Christian Bale has proven that he is more than just a pretty face in his roles at Batman. In Batman Begins we saw how his journey began, with his grueling martial arts tuition to improve his fighting skills. In The Dark Knight, his body is still in perfect condition.
Christian Bale transformed his body from a severely underweight 121 pounds to a bulky 220 pounds in around 5 months between filming the machinist, where he played an anorexic insomniac, to Batman Begins, where he played a super fit super hero.
Stats and bio
- Christian Bale is 1.83 m tall
- Born: January 30, 1974
- Married to Sandra Blažić
- Mother: Jenny James, a circus performer
- See also: Bale / The Fighter
How Did Christian Bale Bulk Up So Quick?
The short answer is intensive bodyweight workouts and long and hard weight training workouts. To bulk up as quickly as Bale managed takes an immense amount of work.
Some fitness forums speculate that he may have used steroids, however, with excellent instruction, a lot of hard work, good nutrition and recovery periods for growth, it is possible for some people to pack on muscle quickly. Christian Bale is certainly not a hard gainer!
However, Bale had a harder task than many to get his body from a skinny frame to a muscular and athletic build. Due to his restrictive dieting for The Machinist, actually starvation at one point, his metabolism was very low, which makes it much harder to fuel the body to workout hard enough to start building muscle.
“Anyone could become like Batman if they spent the time and energy required to train their bodies and minds into an ultimate fighting machine.”
Martial Arts Circuit Training
Batman is famous for his martial arts, and martial arts training would have been required to help build his fitness and strength. Martial arts are one of the best forms of interval circuit training.
By its nature a martial arts class or training session involves period of intense activity followed by gentler exercises, and also interspersed with compound weight bearing exercise.
Squats and lunges are ideal exercises for building athletic thighs and legs, while boxing and grappling is an excellent way to strengthen and tone the upper body.
One of the things that makes Batman one of the most popular comic book heroes, is that he does not have any “super powers”. Bruce Wayne is just a man who is driven to fight for justice, and utilises a combination of martial arts and high-tech gadgetry to fight crime under the mask of the Batman. Anyone could become like Batman if they spent the time and energy required to train their bodies and minds into an ultimate fighting machine.
Fighting in reality is never as glamorous as it appears on screen. There have been some classic kung-fu moments on screen when the hero is forced to perform grueling and painful exercises to become masterful fighters – such as Jackie Chan in The Drunken Master and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vol.2 (the cruel tutelage of Pei Mei) – but generally fighting appears easy. This is not the reality though. Real fighters have to train extremely hard to reach the top of their game. Some of the fittest athletes are professional boxers. What does this mean for would be Batmen and Batwomen? To get a body like Christian Bale, you need to work hard.
Batman’s Fitness Workouts:
The best workouts to follow to get a body like Batman would probably be a combination of Bruce Lee’s strength training and Sly Stallone’s training. Plyometric workouts used by boxers would also be required to improve speed and agility. Bruce Lee had one of the most athletic bodies of any actor ever seen on screen, and Sly Stallone’s training was designed to bulk him up to look the part in Rocky 2. Christian Bale’s physique in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is really a good combination of these two systems. The key areas are:
- Compound Weight Training
- Intensive Interval Training
- Explosive Plyometric Circuit Training
With this is mind, here is a workout routine that will get you strong, fast, agile and flexible like The Batman. The workout is split over three days, so can be repeated once a week with an extra day rest after Day 1, which involves the greatest load bearing exercise:
Christian Bales Batman Workout – 3 Day Split:
For each of these exercises aim to complete three sets of 8-12 repetitions. Ideally the final set should allow you to work to failure, or close to failure. Ensure plenty of rest between sets of exercises, unless they are supersetted.
