Christian Bale’s Fitness Workouts for Batman, The Dark Knight

Batman - Christian Bale in The Dark Knight

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.

187 Comments on “Christian Bale’s Fitness Workouts for Batman, The Dark Knight”

  1. Sujith Rajan says:

    Hi,

    First of all i would like to say that you are doing a great job mate. Really appreciate it !!
    Now going on to my query for you. It goes something like this. stopped working out aroung 4 months back. I have started again 3 days back. But this time i want to focus more on my core and lower body and also on fat loss. I have am confused between 3 days split and 2 days split ie whether to do fo for upper body, lower body and cardio or uper body + cardio one day and lower body on the second day. For upper body i plan to work my chest and back on one day and shoulders, biceps and triceps on the other day. Please advise.

  2. MotleyHealth says:

    Wither sounds like a good plan. Really it is a matter of finding what works best for you. I have recently gone back to doing a full body workout 3 times a week, rather than splits. Enjoying it. The key is to just keep doing it, eating healthy and exercising. Make it a part of your life, a part of you, then you will never stop doing it, and you will eventually achieve your goals.

  3. hi my name is jay. I weigh 165 and i am 6 feet tall. I work out 3 times a week and play basketball multiple nights for several hours and also run. I eat eggs for breakfest, and tuna for lunch while drinkning alot of water during the day and taking muscle milk. Will this help turn my fat into muscle and get a six pack by the summer? thanks love the site.

  4. MotleyHealth says:

    Hi Jay, you should definitely burn some fat with that regime. Also get some healthy low GI carbs, take a variety of protein sources, such as oily fish too to get the essential fatty acids. Chicken salads are good too. Keep up the good work!

  5. Hello there,MotleyHealth.

    Hi my name is Ben. Would you say this workout has to be done at a gym, or could the workout be done in the comfort of our home? Thanks for the site :)

  6. MotleyHealth says:

    If you have a barbell, and ideally a squat rack / cage, then you can certainly do this at home. I have a cage on my garage to allow me to safely squat and bench on my own. Safety is important when lifting at home.

  7. im 15, 6 ft, and i weigh 150 pounds, i am naturally muscular but have some fat too. do you think this batman workout will help a teenager with by build put on muscle and lose fat? because i know Christian used this workout cuz he was skinny

  8. MotleyHealth says:

    Yes it would help Mike. Bear in mind that as a 15 year old your body is still developing, so heavy squats and deadlifts on not recommended. Also your daily calorie requirements are already higher than average so make sure that you are receiving adequate nutrition – this means healthy carbohydrates (ideally low-medium GI fruits and vegetables) as well as healthy protein. ReadHealthy Dieting – What To Eat to learn more about eating healthy. As a guideline, a highly active 15 year old needs around 3100 Calories a day to maintain weight. Eat healthy and workout, have fun, and hopefully you will bulk up a little.

  9. i saw batman begins and christian is pretty buff, but what i dont understand is how he had big arms but only did a few sets of chinups and no triceps exercises

  10. MotleyHealth says:

    It does seem to be an anomaly, we shall look into it. I suspect he did more than we have shown above.

  11. Your information is sad to say the least. 1st, Bale never once even came close to 220lbs. Try 185. Also, he had daily, several hour long workouts, not 3 days/week kind of stuff, but real, intense training, the kind that you do when you are paid to do it. Also, it can never be overlooked the ergogenic enhancements that are common in Hollywood, ie, Butler in 300, Jackman in Wolverine, Mcguire in Spiderman, Stallone in, everything. Few, if any people but on 22-40 lbs in a few months of training without steroids.

  12. MotleyHealth says:

    Several sources have said that he reached 220 pounds, although he was never 220 pounds in the film as Christopher Nolan, the film director, felt that he had got too big and told him to lose 20 pounds.

    You are right in that there would be a lot more to his training than is writing in this article, this is just a brief guide to the type of weight training that would be need to bulk up like he did.

    It is not a 3 day a week plan, although for the average person that works and has other commitments then splitting over a week rather than doing daily would provide a more balanced approach.

