Brad Pitt Workout For Troy

by Chris Davis

The Brad Pitt workout and diet was designed to transform him into Achilles for Troy. Transforming into Achilles meant becoming a character idealized in many books and movies. Known for having an absolutely symmetrical body, Brad Pitt says this was the toughest workout he has ever done. Considering Brad Pitt’s Fight Club workout, that says a lot.

Brad Pitt reached out to Gregory Joujon-Roche, a top Hollywood personal trainer. Together, Brad Pitt and Gregory Joujon-Roche designed a workout that would get him the symmetrical look he needed for Troy. Roche, who charges $5,000 per week, also came with access to a masseuse, nutritionist, martial arts instructor, yoga instructor, and core trainer. Thus, when it came to transforming into Achilles, the Brad Pitt Workout has a huge support team.

Brad Pitt Workout Routine

Sources for the Brad Pitt Workout Routine For Troy include:

• Interviews with Brad Pitt while promoting his movie Troy.
• Interviews with  Brad Pitt’s trainer, Gregory Joujon-Roche of Holistic Fitness.
• Gregory Joujon-Roche’s book, One Body, One Life: Six Weeks to the New You
• Magazine Interviews in Men’s Health, People Magazine, & Bodybuilding.

Brad Pitt Workout Monday Routine = Chest & Shoulders

• 1 hour cardio on Treadmill (@2% Incline) with Abs Intervals
• 1-2 hours weightlifting: Chest / Shoulders Focus
• 1-2 hours sword-training

Here’s the Brad Pitt Treadmill Cardio/Abs Routine. Brad Pitt’s trainer, Gregory Joujon-Roche suggests using a heart monitor to make sure you’re at the correct heart rate levels:

1. Do 20 minutes on Treadmill (@2% Incline)
2. After 10 minutes, make sure you’re heart rate is @75%
3. After 20 minutes, stop and do these three core abs exercises: (Ab Circuit)
4. Accordion Crunches
5. Side Bridges
6. Supermans
7. 2 minutes treadmill @ 85% heart rate (160 BPM)
8. Repeat Ab Circuit (x4 times total sets)
9. Do 2 minute sprint between each ab circuit
10. After 4th set of abs, end with run on treadmill for 5 minutes @87%

After doing cardio/abs, they would have specific body parts they would work on. They would start each weak with chest / shoulder muscles. Instead of having a certain number of reps in mind, just do sets of each circuit until you feel “you’ve killed it.” Here’s the Monday weightlifting routine:

1. Dive Bombers
2. Dumbbell Bench Press
3. Advanced Chest Flys
4. Cable Flys
5. Military Press
6. Shoulder Workout Plan: Lateral Flys
7. Front Raises
8. Barrel Flys
9. Rep-Out Push-Ups (as many as you can)

When doing Dive Bombers, trainer Gregory Joujon-Roche says:

Stretch your abs and lower back, really open them up. Point your pinkie outward, and spread your fingers. This takes the tension off your neck, and puts it into your triceps and rear deltoids.

Brad Pitt Workout Tuesday Routine = Legs

• 1 hour yoga / stretching
• 1-2 hours weightlifting: Legs Focus
• 1 hour martial arts

Instead of having a certain number of reps in mind, just do sets of each circuit until you feel “you’ve killed it.” Here’s the Tuesday Legs Focus Weightlifting Routine:

1. Single-Leg Squats
2. Lunges with a Kick
3. Lateral Shuffle Cardio Interval (3, 1-minute bursts)
4. Duck Squats
5. Leg Extensions
6. Mountain Climbers Cardio Interval (2 sets of 15 each leg)
7. Calf Raises
8. Hanging Leg Raises
9. Skater Lunges Cardio Intervals  (20-30 jumps each side)

Martial Arts: Hold a 10 lb. dumbbell for all these moves:

1. Jab-Cross Combinations (25 reps)
2. Jab-Cross-Roundhouse Kick (25 reps)
3. Jab-Cross-Roundhouse Kick-Jab-Cross-Hook (20 reps)
4. Snap-and-Roundhouse Combo (50 kick)
5. Roundhouse Kicks (Rapid Fire 50 kicks)
6. Thai Knee-Abs