Batman Workout Day 1:
- Chin-ups supersetted with bent over rows
This superset is used as a warm-up before the main compound exercises are done. Chin-ups and bent over rows are both compound movements, which work the upper body well and also provide large range of motion. Chin-ups / pull ups are a great power exercise. Unfortunately, being even just a little overweight can make the exercise extremely difficult. Modified pull ups are of course allowed, to ensure that the workout is completed. If you prefer, cable rows can be performed instead of bent over rows. - Squats
Squats are considered by many to be the pièce de résistance for any successful strength training program. They are the key exercise in the MotleyHealth Core Four workout, which is designed for quick strength gain and fat loss. - High Pulls
With the “high pull” a barbell is lifted quickly from the floor by extending the hips and knees. As the bar reaches the knees, the shoulders are rapidly raised while keeping the barbell close to the thighs, and then the body is extended with a small jump movement. Elbows are flexed out to the sides, pulling bar up to neck height. This is an explosive movement, similar to a clean, but without the squatting movement. Start with a light bar to ensure that you are comfortable with the movement, before adding weight. A fuller description of the high pull is available on ExRx. - Clean and Press
The clean and press is a good exercise for overall mass building as well as power, most of the major muscle groups are utilized during the execution of this movement. To perform, a barbell is lifted from the floor to the chest in one continuous motion. Once it reaches the chest, the bar is then pressed overhead.
Batman Workout Day 2:
- Sprints – Speed Training
Day 2 is dedicated to speed training and intensive cardio/interval training. Sprinting is an excellent form of field interval training. Utilize a football pitch to help pace out your sprints. Start out jogging around a field/pitch at a comfortable pace, and then when ready sprint flat out over a set distance. The length of a football pitch (or width) is ideal. After the spring, return to jogging, recover, and then repeat. Aim to build up the number of sprints completed in a session, and then aim to increase speed. - Squat jumps
The squat jump is exactly as it sounds – a squat followed by an explosive jump. In a normal squat a weight is lowered on the shoulders until the back of the thighs are almost horizontal, and then the bar/weight is slowly raised. With a squat jump, the lift is explosive, with the aim to lift the body onto the toes and leave the ground momentarily. An excellent plyometric exercise. Ideally a heavy punch bag should be used instead of a bar to avoid shoulder/neck injury. - Lunges
Lunges are another excellent leg strengthening exercise. Either performed with a barbell across the shoulders, or two dumbbells (this builds grip strength). You can also perform bodyweight lunges to build up muscular endurance.
Batman Workout Day 3:
- Dumbbell Flyes followed by Bench Press
Start the sessions with flyes as a pre-exhaust, followed quickly with bench press. The bench press is another of the Motley Health Core Four weight training exercises.
- Clap Push Ups
Clap Push-Ups are an explosive way to perform push ups. Like the squat jumps, they turn a slow steady exercise into a fast, plyometric one. Start as with a normal push up in the plank position, lower your body until the chest just touches the floor, then raise quickly with the arms, and rapidly push up so that your hands leave the floor, clap once, land your hands on the floor and repeat. If this is too much, then start with standard push ups, but perform them as quickly as possible.
- Lateral Jumps
Lateral jumps are a simple but intensive cardio workout. Like skipping, they build muscular endurance in the legs, allowing you to keep moving for longer – essential for martial artists and boxers. A great power exercise. To work up from this, box jumps can be added – a simple sideways (lateral) jump up onto a box (e.g. Reebok stepper)
Batman’s Bodybuilding Diet:
Diet would have played an important role in such an intensive training regime. Meals need to have a good balance of quality protein sources, and carbs in the form of salads, vegetables and fruits, while maintaining low blood sugar levels to ensure that fat is burnt and not stored.
A starvation diet is no good for building muscle and getting fit, in fact when working out intensively, calorific consumption generally needs to be higher than average.
Christian Bale is a vegetarian, so whereas most people can take their protein from lean meats, Bale would have been concentrating on high quality protein from eggs, cottage cheese, fat free cheese, milk and protein shakes. Supplementing the diet with nutritional snacks and drinks is often essential during intensive regimes, especially for vegetarians.
