Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Kiel DiGiovanni, Co-founder
FACT CHECKED
Glen Powell is one of those Hollywood actors you may not recognize right away by name, but you definitely know his face, "That one guy…".
You might even know his body better as he graced the cover of Men's Health in December of 2023. Glen Powell became well on his way to being a top A-lister in Hollywood, starring opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick. In this film, he also appears in the famous beach volleyball scene and presents his famous physique and abs to the world. We'll show you how to get that body with Glen Powell's workout.
Who Is Glen Powell?
Glen Powell has only recently become more well-known as a Hollywood star, but he's actually been in the business for a while. His first role was back in 2003 when he appeared in Spy-Kids 3D. From that time, he began to slowly build his resume with smaller parts in TV Series such as NCIS and Without A Trace. He also started to get roles in blockbuster action films such as Expendables 3 and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.
It wasn't until 2018 that he starred in Set It Up, a rom-com, and began landing bigger roles. However, in 2022, he was cast in Top Gun: Maverick. While not a leading role, this is considered his "break-out" role and was also the film that introduced the world to his buff body.
Since then, he's continued building his resume while leading in his latest film, Twisters.
But let's go back to his body in Top Gun. The main reason this article exists!
How did Glen Powell build that body?
5 Key Factors With Glen Powell's Workout
To prepare for that role, Glen Powell worked with Nick Mitchell, founder of Ultimate Performance, an international training facility with locations around the world that host some of the best trainers.
Upon his first training session, it's important to note that Glen Powell already had a good base concerning his physique and training level. He had always been athletic, so he wasn't necessarily a beginner.
That said, Nick trained Glen following the fundamental training principles that any quality trainer would use. However, a few things make Glen Powell's training unique for his goals—yet another sign of an effective training program and coach, as everyone has unique goals and circumstances. This uniqueness is what makes his training program so intriguing and inspiring.
Glen Powell needed to get ready to play beach volleyball shirtless…
1. Glen Powell Focused On Show Muscles
Glen Powell's trainer, Nick Mitchell, is pretty open with his training strategy. When they started working together, Glenn had about 6-7 weeks to make his body pop for the infamous volleyball scene in Top Gun.
Therefore, his workouts concentrated on building and sculpting the show muscles that would make Gleb Powell look awesome. Specifically, this included:
- Chest
- Shoulders
- Traps
- Abs
2. Use Of Strongman
Strongman training has become more popular among the general public, regardless of whether they compete in the sport, due to its numerous benefits.
- Simple movements
- Ability to load heavy
- Dynamic action
- It can be used for conditioning
Glen Powell's trainer is aware of this, as it played an intricate part in his training program. In fact, when training for Top Gun, Glen Powell's workout program used a three-day training split, with one day being largely Strongman training.
3. Minimal Leg Training
One reason for the relatively heavy use of Strongman training is that Glen Powell's workout contains minimal leg training. When preparing for Top Gun, his workout program consists of zero traditional leg training.
It's important to note that Nick Mitchell mentioned that Glen already had decent legs, so this wasn't a priority when prepping for Top Gun. Training legs would just steal time from training the show muscles.
Therefore, the Strongman training acted as his leg training while also giving him conditioning. We thought this was a very interesting take and a smart use of the different training modalities.
When he was prepping for his Men's Health shoot, he used some traditional leg training, but it would still be considered minimal compared to other training workout plans.
4. Glen Powell's 3-Day Training Split
Glen Powell used a 3-day training split that he rotated through during the week. However, due to his schedule, his weekly training was not always consistent with his usual 3-4 times a week.
We could not find the exact training days, but we would assume he followed something like the following:
- Monday, Wednesday, Friday
- Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Dividing your training like this with a 3-day split allows maximal recovery between training sessions. Glen could go and bust his ass, then have a day to rest before he did it again, and so on.
5. Heavy Use Of Circuits And Supersets
Glen Powell is a busy man who does all of his work in Hollywood. As a result, his time is limited, and he doesn't have hours and hours to spend at the gym.
On the contrary, he needs to make the most of his time – get in, do the work, and then go make movies.
Thanks to the knowledge and guidance of his trainer, Nick Mitchell, this isn't a problem, as he just made good use of things like supersets and circuits. In fact, only a couple of exercises are trained in isolation. All the rest are put in groups of two or three exercises that Glen would then work through.
This is a really smart move. Research has shown that this training style can help you do more work in the gym in less time and see the same results.¹
At the same time, it will also help you do more conditioning and burn a few more calories.
The Glen Powell Workout Program
As mentioned above, Glen Powell used training programs for very specific circumstances: to look good on a cover and create the proper aesthetics for a movie role.
For this reason, these plans purposefully lack leg training. This isn't ideal for most people under normal circumstances. Therefore, we will lay out Glen Powell's 3-day workout program.
However, we'll also outline an alternative leg training workout that you could insert into the rotation. To be clear, the leg training day is 100% our creation and follows the principles and style of his other training days.