Brad Pitt got to do martial arts with Greg Joujon-Roche’s assistant, Steven Ho, who played Donatello (stunts) in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Brad Pitt Workout Wednesday Routine = Abs

• 1 hour cardio on Treadmill (@2% Incline)
• 1-2 hours weightlifting: Abs Focus
• 1-2 hours sword-training

Here’s the Wednesday Abs Focus weightlifting routine. It starts with the Treadmill Cardio/Abs Routine. Brad Pitt’s trainer, Gregory Joujon-Roche suggests using a heart monitor to make sure you’re at the correct heart rate levels:

1. Do 20 minutes on Treadmill (@2% Incline)
2. After 10 minutes, make sure you’re heart rate is @75%
3. After 20 minutes, stop and do these three core abs exercises: (Ab Circuit)
4. Accordion Crunches
5. Side Bridges
6. Supermans
7. 2 minutes treadmill @ 85% heart rate (160 BPM)
8. Repeat Ab Circuit (x3 more times)
9. Do 2 minute sprint between each ab circuit
10. After 4th set of abs, end with run on treadmill for 5 minutes @87%

For the abs, Gregory Joujon-Roche wants you to go to failure. Instead of having a certain number of reps in mind, just do sets of each circuit until you feel “you’ve killed it.”

1. Reverse Crunches
2. Jackknifes
3. Plank Extensions
4. Elbow Side Planks
5. V-Ups
6. Bicycle Crunches
7. Lower Leg Curls
8. Weighted Decline Sit-ups
9. Hip Flexions with a Punch

Counting reps isn’t what’s important. Instead, Brad Pitt’s trainer Gregory Joujon-Roche wants you to reach a breakthrough moment:

In the breakthrough moment, you teeter on the edge of failure, because you’re not sure that you can perform even one more rep. Your muscles say you can’t. Your mind says you can. Who wins?

Brad Pitt Workout Thursday Routine = Arms

• 1 hour yoga / stretching
• 1-2 hours weightlifting: Arms Focus
• 1 hour martial arts

Here’s the Arms Focus Thursday weightlifting routine. Instead of having a certain number of reps in mind, just do sets of each circuit until you feel “you’ve killed it.”

1. Lat pull-downs
2. Seated Pulley Rows
3. Pullovers
4. Bicep Curl into Shoulder Press
5. Concentration Bicep Curls
6. Bicep Curls with a Twist
7. Hammer Curls
8. Tricep Skull Crushers
9. Rear Dips

Martial Arts: Hold a 10 lb. dumbbell for all these moves:

1. Jab-Cross Combinations (25 reps)
2. Jab-Cross-Roundhouse Kick (25 reps)
3. Jab-Cross-Roundhouse Kick-Jab-Cross-Hook (20 reps)
4. Snap-and-Roundhouse Combo (50 kick)
5. Roundhouse Kicks (Rapid Fire 50 kicks)
6. Thai Knee-Abs

Brad Pitt says that transforming into Achilles for Troy was the hardest workout he ever went through. But, at some point, you get the hang of it.

“The training was brutal. But, after three months I was able to enjoy it.

Brad Pitt Workout Friday Routine = Chest & Shoulders

• 1 hour cardio on Treadmill (@2% Incline) with Abs Intervals
• 1-2 hours weightlifting: Chest / Shoulders Focus
• 1-2 hours sword-training

Here’s the Brad Pitt Treadmill/Abs Friday Routine. Brad Pitt’s trainer, Gregory Joujon-Roche suggests using a heart monitor to make sure you’re at the correct heart rate levels:

1. Do 20 minutes on Treadmill (@2% Incline)
2. After 10 minutes, make sure you’re heart rate is @75%
3. After 20 minutes, stop and do these three core abs exercises: (Ab Circuit)
4. Accordion Crunches
5. Side Bridges
6. Supermans
7. 2 minutes treadmill @ 85% heart rate (160 BPM)
8. Repeat Ab Circuit (x3 more times)
9. Do 2 minute sprint between each ab circuit
10. After 4th set of abs, end with run on treadmill for 5 minutes @87%

After doing cardio/abs, they would have specific body parts they would work on. Here’s the Friday Chest / Shoulders routine. Instead of having a certain number of reps in mind, just do sets of each circuit until you feel “you’ve killed it.”