When working so intensively, meals need to be eaten more often, to ensure a constant supply of energy and proteins to the muscles. Bale would have had to eat every 3 hours to ensure that he was building and repairing muscle tissue, rather than wearing it down.
To conclude, with determination and a bit of knowledge, anyone can shape up like our favorite superhero Batman. Superior fitness is attainable for most people if they can maintain the grueling fitness regimes required. You too can be Batman.
So what is that one shake that Christian Bale drinks in the movie thats made up of grass? Is it wheat grass?
Impossible to know unless we speak with Alfred. It could be based on wheat grass, but it could be any type of “Green drink”. Generally green drinks are a combination of green vegetables made into a smoothie. Typical ingredients include:
Wheat grass, Parsley, Lettuce, Celery, Spinach, Apples, Carrot, Lemon and Lime.
Here’s a YouTube clip that may help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNQYJxBo-XU&ucbcb=1
Re protein. You can absolutely bulk up without animal protein. I have been a vegetarian (no meat, no fish) for 6 years and vegan (no diary, eggs, etc) for the last 2. Have exercised since my teens (am 42 now) and always been conscious of nutrition and particularly, protein to keep muscle mass as I get lean very easily. Used to eat a lot of chicken and fish and was concerned I would lose a lot of muscle without meat protein.
Since being a vegan I have consumed near or just below an ounce of vegen protein per pound of my bodyweight per day. Vegan protein does not include whey, but instead vegetable sources such pea, brown rice, soya, hemp. If you consume protein powder with a mix of sources, you can get the full range of required amino acids. In terms of ability to build mass, be fit and be strong, I have noticed there is absolutely no difference in protein from meat vs vegetable sources. What I did notice is that I immediately got leaner once I removed meat and dairy from my diet.
I’ve been letting my exercise regime slip for a few weeks now and have been looking for something new to get my head into. I’ve been looking at the “Bond” workout plan and this one. As a result I’ve drawn up my own personal programme which I think I can fit into my weekly routine. The one question I had was whether something like Tae Bo would be suitable for the Active Rest day or not?
Martial arts training should be OK, just do not over do it. Depends on how fit you are. You want to be able to recover from the weight training to build the muscle.
Is it really possible to transform your body like this? I know Bale was fit before he became skin and bones for the recording of Maschinist. And that does help when you later start going back to the gym.
But 40 kg of muscle in this short time? AND AS A VEGETARIAN! Well he hasn’t got me….he surely used something illegal. To build those massive muscles…you first have to bulk up and then get rid of the excess weight to get lean. doing cardio as running will NEVER help you on your way to bulking.
Can you give me an honest answer and say that he did this NATURAL???
And for the record….protein shakes are a mass industry…you are just as well of drinking a large glass of milk and a banana just after training…and then eating HEALTHY good dinner as soon as you get back home.
If you are not on bodybuilder level….no extras are needed…just plain food and cut the alcohol.
Thanks for me.
Looking at this, it sounds as if by “this can be repeated once a week” that if I were only doing the training on this page and started on a Monday, that I would train Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and give my muscles a rest for the other days, right?
I also train in martial arts on a regular basis. If I were to do this workout Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I could train martial arts on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday as long as I listen to my body and don’t over-do it, correct?
Hi Josh, so long as you do not train to a high intensity then you can train everyday, many people supplement martial arts with weight training. If you do too much weight training then you may not be recovered enough to do the martial arts. You should do fewer work sets on lifting with a heavier weight to build optimal strength for fighting. Compound movements will be best for you.
Im 17 and weigh 10 stone if i concentrate on this workout for six weeks how much would you say i would weigh afterwards. How much muscle would i put on, also would i lose any sprinting speed or anything like that?
Hi John. There are really too many variables to be able to say. All you can do is to optimize your growth potential with a healthy diet high in protein, take extra protein supplements, get plenty of rest. This workout should not slow you down, the cleans and lateral jumps should all compliment your sprint training well.