  13. Hi my name is Mario and just started an intense routine that it sounds like im doing too much based on what I have read. Im 6’1 212 lbs. And in descent shape but want to be very toned. I workout 6X a week for about 45-1hr with weights two body parts each day and do cardio for 20-30 minutes 4x a week. Is this too much? I usually do sets of 4 8-12 reps

  14. MotleyHealth says:

    It is not too much if you are getting the results you want. Bodybuilders and athletes do more than that.

  15. imran khan says:

    hello my name is Imran and I am not able to gain my weight. I am a student and because of not having time I didn’t take breakfast but I never miss taking meals. I weigh around 105 pounds and 6 ft tall. I look very skinny so please give me some advice regarding food and exercise also to increase weight.

  16. MotleyHealth says:

    Hi Imran. First, you have to eat more. It is impossible to put on muscle if you are not taking in a lot of healthy carbohydrate and protein. So have breakfast every day, ideally with a few eggs and / or oats. Other meals should have a protein portion each time, such as fish, chicken, tofu, beef. Follow the weight training plan and eat well. If you do not eat much meat (if you are vegetarian) then consider a whey protein supplement. But make sure that you train at least 3 times a week.

  17. Hi, Imran, I have similar problems – I am 6’2 and weigh about 140. I have a spinal cord injury and eating is difficult for me. It is all about your diet. I have a personal trainer – I workout 3x a week have great diverse workouts, BUT if I do not eat then I do not make any gains. As my trainer says, “eat eat eat.” Good luck, Imran – I need it too HA.

  18. I hit ‘the plateau’ and have been doing the workout from bodybuilding.com which bears the title “The Dark Knight workout”; every day at the gym has been a wet t-shirt contest from all of the sweat. It’s hard to lay off of the booze, but I’m in the second week of that workout and am happy w/ the results so far.

  19. MotleyHealth says:

    Great stuff Hugo. And well done for laying off the booze – a sure sign you are really dedicated!

  20. Hello i am 5-9 and very skinny please tell me which exercise to follow and diet to eat to gain mass and become good looking in shape

  21. MotleyHealth says:

    Hi Dany, take a good long look at this: Basics Of A Healthy Diet – What To Eat. Getting both quality carbohydrates and proteins is essential for building muscle. Also plenty of exercise, weight training like the routines above, and rest.

  22. hi i want to start the above exercise regimine but need help with the diet i should follow and what to drink, ive read the basics of a helathy diet-what to eat page of your website but frankly dont understand it, so what do you recomend i eat and drink on this diet?????

  23. MotleyHealth says:

    One suggestion: Muesli for breakfast, chicken or egg salad for lunch, fish or steak and steamed vegetables for dinner.

  24. Do you know how long each day of exercise should take? I read and heard that after 45 minutes of working out your testosterone levels begin to drop so it needs to a be an explosive workout within 45 minutes or at most to an hour. Could I please get your input on this?

  25. MotleyHealth says:

    Hi Sinan, I have not done any research on the effects of exercise on testosterone and how it may affect a workout. However, a lot of people workout for more than 45 minutes, and you certainly need to do more than 45 minutes to reach your peak fitness.

  26. im 230 5’11. I have lost fat recently from a 6 weeks workout plan, and have gained 10 lbs. im looking for a good diet and new workout routine. one thing that does worry me about cutting carbs as well as well as fat would be allowing my body to get into a ketosis state. would it be better to consume omega-3 fats and take in green carbs or is it better to start with no carbs sans fat?

    also, my girlfriend and I have been following the same workout plan, is this ok? as far as here goals go, she just wants to lose weight and gain minor muscle mass. we also wonder about a decent diet is for both of us.

    being that I would like to loss fat and bulk up as she would like to just lose weight and gain minimal mass.

  27. I have been following this program, just without the sprint part. And in 3 months i have gained over 5kg and some of it is without doubt muscles. Thanks a lot. I have been in the gym for so many years without good results before i tried this. I recommend everyone that wants to gain more size to try this program.

