Happy birthday, Jackie Chan! Revealing the action legend's fitness secrets
If someone has ever dominated the action scenes in cinemas globally for the longest time, we can hardly think of anyone other than Jackie Chan. From sky diving from a hot air balloon to falling into a pit of burning hot coal, the iconic action hero has done them all without a body double! As he turns 69 today, let's discover his fitness secrets.
Chan starts his day and workout by running
The legendary action hero and choreographer begins his day by running for three to five miles, which in his opinion, is a great warm-up exercise. Even when he was severely injured with a broken ankle during the shoot of his film Rumble in the Bronx, the superstar didn't stop running. Instead of running for 45 minutes, he cut short it to 20 minutes.
Post cardio, the martial art expert indulges in weight lifting
After he is done running, the actor hits the gym for his weight training session. Although he does beginner-friendly weight training exercises, he amps them up by doing four to five sets of each, with 20 to 30 fast-paced repetitions. His exercises include decline push-ups, knuckle push-ups, bench presses, pull-downs, seated rows, cable overhead presses, barbell squats, leg curls, and dumbbell lunges.
Even in his 60s, he hones his martial art skills
Chan, during his teenage and early adulthood, had mastered his skills in gymnastics, taekwondo, Shaolin-kung-fu, and hapkido. Even as he turns 69 today, he indulges in his martial arts practice and perfects his skills. From splits and backbends to thumb press-ups, knee-deep squats, and one-legged squats, he aces them all with ease and consistency to improve his flexibility.
Who did it better?
I work out depending on how I feel: Chan
During an interview, Chan revealed, "I just work out depending on how I feel like it because I have very good basic training, so I don't need to train different body parts on a schedule. When I am on a set, I am fighting, there is already a lot of movement. I just cannot get too big, especially on my shoulders and arms."
Here's a visual treat of his power-packed action!
Believe it or not, he isn't stringent about his diet
Chan doesn't believe in depriving himself of food or following a stringent diet. "I don't have a special diet—I eat everything. Of course, I'm watching not to eat things that are too oily. Mostly I eat vegetables and once or twice a week I'll eat ice cream, but mostly I just stop myself from eating too much junk food," he said during an interview.
