Work out like The Accountant: Get Ben Affleck Buff

Ben Affleck is a man who takes his profession seriously; one of the youngest men to ever win an Oscar for screenwriting, a skilled actor and an equally talented director. As part of his commitment to roles, Mr. Affleck has bulked himself up to an impressive degree. His latest film, The Accountant sees him playing a muscle-bound accountant living a dangerous secret life.

While we don’t have any official source on Ben Affleck’s workout habits, providing a training plan that any accountant could use to get huge simply requires nutritional knowledge and a good understanding of training. Fortunately, we’ve teamed up with MaxiNutrition to nail the kind of look you’d be proud of if you starred in The Accountant.

Eat like a movie star

You don’t have to be a Hollywood star to have access to high-quality nutrition. For muscle building results, you’ll want a high amount of protein and to eat at a caloric surplus. This means working out your maintenance level, which is the amount of calories your metabolism burns naturally. There are online calculators to help you do this. Once you’ve found it, you’ll want to add 500-1000 calories depending how manageable the weight gain is.

Making sure you have an adequate supply of protein in your diet is key to helping facilitate muscle growth. Fortunately, whey protein shakes and protein powder supplements are an easy way to boost your levels. In interviews, Ben Affleck has revealed he followed a clean eating diet that consisted of 45% carbs, 35% lean protein and 20% essential fats. You can try to mimic these ratios, upping your protein with supplements if you’re struggling.

Your carbohydrates should be mainly plant and grain-based, avoiding saturated fat or sugary carbs such as white bread. Instead, focus on wholegrain pasta, quinoa, green vegetables, sweet potatoes and oatmeal.

Basically, you need to be eating clean and often. Rather than three meals a day, have smaller portions 6-7 times per day to help keep your metabolism fuelled. That’s how Ben Affleck did it – so it’s how you should do it!

The plan

Getting as big as Affleck is tough – but with the right training plan any professional can bulk up quickly by working out in their spare time. This plan is a two-month cycle that has a bulking and then leaning out phase to help you get a set of ripped abs.

Day 1 – Upper body

  • 3 x 8 bench press (80% max)
  • 3 x 8 clean and jerk (70% max)
  • 3 x 8 military press (80% max)
  • 3 x 10 pull-ups
  • 3 x 8 chest flys (80% max)
  • 3 x 10 dips

Day 2 – Lower body

  • 10-minute warm up jog
  • 3 x 8 barbell back squats (70-80% max)
  • 3 x 8 front squats (80% max)
  • 3 x 8 box jumps
  • 3 x 8 goblet squats (use a dumbbell that is almost heavier than you can carry in one hand)

Day 3 – Rest

  • As a normal human, you’ll need a day of rest to recover from heavy lifting. Batman might not take a day off, but actors do – and you should too.

Day 4 – Back

  • Rowing machine 3 sets of 2 minutes, fast pace
  • 3 x 5 deadlift warmup sets (30-40% max)
  • 5 x 5 deadlift (begin 60-70% – increase each set until as close to max as possible)
  • 3 x 8 bent over barbell row (70% max)
  • 3 x 8 T-bar row (75% max)

Day 5 – Rest

  • Take another day off to help your muscles grow.

Day 6 – Arms, shoulders and core

  • 3 x 12 hammer curls
  • 3 x 12 bicep curls with EZ bar
  • 3 x 12 overhead tricep extension
  • 3 x 6 strict military press (80% max)
  • 3 x 12 EZ bar skullcrushers
  • 5 x 20 crunches

Day 7 – Rest

  • Enjoy your final rest of the week!

Getting Hollywood abs: Lean Phase (4 weeks)

Getting lean fast and efficient so you can combat crime and look good on the silver screen means switching up your routine to focus on hypertrophy and definition.

Day 1 – Upper body

  • 5 x 12 barbell bench (50-60% max)
  • 5 x 12 lat pull-down
  • 3 x 12 pull ups
  • 3 x 12 chin-ups
  • 5 x 12 chest flys
  • 3 x 12 dips

Day 2 – Cardio

  • 20-minute warm-up jog
  • 5 x 1-minute sprint treadmill intervals
  • 5 x 10 burpees
  • 5 x 10 tuck jumps
  • 5 x 10 jump squats

Day 3 – Rest

  • You can perform a light jog/cycle or swim on this day to stay active.

Day 4 – Back

  • 10-minute rowing machine warm-up
  • 5 x 12 light deadlifts
  • 5 x 12 barbell rows
  • 5 x 12 deltoid flys

Day 5 – Cardio day 2

* Perform each exercise after a set of the previous one:

  • 3 x 12 burpees
  • 3 x 12 mountain climbers
  • 3 x 12 jumping jacks (star jumps)

* Perform each exercise after a set of the previous one:

  • 3 x 12 tuck jumps
  • 3 x 12 kettlebell swings
  • 3 x 12 plyometric squats

Day 6 – Arms

  • 10-minute rowing machine warm-up
  • 5 x 12 dumbbell hammer curls
  • 5 x 12 EZ bar bicep curls
  • 5 x 12 tricep extension
  • 5 x 12 skull crushers
  • 5 x 12 close grip barbell bench press
  • 5 x 12 lateral raise

Day 7 – Rest

  • 30 minutes flexibility training, dynamic and static stretching.

By nailing each and every workout, you can build the same kind of muscle that Ben Affleck has packed on for his roles. You won’t have a Hollywood trainer or lots of cash to throw at your workout effort – but you won’t need it. Hard work, nutritional knowledge and hitting the gym will pay off with a body movie stars would be proud of.

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Ben

Ben covers food and travel for Unfinished Man. He has spent years sampling flavors and reviewing restaurants across the globe. Whether scouting the latest eateries in town or the top emerging chefs, Sam provides insider tips for savoring local cuisine. His passion for food drives him to continuously discover new destinations and dining experiences to share. Sam offers travelers insightful recommendations on maximizing flavor and fun.

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