Jackie Chan Workout and Diet Routine
In today’s episode, you’re going to see one of the most recognizable and influential film personalities in the world - Jackie Chan.
Get ready for the workout routine and diet of the legend. If you're looking to get the Celeb workout inspired workout-equipment mentioned in this article, I’ll link it to the description below. Before we start this article, I just want to say a HUGE thank you to my subscribers - this blog is a labor of love. If you have a favorite celebrity that you’d like me to cover, let me know in the comments below. And if you’re new to the blog, thanks for tuning in. Now, back to the article!
Chan Kong-sang, famously known to us as Jackie Chan is a world-renowned martial arts icon. He was born on April 7th, 1954, in Victoria Peak, British Hong Kong to Charles and Lee-Lee Chan, refugees from the Chinese Civil War. We all know him because he is a famous actor, but he is also a director, stuntman, and martial artist. He is also a globally known philanthropist and has been named one of the top 10 most charitable celebrities by ‘Forbes’ magazine. He is well known in Asia as well as in the West for his perfect comic timing and his impeccable fighting style. Even after breaking and injuring almost every part of his body, Chan is known to have performed all of his stunts on his own. Impressive, right? He has acted in more than 100 Hong Kong as well as Hollywood movies, out of which more than 10 were his own directorial ventures. He started his career as a child artist in Hong Kong cinema and his talent and hard work soon made him a known figure in Hollywood.
In 1960, Jackie Chan’s father was sent to Canberra, Australia, to work for the American Embassy. Around this time, only when he was 6 years old, Chan went to the Chinese Opera Research Institute in Hong Kong to be trained in music, dance and Traditional martial arts.
He also had a brief stint as stuntman in Bruce Lee films ‘Fist of Fury’ and ‘Enter the Dragon’. He even started working with Bruce Lee when he first started his acting career.
At the age of 19, in 1973, Jackie Chan got his first major role in the movie ‘Little Tiger of Canton’ and then he starred in a comedy movie called ‘All in the Family’ (1975). This movie had Chan’s first nude sex scene. He made the shift from action movies to comedy because his action movies have been a failure until now.
In 1976, he joined his family in Australia and started working as a construction worker there. He got the name ‘Jackie’ in Australia. But did you know that his real name isn’t Chan? Apparently, his real name is Fang.
An interesting fact is that he is the first Chinese man to ever receive an Honorary Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2012, at the Cannes Film Festival, he declared that he is taking semi-retirement from the action movies as he needs to take care of his body now. And who would blame him? After all those stunts, he really did get some serious injuries.
One of his most dangerous stunts and most serious injuries is in the movie “Police story” from 1985. I’m talking about the fight scene in the shopping mall. During a stunt in this last scene, in which Chan slides down a pole from several stories up, the lights covering the pole had heated it considerably, resulting in Chan suffering second-degree burns, particularly to his hands, as well as a back injury and dislocation of his pelvis upon landing.
For sure, the injuries he had during the many years of acting and performing stunts, didn’t stop him from becoming a legend and also from working out. Let’s find out more about his workout mindset.
Jackie Chan’s Workout mindset
Jackie Chan has been a part of over 200 movies in his career as an actor. However, another thing that a lot of people look up to the Chinese star for is his martial arts moves. He apparently took the discipline at a very young age and has been devoted to it ever since. He stated that he was 8 years old when he first began his training, and even from a young age he knew that he wanted to one day be an expert fighter. Many years later, Chan became a master in many of the disciplines that he participates in, and follows an incredibly strict workout routine that keeps him strong, agile, and tireless.
The man is extremely fit and is known to perform all his stunts by himself no matter how dangerous or complex they may be. In fact, he introduced the world of cinema to the wonders of taekwondo, shaolin kung-fu and hapkido through successful franchises like ‘Rush Hour’ and ‘The Karate Kid’ and inspired people from all age groups to give MMA training a shot. Although he is 67, his strength and flexibility put guys half his age to shame.
He took hardcore kung-fu training from the Peking Opera School when he was at a young age. He spent hours every day performing exercises that made him amazingly strong, yet flexible.