Session 1: Chest, Back, Traps, Abs
| EXERCISE | SETS | REPS | REST |
| A1 Incline Bench Press | 4 | 8 | 45 sec |
| A2 Semi-Supinated Bench Press | 4 | 4 | 60 sec |
| B1 Dip (Chest Variation) | 4 | 8 | 60 sec |
| B2 Seated Low Pulley Row | 4 | 10 | 60 sec |
| C1 Hanging Leg Raise | 3 | AMRAP | None |
| C2 Swiss Ball Plank | 3 | Failure | None |
| C3 Single Arm Cable Shrug | 3 | 15 | 45 sec |
Session 2: Arms & Shoulders
| EXERCISE | SETS | REPS | REST |
| A1 EZ Bar Preacher Curl | 4 | 8 | 60 sec |
| A2 Decline EZ Bar Triceps Extension | 3 | 10 | 60 sec |
| B1 Reverse Cable Curl | 3 | 12 | 60 sec |
| B2 Standing Overhead Cable French Press | 3 | 15 | 60 sec |
| C1 Incline Double Curl (30-Degree) | 3 | 15 | None |
| C2 Cable Crossover Triceps Extension | 2 | 20 | None |
| D1 Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3 | 15-20 | None |
| D2 Bent-Over Lateral Raise | 3 | 15-20 | None |
| D3 Standing Dual Press | 3 | 15-20 | 90 sec |
Session 3: Strongman And Abs
| EXERCISE | SETS | REPS/Duration | REST |
| A1 Sled Pull | 4 | 30 sec | None |
| A2 Standing Cable Crunch | 4 | 15 | None |
| A3 Bodyweight Split Squat | 4 | 20 (per leg) | 60 sec |
| B1 Farmer's Walk | 4 | 30 sec | None |
| B2 Swiss Ball Plank | 3 | Failure | 90 sec |
| C Prowler | 4 | 60 sec | 60 sec |
Session 4: Legs (Optional)
| EXERCISE | SETS | REPS/Duration | REST |
| A1 Back Squat | 4 | 8 | 60 sec |
| A2 Romanian DL | 4 | 8 | 45 sec |
| B1 Trap Bar Deadlift | 4 | 10 | 60 sec |
| B2 Single-Leg Leg Press | 4 | 8 | 45 sec |
| C1 Sled Drag | 3 | 30 sec | 90 sec |
| C2 Calf Raise | 3 | 12-15 | 45 sec |
| C3 Step-Ups | 3 | 12-20 | 30 sec |
Glen Powell's Workout Program: Final Verdict
Glen Powell's workout is a solid program for the busy working man who wants to stay in shape.
It's relatively low-volume compared to other programs, so it won't necessarily be the best program for someone looking to gain a lot of muscle mass.
For example, you only perform 11 working sets during the week for the back (Pull-ups, rows, shrugs). You also do farmer carries that could be considered back, but regardless, this is on the lower end.²
Now, some muscles get extra love, like your arms and shoulders.
We also really like Glen Powell's training program's use of strength training. Strength exercises are awesome for building full-body strength while providing high conditioning.
On another note, we liked Nick Mitchell's honesty when talking about the workout. When questioned about his goals when getting Glen ready for Top Gun, here's what he said;
"It's the mirror muscles. It's the front. You are not trying to create big, massive muscles. You can't create massive muscles in that time, but you can create detail by getting people leaner, sharper, and certain muscles fuller in a relatively short time." - PT Nick Mitchell
Do you see it? To be clear, he reportedly had about 6 or 7 weeks to get ready. Nick didn't claim he'd be able to put on pounds of muscle in that time. He said the opposite.
It's not hard to find claims about Hollywood stars putting on a ridiculous amount of muscle in four weeks. This type of talk sets up false expectations, and it's good to hear a high-caliber coach preach the truth—putting on muscle takes time, even when you're lifting with top trainers.
Should You Use It?
So, should you use Glen Powell's program? Maybe.
As mentioned above, this program is awesome for someone with limited time who wants to stay lean and in shape and add a bit of muscle.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a more intense bodybuilding program to bulk up this year or if you're looking to add a couple of plates on your bench press, this won't be it, especially if you've been training for a while.
At the same time, this could also be a great intermittent program for someone who is swapping routines but wants to relax for a little bit and recover.
Glen Powell's Top Gun Workout
Glen Powell is a rising star in Hollywood, and part of his brand is his body. However, unlike people like The Rock Or Chris Hemsworth, Glen Powell's body is realistically more achievable by everyday men. Now, this does not mean his training is subpar or his physique; he was literally on the cover of Men's Health! You're still going to have to bust your ass in the gym to reach his level, but if you want it, you know, have his workout to get it done!
Check our full collection of celebrity workouts!
References
- Iversen, Vegard M., et al. “No Time to Lift? Designing Time-Efficient Training Programs for Strength and Hypertrophy: A Narrative Review.” Sports Medicine, vol. 51, no. 10, 14 June 2021, pp. 2079–2095, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01490-1.
- Krieger, James W. “Single vs. Multiple Sets of Resistance Exercise for Muscle Hypertrophy: A Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 24, no. 4, Apr. 2010, pp. 1150–1159, https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181d4d436.
Garett Reid
Author