Jake Gyllenhaal’s Road House Transformation & Diet Revealed By Actor’s Trainer

Summary

• Jake Gyllenhaal dedicated himself to getting in UFC fighter shape for the
  Road House
  remake.
• His personal trainer, Jason Walsh, praises Gyllenhaal’s willingness to engage in intense drills.
• Walsh emphasized Gyllenhaal’s commitment and effort in achieving peak physical condition, as Gyllenhaal worked through a dynamic and difficult exercise routine.

Jake Gyllenhaal put immense effort into getting his body in shape for Road House, and his personal trainer is praised for his efforts. The movie is a remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze movie and stars Gyllenhaal as a former UFC fighter who is recruited to work as a bouncer. With Conor McGregor’s Knox posing an existential threat, Gyllenhaal’s Dalton has to be in perfect shape to stop his rampaging enemy.

Since there were multiple shirtless scenes and several real-world UFC fighters in the Road House cast, Gyllenhaal needed to get in shape to match the rest of the cast. Men’s Health spoke to Gyllenhaal and his personal trainer, Jason Walsh, about what it took to help him get to look like a UFC fighter.

While Gyllenhaal praised the entire team, Walsh wanted nothing more than to commend Gyllenhaal for his work effort. He emphasized that the actor was willing to engage in a variety of drills, including sled work, chain push-ups, and climber sprints, and he did so without faltering. Check out Walsh’s quote below:

“The way he looked throughout the movie, there [are] peaks, right? People don’t see the valleys. They don’t see the time in between the peaks, it just looks like one continuous thing. It doesn’t work like that… You can have a great trainer, a great program, great team —
none of this matters if you don’t have the right person to do it all. Jake did the work
. He earned it.”

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Excruciating Road House Workout Routine

Walsh has good reason to praise Gyllenhaal’s workout routine. To properly prepare for the movie, Walsh explained that he took part in mobility drills, isometric exercises, heavy sled work, squats, bag drills, push-ups, and presses. He also worked on sprints, push-pull machines, and various other drills that worked every muscle that Gyllenhaal needed to train. Many of the exercises were designed specifically to mimic the movements that he needed to make in Road House fights.

Gyllenhaal also needed to follow a specialized diet to build muscle. While putting aside sugar, he increased his caloric and protein intake. After discovering an allergy to his protein supplements, Walsh put together a specialized protein blend that Gyllenhaal could safely consume. Gyllenhaal also cooked much of his food for himself and his family and stuck closely with his plan.

Road House
is available for streaming on Prime Video.

Considering Road House was filmed in numerous locations, including the Dominican Republic, Florida, and Las Vegas, Gyllenhaal likely needed to maintain his physique for some time, even in various unfamiliar environments. While Walsh accounts for the “peaks” and “valleys” in Gyllenhaal’s figure, it is still an impressive display, especially for a 43-year-old actor. With considerable effort, Gyllenhaal tailored his diet and exercise plan for Road House to make the movie as realistic as possible.

Source: Men’s Health