Motley,
I enjoy reading through articles from knowledgeable sources and would like to ask your opinion on my current workout routine and if there’s anything you’d tweak to increase quicker. I’ve used this routine every winter for the past 4 years since I stopped playing college football for quick gains and then always quit around Aug, lost most of it, and began again.
Monday: Morning – 15 mins cardio, 15 mins abs
Evening – Bi’s and Tri’s
Tuesday: Morning – light pushup/situps
Evening – Shoulders
Wednesday: Morning – 25 mins cardio
Evening – Legs (Blew my knees out in college)
Thursday: Morning – Light pushup/situps
Evening – Chest supped w/ Bi’s
Friday: Morning – 15 mins cardio, 15 mins abs
Evening – Back
It’s worked for me in the past, but I’m always up for suggestions to see if they help. I am very limited in leg training due to my bad knees. Thank you for any advice you may have
Looks good and if it brings results for you, carry on. Are there deadlifts in there? If so then a good combination of big compound movements and isolation on muscles. So long as you are pushing yourself to lift more in each workout during the off-season you will continue to gain. What rep range are you doing? 5 reps per set to focus on athletic/strength is generally recommended (see here for more).
I generally do reps of 6-8 in sets of 4. For core lifts I keep my reps to 6, sets 1-3 and usually raise the weight so I fall to 4 reps on my last set.
I don’t do deadlifts. My leg workouts are very restricted to squat, front squat, calves, lunges and plyo, all of which with little to no weight.
My big problem is my abs. Genetically I gain very quickly and tone very nicely, however, I’ve never been able to achieve my ideal stomach. Any suggestions?
Also, what supplements do you recommend? Although expensive, I use mainly Musceltech because I have the money and they do help. Anything you’d recommend, excluding roids?
Abs is about diet. Front squats and your ab routines should build a good solid core, but a thin layer of fat and they are hidden. Supplements – whatever works. Muscletech has a good rep and if it works for you then I would say continue. Do you ever do weighted crunches or side bends? These can target the abs in different ways.
Gearge didn’t you read this page it straight up says that he didn’t eat lean meats do to being a vegetarian.
Hi,
I hope this thread is not dead by now. It was a very interesting read. I want to have a lean body. I have been working out for 7 months now and i have a pretty good upper body but sadly I have neglected my core and legs. Although I have flat tummy, there’s a layer of fat on my tummy and it looks disgusting. I want to get rid of it, below is my work out routine
Monday – biceps – bicep with bars, dumbbells, hammer dumbbells, seated bicep curls
Tuesday – shoulders
Wednesday – rest
Thursday – chest
Hi Sujith, yeah, you need to do some squats and deadlifts at least.
I would also look to tone up my body. I work out 5-6 days a week. I am in competitive fencing, so I do fencing drills ( slow in the beginning but intense for the most part) at least 35 minutes first thing in the morning before eating anything for the workout days, this makes up for the lower body strength training part. I do not take any supplements. However I eat carbohydrate rich diets and can gain Fat very easily. When I lose fat I also feel that I’ve lost a lot of strength too. I am 5’11.5, weighing 70kg and would like to get my fat percentage below 10%. At present I think its 13-15%. I also include ab crunches and chest exercises in my routine. Am I neglecting anything, or do I have to make changes mostly in my diet to lose fat (particularly the chest and lower abdominal area) and build muscle ?
Hi Mani. That carb rich diet could be the reason you gain fat and lose strength when you lose weight. You need more protein if you are training hard every day to build the muscles. When you lose weight I am guessing that you are reducing calories, which means your muscles still have too little protein for growth and you are losing muscle tissue as well as fat.
Increase your protein intake. Eggs for breakfast, chicken or fish for lunch, plus snacks such as cottage cheese will help. Reduce bread consumption, especially white bread. A lot of refined carbs are “empty carbs” meaning they are all energy and no nutrition. Make sure you eat more nutritious forms of carbohydrate, go for a variety of vegetables, salads etc.
