As a personal trainer, I’m always looking out for Hollywood celebrities who go through significant body transformations. And Aaron Taylor-Johnson's physique stood out for me a lot when I looked up his career since Kick Ass on IMDB.
So, our team spent about two days researching him on social media and in media interviews to see if we could come up with enough details to recreate Aaron Taylor-Johnson's workout routine.
The good news is that there was enough information available.
Here’s what we found.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Stats
- Born: June 13, 1990
- Height: 5’11”
- Weight: 180 lbs
- Waist: 34”
- Chest: 45”
Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Workout Routine
The Aaron Taylor-Johnson workout routine involves a mix of plyometrics, resistance training, and cardio. And when you look at the changes he’s gone through since Aaron Taylor-Johnson starred in Kick-Ass, then you have to conclude that something is working.
Monday: Full Body Strength Training
Aaron Taylor-Johnson starts off the week with a workout that targets all body parts. This day mainly involves compound exercises that move multiple joints and engage as many muscles as possible [1].
Here’s what you do:
- Medicine ball slam (3 sets of 15 reps)
- Kettlebell swing (3 sets of 15 reps)
- Wide-grip press-ups (3 sets of 15 reps)
- Reverse lunges (3 sets of 15 reps)
- Squats (3 sets of 10 reps)
- Bench press (3 sets of 10 reps)
- Pull-ups (3 sets of 15 reps)
Tuesday: Cardio Training
On Tuesday, Aaron Taylor-Johnson shifts to doing some cardio to keep his BMI under control. When you do a lot of resistance training to bulk up, you can also end up gaining some fat, and cardio can be the solution.
Here’s what you do:
- 15 minutes of treadmill sprinting
- 15 minutes of stationary cycling
- 15 minutes elliptical
- 15 minutes of high-intensity rowing
If you have a favorite machine, then you can stick with it for an hour. Just make sure you vary the intensity to get more out of the training session [2].
Wednesday: HIIT
This is going to be some high-intensity weight training with some weight exercise and fun stuff thrown in:
- Hammer and tyre smash (3 sets of 15 reps)
- Wide-grip pull-ups (3 sets of 15 reps)
- Hanging leg raises (3 sets to failure)
- Mountain climbers (3 sets of 15 reps)
- Bodyweight dips (3 sets of 15 reps)
- Military pushups (3 sets of 15 reps)
Thursday: Rest
On Thursday, Aaron Taylor-Johnson takes a bit of a rest from training. However, his busy acting life will likely mean that he’s on his feet a lot. And that can help when it comes to loosening those sore muscles.
Another thing you could consider is a light cardio session where you don’t get your heart rate up too high. That can do a lot of good for your body’s ability to deliver more oxygen to muscles.
Friday: Plyometrics
This can be a fun and short workout that Aaron Taylor-Johnson does to combine a little bit of strength training with cardio:
- Knee to chest tuck (3 sets of 20 reps)
- Jumping jacks (3 sets for 60 seconds)
- Burpees (3 sets for 60 seconds)
- Russian twists (3 sets of 20 reps)
- Side lunge jumps (3 sets of 20 reps)
Saturday/Sunday: Rest
Training like Aaron Taylor-Johnson means sticking with a strict workout routine. You can’t afford to skip sessions, and by the time you get to the weekend, it’s time to fully recover. I would still suggest that you stay active and go for walks, as this can help loosen your muscles.
What Are His Workout Principles?
Aaron Taylor-Johnson has developed a workout principle with professional personal trainers that gets him to focus on consistent and regimental training. You simply can’t achieve a huge physical transformation without discipline.
His personal coach used some modified forms of German volume training [3]. One of the main aims of this approach is to help him avoid hitting plateaus. Anytime there is a slowdown in progress, slight changes in the number of sets and reps can then deliver kick-ass results.
Overall, this approach seems to have worked incredibly well for him. If you look at photos from different movies over the years, then you’ll see that there is a big difference from when he first appeared in the movie Kick-Ass.
What’s His Diet Plan?
The Taylor-Johnson diet plan is mainly about balancing his macro needs and avoiding junk food. Overall, he seems to mainly stick to a low-carb diet, and that means mainly cutting out all sugar and refined carbs.
He mentioned in some interviews that he didn’t exactly lead a healthy life prior to getting fit, and he ate a lot of junk food and partied a lot. Alcohol is, unfortunately, would be classed as full of simple and refined carbs, so that can be one of the first places to cut carb intake.
Here’s what a typical day can look like:
- Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs on brown toast
- Snack: Bowl of mixed berries and nuts with a protein smoothie
- Lunch: Turkey salad with a side of sweet potato
- Snack: Protein shake or bar and a cup of nuts
- Dinner: Grilled chicken breast with vegetable stir fry and brown rice
“I ate crap! After my morning hike, I went to In-And-Out Burger for brunch most days. I’d get two Four-By-Four Burgers – so that’s four patties in a burger – two of those for brunch and washed it down with a milkshake.”
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Does He Take Supplements?
Yes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson takes supplements in order to get more out of his efforts. Even if you fully implement Aaron Taylor-Johnson's diet approach, it can be a real struggle to get large volumes of protein at the right time.
What do I mean?
Basically, I don’t know too many people who would look forward to eating a large portion of chicken right after their workout to get that amino acid boost. Instead, Aaron would make sure that he takes a top-quality protein powder to kickstart muscle protein synthesis. He hasn’t specified which type of protein powder he prefers. But since he’s not vegan, I would guess it’s a whey protein.
The other thing that my dietitian pointed out was that Aaron probably takes a fat burner as well. He likes the odd cheat meal, and with a natural fat burner, he would be in a better position to stay on top of burning more calories.
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