  28. MotleyHealth says:

    Brilliant Al, so glad you found it useful.

  29. ChristianB says:

    Hi,
    do you got information about the actual workout routine from CB for “The Dark Knight Rises”-Movie?
    Or do you think there will be a release of it in time?
    Thanks!

  30. MotleyHealth says:

    Sorry, nothing yet.

  31. hi, my question is , how to gain 20lbs , because i workout like everyday and its been very hard for me to gain .so can u help me out?

  32. MotleyHealth says:

    Are you eating enough Josh? Plenty of healthy carbs and protein, and if you are training hard then a protein shake can help too. Muscles need energy and nutrition to grow.

  33. I try to, lol, but can I use a whey protein shake for my pre workout and my other question is about Thursday can I do just a bodyweight , such as plyometrics workout or just have a rest day.

  34. MotleyHealth says:

    If course you can, sounds like a good plan.

  35. Thank you for putting up this plan! I’ve been doing it for about two weeks now, and was wondering if the biceps and triceps get worked enough in this routine, or if I should supplement with curls, tricep extensions, etc…

  36. MotleyHealth says:

    Only you can know that Chris, by all means do more curls and tricep work if you need it / want it. It is just a guide really!

  37. Hi there,

    First of all, I would like to say that this is a great article.

    I was just wondering if you could offer any advice/suggestions about my own workout routine. Everyday(wih the odd day off) I do the following routine, an hour before breakfast, and an hour before dinner(it takes me half an hour to do everything). I have being doin it for about three weeks and have put on between 2pounds of muscle. My body type is an ecto-mesmo. My workout is as follows:

    Bicep:

    Dumbbell curls(50 reps per arm)
    Seated dumbbell curls(50 reps per arm)
    Concentration curls(20 reps per arm)
    Hammer curls (30reps per arm)

    Tricep:

    One arm tricep extension (20 reps per arm)
    Tricep kickbacks(20 reps per arm)
    French presses(20 reps per arm)
    tricep bench press(30 reps per arm)

    Back:

    Dead lifts(30 reps)
    Single arm row(30 reps per arm)

    Shoulders:

    Arnold dumbbell press (20 reps)
    seated shoulder presses(20 reps)
    Front raises(20reps per arm)
    lateral raises(30reps per arm)

    Chest:

    Flat chest flies (50 reps)
    Flat chest presses (50 reps)

    I also do 300 crunches a night before bed.

    I don’t know if my dumbbells are heavy enough(7.5kg) each, they give me a good workout, but I don’t know if I should be lifting heavier weights whilst doing less reps??
     
    I have a bowl of cereal in the morning, as well as two slices of bacon, two fried eggs, and a slice of bread for breakfast.

    I have a chicken and bacon pasta pot at lunch (1000 calories, 96% of the GDA of fat)

    I have various slices of meat at dinner time wih some greens, and some lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes.

    After my sit ups at night I have 45g of protein(in form of shake) as I go to bed.

    I am 6′ 2″ and weigh about 151 pounds. I am very toned, but I really want to put on more body mass. 

    Do you have any ideas how I could put on more muscle mass?

    I don’t know if my dumbbells are heavy enough(7.5kg) each, they give me a good workout, but I don’t know if I should be lifting heavier weights whilst doing less reps?? Should I be eating more, or changing my exercises/ doing more??

    I am sorry for being very specific, I greatly appreciate the time and effort you have put in this article.

    Many thanks,
    George

  38. MotleyHealth says:

    Hi George, yes, you do need to start lifting heavier weights to build more muscle. Three sets of 8-12 repetitions is a good starting point. You will be doing fewer reps for each exercise and taking a short break inbetween each set so that you can work the muscles harder by lifting more. Your routine is great for muscular endurance and fitness but can only go so far to help build muscle.