I think that you workouts should get you fit and slim but possibly it is your diet that is letting you down a bit.
Thank for the advice. Ill try changing my diet then. After working out 6 days a week though, my legs do get exhausted, I was wondering if whey protein shakes might help with reduce the muscle fatigue?
Also how many meals should I be eating each day?. For now I take only 3 meals a day with 6 hours gap.
Are you splitting your workouts, so working different parts each day? 6 days a week is intensive exercise so you need to ensure you get proper rest and nutrition. Maybe you should not be training your legs every day. 3 meals a day with some protein snacks is a good way to do it. Make sure those protein snacks do not put you over the daily calorie limit though, make the 3 meals a little smaller to compensate.
No, I do the footwork exercises 6 days a week (use it as a cardio) but split the chest and ab exercises to 3 times a week. I was under the impression that if i can do the drills 6 times a week, perhaps after some time the legs will develop the endurance to get used to it. But am i wrong?
If you are training muscular endurance then you could be right, but if you are doing resistance training on the legs they will need more rest. Really you need to be your own guide. You could drop the leg exercises for one day a week, so do 2 days, rest, 3 days, rest, and see how that affects your muscle recovery and performance. Remember Bruce Lee’s advice, never train so hard that you are not in a fit state to fight. If your legs are exhausted all the time from your training how is that going to make you a better fencer? If you would like to share your fencing workout so that we know exactly what sort of exercises you are doing 6 days a week it may help to better understand why you are having recovery problems.
Sure, Ill try my best :-
First 10 minutes stretching and warm up light cardio.
My drills include 7 sets. Each set is divided into 5 subsets .During each subset i do 10 different types of lunges and keep doing the foot work, step forward or backwards before each lunge. First 2 sets i do slow, relaxed full stretch lunges. 3rd and 4th set I do first 20 slow and then 30 fast lunges. Next 3 sets I do lunges and foot work as fast as I can. Between sets I take a break of 20-40 seconds.
Stretch again.
I see, so bodyweight training exercises. You should be able to recover with adequate nutrition and rest. Do you get 8 hours sleep a night? Makes a big difference.
Nopes, just 5- 5 1/2 max sleep is what i get. How does it make a difference?
Our bodies repair much faster when we are sleeping and without adequate rest we risk over training. I suspect that your lack of sleep and poorly balanced diet is the main reason that your legs are exhausted and not recovering from 6 workouts a week. More protein, more nutrient dense carbs and more sleep required.
hi, i was born with mild Cerebral Palsy on my right foot..which makes my right leg smaller then my left, what could i do to sculpt my legs? what about supplements that wont harm me later? do you suggest any? I’m almost 18 and I wanna look good
Hi Carlos. You should be able to sculpt your legs if you can perform the exercises OK. Can you do squats and calf raises? If so then perform these, always try to keep the weight equal across your body (i.e. do not work your left harder, although you can support and assist with your left). Have you heard of Jordan “The Unlikely Toad” Frantz? He is a body builder with Cerebral Palsy. He shared his story on Bodybuilding.com.
If you are lifting a lot then you may well need to take supplements, but to start with ensure that you are eating a healthy diet with plenty of nutritious low GI vegetables and lean protein sources – eggs, chicken, fish, plus nuts and pulses. Protein supplements will not harm you long-term, the only real risk is that if you take too much and you are not working hard enough you risk putting on fat not muscle.
hello!
this program is a 3 day split. do you do these 3 days 2 times in a week with one day rest? and if you do those squats and leg training exersices and the next day you do sprinting and squat jumps and stuff, will you not overtrain you legs then?
It is possible that there is some overtraining in this routine. Good nutrition and lots of sleep are probably required. If you are pushing yourself hard on the weighted squats then you will need more rest before the plyometric workouts and sprints.
Hi MotleyHealth I was wondering about the really weight of Chris Bale in Batman, just because I’m shorter than him so I want to know his weight to calculate his body mass index and apply it on my height. Answer me please!!!
