For the first Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. and his trainer Brad Bose did pretty straight up heavy barbell work for five months prior to shooting.
At 5’8″ and 170lbs, Robert Downey Jr. needed to look strong, though not huge like other Marvel characters. After all, he does have that killer Iron Man suit to do the fighting for him.
The problem was that for Sherlock Holmes he’d had to cut down to 151lbs. On top of that, he was bored to death with his current training program.
Robert said, “If I have to get underneath a bench press or a squat, I’m going to shoot myself. I just don’t have the motivation.”
So his trainer Brad Bose put together a mixed bag of hard core oldschool training tools to get that 20 pounds of muscle back:
- Kettlebells
- Indian Clubs
- Meels (like bigger, heavier Indian clubs)
- A Wheelbarrow
- Two Fire Hoses, one filled with water, one filled with sand
- SUV Tires
- Sledgehammer
With these oldschool training tools, one an a half out workouts three days per week, and drastically increasing Robery Downey Jr.’s protein and caloric intake, they managed to bulk him up to 175lbs in 4 weeks, during shooting!
They’d fill the wheelbarrow up with 600 or 700lbs of weight plates, then push it around an obstacle course.
Robert Downey Jr. would swing the Indian Clubs and Meels. This is the first of his old school training implements. And I mean OLD SCHOOL.
They got a tractor tire, and he’d hit it with sledgehammers, everything from a 4lb sledge in each hand, up to a 20 lb sledgehammer.
Looks simple, but sledgehammer training is deceptively intense full body workout.
The fire hoses they’d whip around the same way some boot camps use battling ropes:
Robert Downey Jr’s fire hoses were filled with water or sand, making them even heavier and harder to manage.
While whipping that fire hose around looks fairly simple and straightforward, most people would be shocked at how much energy it takes to make that happen. You’ll find your heart rate goes through the roof after only 10 or 15 seconds.
While I’ve never thrown any SUV tires like Robert Downey Jr. did, I’ve thrown plenty of other heavy things. My favorite thing to throw would be a kettlebell:
Throwing things is an AWESOME workout. And for someone who is an advanced kettlebell lifter, with a strong, powerful hip snap, and really effectively drives from the glutes, these kettlebell throws are amazing.
That being said, if you have ANY issues with your form, you can really jack yourself up doing this. I’d strongly recommend getting some training from an RKC Certified Trainer before doing kettlebell throwing workouts.
Pulling a weighted sled is an awesome pulling workout! If you’re getting bored with your pullup routine and need a change, pulling a weighted sled from a heavy rope is the awesomeness:
By now you know I’m a huge fan of kettlebell training. What’s so powerful about kettlebell workouts is that they are so totally full body.
You could add any of these tools to your current training program, and watch your conditioning go through the roof.
If you work out at home, it’s usually not to big a deal to bring home some sledgehammers and a tire to hit. At the 24 Hour Fitness, it might be a little harder.
An easy way to bring this into your current program would be to have 2 gym workout days per week, and 2 home or park workouts per week.
The reason that old school, full body training works is because it is SO MUCH WORK. There isn’t any magic to it. It’s just a brutal, full body ass kicking.
And at the same time that he’s building his body with old school strength training, Robert Downey Jr. is keeping his mind balanced and focused with martial arts.
If we all need a way to keep our head on straight, Wing Chun is how Robert Downey Jr keeps it together. And his career has exploded in these last few years he’s done Wing Chun.
It’s a physical discipline that he uses to keep is emotional and spiritual life in check.
by Josh Hillis, RKC2, CPT, PES, MRS, MIS
RDJ doing old school functional strength training is refreshing. I’ve read an article where he was also using a Vortex Pro Trainer, Jacobs Ladder and a Pineapple Fitness Bio-Oscillation unit. Very different training methods, for sure.
Nice write-up Josh.
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
Yeah, the old school approach is a lot different from the cable/ladder/bio oscillation stuff from his Sherlock Holmes workout.
I think the Jacobs Ladder is really cool, and the Vortex Pro Trainer is prob pretty awesome, thought I never really got what makes it better than a normal cable crossover machine. But cables can be the awesomeness, I definitely under-use them.
Not sure how I feel about Bio Oscillation though =)