Paul Bettany’s Fitness Regime for Legion

Paul Bettany LegionPaul Bettany is slowly developing into a bit of an action hero. We first saw his body when he was running with no clothes on, having lost his clothes in a bet, the the film A Knights Tale. At that time he was slim, but verging on skinny. Then in Wimbledon he looked a little more buff, but still more like Tim Henman than Andy Murray.

Now in his latest film, Legion,  Paul Betteny looks like a true action hero – strong, defined muscles, athletic and powerful. So, how has he done it? Well, luckily the popular fitness magazine Men’s Fitness spoke with Paul Bettany the other day. Here are the juicy details.

Paul Bettany is 38 years old, (2010) and stands at 6 foot 3 tall. He received fitness training guidance from a New York trainer called Mike Hood. To get Paul trimmed and toned Mike got him doing intensive circuit training workouts 5 days a week. The focus was on abs exercises then full body exercises. Paul was slim already, so did not have much fat to burn off. The workout kept his heart rate up high to ensure that he got very fit as well as strong.


Before starting his new regime Paul admits that he did not really exercise much, but motivation was not a problem once he was asked to beef up to become a superhero, as he was getting paid to to it! Unfortunately he physique did not last as his next role, Charles Darwin, meant that he had to be overweight!

Paul revealed that his weight training sessions paid off in more ways than just building up some muscle – he felt that he was walking more upright as a result of back and shoulder workouts, and felt like a more dominant and powerful guy!

The workout he did used light weights to start with, so focused on building muscular endurance.

Paul Bettany’s Workout

First perform the core exercises to develop the abs and core muscles. Cable crunches, hanging knee raises, back extensions, side bends, good mornings, leg raises, V sit-ups, the plank. Vary the routine, but work the core hard.

Then follow this with the circuit training which involves mostly weight lifting. Do the circuit 3 times, with little rest between each exercise, and skip for 2 minutes between each circuit.


The circuit training exercises should include:

  • Squats
  • Lunges
  • Clean and press
  • Flat Bench Press
  • Inclined Bench Press
  • Bench Flyes
  • Lateral Pull Downs
  • Shoulder Press
  • Bent over row
  • Pull ups (assisted if required)
  • Barbell curls
  • Seated dumbbell curls (for increased isolation)
  • Tricep extensions

Perform 15 reps of each exercise, pause for a quick breathe, then move on. No rest for the wicked (or the good)! This is an intensive muscular endurance circuit training workout that is designed to build lean muscle and get a ripped look.

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