He was around 190 pounds / 86kg when filming Batman Returns.
how tall is Chris Bale?
Dunno Paulo, why does it matter? Maybe about 180cm?
Hi,
This thread has been an interesting read and was wondering if this program accommodates for people with back problems such as mild scoliosis?
Hi ThaiSon, we are not really qualified to speak about training with scoliosis. I would suggest that intensive and heavy lifting should be avoided. Maybe focus more on bodyweight training and cardio, such as cycling. Sometimes performing back exercises will strengthen one side more than the other and result in making the condition worse.
hi,
Thanks for the honest answer I can say this makes for a trustworthy site.
Hi people. Just a word of warning. Any more than 4 days a week (of an upper/lower split to allow muscle repair) of intense weight training is overtraining for anyone other than adapted bodybuilders. Yeah, there will be exceptions etc and people vary, but rest and eating a LOT is the key to building muscle like Christian Bale dide for batman. Im just getting back into it after a leg injury havent been in the gym for a year and have lost about 25 pounds of mass and I was pretty lean so not happy :( If your wanting to lean out, mix cardio and weights, for thin, lean guys just lift and eat a LOT of brown rice, veg, pasta, baked potatoes etc and protein (althought personally i think 15-20% of protein per meal out of the 5-6 you should eat is sufficient, theres too much written about HUGE amounts of protein) and get lost of sleep 8-10 hours a night preferably. Keep a journal of your progress to and you’ll see results in no time :)
Great advice Jamie, people often forget that sleep is so important to repair and growth.
I’ve been training now for around 2 years and have done my different styles of workouts and I’m a very hard gainer for example I took 2 protein shakes of 50g per serving and 1100 calories a serving and 3 meals a day and only gained 5 kg in about 6 months. So now I have decided to go for the look will smith had in I am Legend. I am currently working out 4 times a week on the weights with a low caloric protein shake with 50g of protein a serving 2 times a day. and my 3 meals which are either chicken or something similar could I put mass on like this without any fat? I’m 6ft 2inches and 165lb. I’m also thinking of changing my workout too: Weights Size Building 3 days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) And cardio and strength training (Tuesday And Thursday)is this routine any good for my goals?Any help is welcomed Thanks Chris
Routine sounds good Chris. Just make sure that you keep increasing the weight you are lifting to make your muscles work harder, and also keep improving your diet. Eat plenty of vegetables as well as proteins. The best answer is to just keep tweaking your workout and diet until you start gaining more muscle and not fat. Do you always have you protein shake/supplement straight after the workout?
Yes I have one ready for the minute I finish my workout and then I have another shake just before bed. Should I have one in the morning also just to boost the protein intake.. Could you recommend any low calorie protein shakes? I’m currently taking Isopure Zero Carb which is expensive.. Thanks Again
Maybe a whey isolate, but the more specialised products do become more expensive. Something like this may be good (not tried it myself, but the reviews on Amazon are good): OPTIMUM NUTRITION 100% – WHEY PROTEIN GOLD STANDARD “COOKIES & CREAM 912g
Whey isolates have the fat and lactose (sugars) removed which helps to reduce calories.
is it worth taking a low calorie shake morning, post workout and before bed ?
Yes, if your goal is to increase protein intake but not total calories then this is a good option.
Of the top ten ranked Mixed Martial Arts welterweights, there is a vegetarian, a near vegan, and someone who is trying out veganism…
Yeah, and they are all small guys :)
Fit, fast, lean, powerful, but not bulky.
Just to clarify this, Christian Bale had 6 months, not 6 weeks, like you say in your article, to prepare for the role
You are right. It was possibly 6 weeks from the end of The Machinist to the first test screening for Batman Begins. In an interview with John Hutchins from UGO Entertainment, Christian Bale said;
Interesting that he said not advisable. He also said that he found it easier to lose weight for Machinist than gain it for Batman Begins.