1. Dive Bombers
2. Dumbbell Bench Press
3. Advanced Chest Flys
4. Cable Flys
5. Military Press
6. Shoulder Workout Plan: Lateral Flys
7. Front Raises
8. Barrel Flys
9. Rep-Out Push-Ups (as many as you can)

Brad Pitt used the afternoons for sword training. To get ready to fight like Achilles, he worked with Tim Weske. His fitness trainer, Greg Joujon-Roche, watched him train one day, and joked that sword training is an in-itself great workout:

Screw traditional workouts. If you want to get in shape, just do Sword Training!

Brad Pitt Workout Saturday Routine = Legs

• 1 hour yoga / stretching
• 1-2 hours weightlifting: Legs
• 1 hour martial arts

Instead of having a certain number of reps in mind, just do sets of each circuit until you feel “you’ve killed it.” Here’s the Saturday Legs Weightlifting Routine:

1. Single-Leg Squats
2. Lunges with a Kick
3. Lateral Shuffle Cardio Interval (3, 1-minute bursts)
4. Duck Squats
5. Leg Extensions
6. Mountain Climbers Cardio Interval (2 sets of 15 each leg)
7. Calf Raises
8. Hanging Leg Raises
9. Skater Lunges Cardio Intervals  (20-30 jumps each side)

Martial Arts: Hold a 10 lb. dumbbell for all these moves:

1. Jab-Cross Combinations (25 reps)
2. Jab-Cross-Roundhouse Kick (25 reps)
3. Jab-Cross-Roundhouse Kick-Jab-Cross-Hook (20 reps)
4. Snap-and-Roundhouse Combo (50 kick)
5. Roundhouse Kicks (Rapid Fire 50 kicks)
6. Thai Knee-Abs

Brad Pitt Workout Routine Descriptions

In general, you want to do as many reps as you can of each set. Trainer Gregory Joujon-Roche wants you to find your breakout moments. “Breakout Moments” are when your body says you can’t do 1 more, but your mind knows you can, do 1 more. Finish as many sets as you can this way.

Instead of having a certain number of reps in mind, just do sets of each circuit until you feel “you’ve killed it.” Do all your sets until failure. Brad Pitt’s trainer, Greg Joujon-Roche, says that if you’re workout routine needs exact training, then use the following.

Directions:

1. Do 3 sets of each exercise, 15 reps each time.
2. Make sure to rest for 60 seconds between each set.
3. Find a weight that allows you to complete at least 15 reps.
4. Make sure that you use good form, and are fatigued at the 15th rep.
5. If you find 15 reps easy, make sure to go up in weight next set.
6. Remember to focus on safety throughout your workout.

Brad Pitt Diet

From various interviews with Brad Pitt and his Trainer, Gregory Joujon-Roche, the Brad Pitt Diet includes:

• 20 ounces of water upon waking up
• Breakfast: eggs, whey protein shakes, almonds, bananas
• Lunch: vegetable salad with avocados and raw seeds
• Dinner: grilled chicken or fish, vegetables, rice
• Shakes with coconut water, scoop of protein powder, avocado, flaxseed oil, Hawaiian Spirulina, cinnamon.
• Shakes with frozen blueberries, kombucha, udo’s oil, spring water.
• Fat burning lemonade: 32 oz. water, fresh squeezed lemon, shake of cayenne pepper, stevia
• Raw nuts, organic raisins, raw sunflower seeds
• Green tea, cooked quinoa, 8 oz. fresh vegetable juice (80% vegetable, 20% green apple)
• Brad Pitt’s trainer is famous for the immune boosting, super-wellness shot

Brad Pitt’s trainer, Gregory Joujon-Roche, says that if you spend all day eating healthy, it will help you to eat healthy for dinner. The key to the Brad Pitt diet is to complete this process, over and over. He says:

Eating healthy all day will motivate you to eat a healthy dinner. Then, you’re on a roll and feeling great.