THE FIRST TRAILER for Netflix's Apex released this week, revealing that Taron Egerton is looking like he's in better shape than ever.
Apex was shot on location in New South Wales and stars Charlize Theron as a grieving woman embarking on a solo adventure in the Australian wilderness. She won’t get through it without trouble, however. Once she’s all alone, Egerton, playing a local with a passable Aussie accent, informs her he will be hunting her for sport and that she best start running.
The film required some physicality from its actors. In the trailer, we see Egerton pursuing Theron through the bush, in rocky caves and over a series of waterfalls. More noticeable than Egerton's endurance is his physique. In the trailer, the actor shows off some surprising vascularity, with rippling biceps, big shoulders and a broad chest.
Overall, he looks stronger and leaner than ever. Here's what we know about how he trains and eats to maintain such a physique.
How Taron Egerton works out
Egerton has historically been tight-lipped about his workout habits – but he's more than willing to post a shirtless workout photo from time to time. What we do know is that Egerton started training with PT Dalton Wong for his role in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and that the two continued to train together for years afterward.
In an interview with Men’s Journal, Wong revealed the principles Egerton uses to stay in shape. Wong explained that Egerton’s fitness routine was a daily mix of multi-disciplinary strength, cardio, and flexibility workouts. “Lifting is sexy, but you can’t just lift all the time,” Wong said. “Flexibility is just as important as strength. During pre-production, it was all about lifting and strength training. But during production, it was all about maintenance and recovery. We needed to make sure his body was structurally sound."
The basis of Egerton's routine is chin-up variations. “We focused a lot on body weight training, doing different types of chin-ups to define his back, using grips of varying size. People at home can wrap a towel around their bar to imitate a fat grip. For chin-ups, most people’s limiting factor is not their back, it’s their grip strength.”
Injury prevention is another pillar of Egerton's routine. Particularly on chest day, he prioritises warm-ups. “For every chest workout, he does a push-up series, activating the chest, triceps, and rotator cuffs," Wong said. As for the chest workout itself, Egerton uses "dumbbells, cables, elastic pulleys, each for two to three sets.”
He may star in blockbuster films, but Egerton does share something in common with the rest of us – he's not a fan of leg day. “Like most guys, he doesn’t like doing legs,” Wong said. “I had to add arms on our leg days. Everyone likes to do arms after all.”
Taron Egerton's diet plan
While many use extreme calorie restriction and cut out certain foods, Egerton's diet is focused on balance rather than elimination.
“I don’t believe in omitting anything," Wong explained. "It’s all applicable to his needs. Pre-training, he was eating a good amount of carbohydrates, and lots of proteins and fats. During filming, we reduced carbs and protein and levelled off fat. It helped to reduce inflammation in his body. Carbs and all of those micronutrients are good for you, but should be tailored to your specific needs.”
