell’s chest and back days were built around supersets to keep his heart rate elevated and muscles engaged. He also utilised partner-assisted incline flys to build deeper muscular control.
Chest supersets performed in quick succession:
- Standing plate press
- Partner assisted incline flyes
- Cable crossovers
- Push-ups
Back supersets performed in quick succession:
- Single-arm straight-arm pulldowns
- Low rows
- Ring pull-ups for bodyweight strength
Day 3: Athletic legs and conditioning
Powell focused on explosive exercises on leg day to build strong, functional lower body muscles.
- Leg extensions
- Single-leg curls
- Walking lunges
- Sled drags
- Treadmill sprints
- Box jumps
Glen Powell's diet
Powell doesn’t do strict dieting. He takes a balanced approach which he describes as “pretty chill”. That said, his diet is still mostly healthy, with the occasional cheat meal.
These are the key tenets of his diet.
- Often skips breakfast but compensates with hearty post-workout meals
- When he does have breakfast, he has a sandwich with sweet potato bread, eggs, kale and hot sauce
- Prioritises lean proteins like chicken and salmon
- Avoids dairy completely
- Uses oat milk as a dairy alternative
- Indulges in dairy-free ice cream for cheat meals