  39. I am a student at Univeristy and my diet consisting largrly of copious amounts of beer and fast food is clearly not good, i rarely eat well and very rarely have breakfast. Obviously the long run game plan is to look like Bale but in the mean time could I have some advise on how to lose weight, i’m about 5 ft 8, and about 12 stone. Cheers guys!

  40. MotleyHealth says:

    Hi Craig, well, first you need to eat healthier and eat less. Drinking less beer will help too. Join up with some new Uni clubs too, get active. I used to do martial arts and be part of a hillwalking walking club too, which got me out of town / campus at the weekends.

  41. I had a quick question about some specific stuff I need to do to help me work out I try to eat a big protein breakfast every morning and eat once every 3 hrs a day and I also recently looked into the Atkins diet thinking it would help me with this particular workout routine. But a problem of mine is I weigh 200lbs with about 30% body fat. I was wondering if there were any specific workouts and advice that could help me with this workout. Ive always had a belly and never had any abs but its one of my goals. I kinda have a personal one to have my body in this condition before the next movie comes out July 20th. Is this possible?

  42. MotleyHealth says:

    Hi Michael. Sounds like you need to cut calories. If you are eating every 3 hours you should not also be having “a big protein breakfast”. Also, contrary to popular belief, eating every 3 hours does not help you lose weight. Bodybuilders and athletes sometimes eat more often to ensure that their muscles are receiving a steady supply of protein. Slower release proteins such as casein from eggs may be more sensible for most people. If you are not training for more than 3 hours a day I think that eating every 3 hours will do nothing but make you gain more weight. Eat 3 meals a day. Exercise for a minimum of 60 minutes a day. Do cardio as well as weight training. Get fit and build some muscle.

    If after a few months, or more, you are fitter and stronger and making some good progress, then you may want to increase your workouts and may then need to supplementation of more food. But until then, you need to eat less, not more.

  43. id like to say this workout although showed no muscle change made a huge difference to my strength i have a high motabloism and a very andrew garfield build but after even a couple of weeks i lifted more than the rugby captain at they gym (he was not happy) both in our late teens. i had to stop this for a while after my shoulder got pulled out of place and my foot got broken but im working to do this again however i have some changes 4 (3 sets of 8 reps final set 12) and very light cardio on my days off a 5 mile along my seafront just to lower my body fat i used to be at 4% im around 10-12% now plan to get to a healthy 6-8%.
    one question i have

    when i trained from age 15 to 18 i always had my one eat anything i like day would you say this is okay?

    thanks sorry for the essay

  44. hi is a high carb day on sunday going to change much if i stay healthy the rest of the week and do this regime with some extra cardio?
    thanks

  45. MotleyHealth says:

    Hi quig, glad you found it useful. Hope that shoulder and foot recover fast – did this happen in a rugby match?

  46. MotleyHealth says:

    If your cardio workout balances the extra carbs you should be OK. Obviously if you eat way too much then you may gain a little.

  47. no sparring with my friend doing MMA and a car ran over my foot was a great week :(

  48. MotleyHealth says:

    Ouch!

  49. Hello,

    I am 5’8 and weigh about 150, I would like to weigh about 170-80 by July 20th. I have been working out and doing fairly well however I am unable to shed 10-15 pounds of fat despite eating (mostly) healthy and several days of running every week.

    I have been in-taking a lot of protein and noticed slight muscle gain though I continue to stay around 150. Do you have any recommended arm and shoulder exercises? I will be adding many of these workouts to my training.

    Thank you for having this blog and forum it has been very helpful. Interesting to see several people setting a goal before TDKR.

  50. MotleyHealth says:

    Hi Josiah, if you have remained 150 pounds and gained muscle, you must have lost some fat. So you have been able to shed some of the fat. Sounds like you do need to focus on lifting more and maintaining a healthy diet with plenty of protein. If you feel that your muscle development is too slow and you are losing fat then you could supplement with some whey protein, taken after weight training workouts. As for arms and shoulders, perform the usual – shoulder presses, bench press, curls, tricep extensions, lateral raises etc. You can also add push ups. Arnold presses and kettlebell swings to hit the muscles from more angles.

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