Since taking on the role of Jack Reacher in 2022, Alan Ritchson has amassed an impressive, staggering physique that routinely gets people talking. At 43, the actor currently weighs around 250 pounds, but if you saw how he looked earlier in his career, you’d be surprised by how much muscle he’s added. Naturally, that transformation makes people wonder what kind of heavy lifting Ritchson is doing in the gym.
His foundation, however, wasn’t built around complicated training routines. Ritchson has long relied on simple bodyweight exercises, but as his physique and the demands of playing Reacher have evolved, so too has his approach to training. In an interview with Thomas DeLauer, the Reacher star gave insight into how he used to train versus what his workouts look like today.
Bodyweight vs. Resistance Training
Ritchson says he’s always followed his instincts when it comes to fitness, going through different seasons where his body seems to respond better to different types of training. During some of those phases, he leans heavily into high-volume, cardiovascular-focused bodyweight work, including sprints, pullups, dips, pushups, and situps. This is a protocol he’s long relied on, going back to his youth. Even without traditional weights, Ritchson says he sees plenty of strength and definition from that style of training.
But his workouts have evolved, particularly as he stepped into the role of Reacher. Before the first season, Ritchson added roughly 30 pounds of muscle to transform into the character, requiring a more structured approach to training. At the time of his interview with DeLauer, his sessions typically started with a high-volume core warmup. He’d aim for 250 total reps, mixing classic exercises such as leg lifts, crunches, and Russian twists.
From there, he’d move into 20 to 30 minutes of hard cardio, which might include sprints, longer runs, or time on the StairMaster. Once the cardio is done, he hits the weights. Ritchson says his focus is more aesthetic than strength-based, which is reflected in his preference for higher-rep training. Rather than opting for the heaviest weights he can lift, be uses lighter loads that allow him to accumulate more reps and volume.
4 Sets of 25 Reps Scheme
When it comes to lifting heavier weights, everyone always wants to know the magical sets-by-reps scheme for muscle growth. For Ritchson, his sweet spot is four sets of 25 reps for a total of 100 reps on a given exercise. As mentioned, he isn’t going for the heaviest weight he can move or trying to go to failure with every set. His philosophy is more about creating enough of a stimulus to make the muscle adapt without doing more damage than necessary.
“If I can get 100 of some version of strain that I’ve introduced, there’s virtually no human alive that wouldn’t get some kind of pump or growth out of that,” Ritchson shared. “That’s enough strain to really start to make force adaptations. And I know that if I can get myself to that point, I’ve really given it my all. And I just want to feel like I’ve given it my all. And sometimes my all is like wanting 25, but I get 15. I almost never do less than 15 reps.”
Related: Dane Cook Lost 50 Pounds After Making Major Changes to His Daily Routine
This story was originally published by Men’s Journal on Sep 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the Fitness section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.