He also practices gymnastics. Chan has been quoted saying: ‘Gymnastics is very good for strength, and when you do things like flips and hanging upside-down, it also helps you with your coordination.’ But Jackie also believes that he gets most of the conditioning he needs from his job – where he practices choreography, films take-after-take of fight scenes, and throws himself onto the ground over-and-over again. He is still doing this at the ripe age of 67! He and his stunt team have created a huge repertoire of break falls and flips which they can then refer to like their own “alphabet.” Successful break falling and landing is a big part of his longevity. Interestingly, he says it’s harder to be a stunt person playing a bad-guy, because that tends to involve landing on your face and falling off of things a whole lot more! Hurts me even when I think about it!
Jackie Chan makes backbends look as easy as bending and fingertip push-ups like a walk in the park. He’s the living example of what the human body is capable of if only we were as committed and consistent with working out as him.
Do you want to find out his workout routine, after hearing all of this? Because it’s time for you to hear what Jackie Chan does in a week for his workout.
Jackie Chan’s Workout routine
Jackie Chan starts every day by running between 3 and 5 miles. This is a great way of warming up the body and building stamina that will be useful in later exercises. After his run is completed, he starts on his own classic workout routine that he has perfected over many years. He believes that the simplest exercises are the most effective, as long as they are done properly and regularly.
Without further ado - here is his weekly workout routine:
Monday: Full Body and Core Variation One
Bench Press - 4 sets of 25 reps
Sit-ups - 4 sets of 25 reps
Shoulder Front Raises - 4 sets of 25 reps
Weighted Lunges - 4 sets of 25 reps
Power Cleans - 4 sets of 25 reps
Tricep Pushdowns - 4 sets of 25 reps
Tuesday: MMA or Kung Fu
On Tuesday, Jackie Chan performs either MMA or Kung Fu
Wednesday: Full Body and Core Variation Two
Front Squats - 4 sets of 25 reps
Hanging Leg Raises - 4 sets of 25 reps
Military Press - 4 sets of 25 reps
Cable Rows - 4 sets of 25 reps
Chest Flys - 4 sets of 25 reps
Tricep Kickbacks - 4 sets of 25 reps
Thursday: MMA or Kung Fu
On Thursday, it’s time for MMA or Kung Fu again
Friday: Full Body and Core Variation Three
Deadlift - 4 sets of 25 reps
Planks - 4 sets of 60 seconds
Arnold Press - 4 sets of 25 reps
Leg Press - 4 sets of 25 reps
Dips - 4 sets of 25 reps
Close Grip Bench - 4 sets of 25 reps
Saturday and Sunday: Rest
Saturday and Sunday are the days Jackie Chan lets his body recover from his workouts
Of course, to look that way takes not only a workout routine but also a certain diet that works for your body. Let’s look into his diet regimen.
Jackie Chan’s Diet
Jackie Chan is strict with his food intake. His diet consists of food that is low in fat, carbs and sodium and high in protein. Protein is what you need for those muscles. On days that he would eat more than he should have, he increases his cardio the next day. His cheat days are followed by punishments. Even on the days when he’d eaten an extra part of his favourite dishes like steak or frozen yoghurt. His diet plan is simple, lots of healthy food and lots of exercising after cheat days. Now, let’s dive into it:
Breakfast:
Eggs
Oatmeal
Lunch:
Lean protein
Brown rice
Dinner:
Any kind of fish
Vegetables
Of course, Jackie Chan takes some supplements as well and he allows himself to eat foods like ice cream once or twice a week, but having self-control is important and he stops eating too much junk food. But letting himself slip from his diet only shows that he is just a normal person, like every one of us, so there’s no room for blame here, right?
When you try to get your dream body, diet is a big part of the work. It’s good to find a diet that you can use with great sustainability. That means it has to be specific to each person's goals and needs. But in succeeding to build up your dream body, you have to remember to give yourself rest and let your muscles relax. It is as important as the diet and workout routine.
Jackie Chan is a legend in many ways. One thing can be said for sure - there is truly no one like him.
As always, thank you for reading this article, if you want to see how celebrities get in shape let me know in the comments below. Please make sure you like and subscribe to this article and blog since that’ll help us make more content like this for you to enjoy!