How Paul Mescal Bulked Up for “Gladiator 2” (+ an Arm Workout to Try)

Gladiator II star Paul Mescal said last year he spends “all day, every day” thinking about the Roman empire. Clearly.

“Are you not entertained?” Yeah, we certainly are. , the long-anticipated sequel to director Ridley Scott’s 2000 Oscar-hoarding historical epic, hits theaters on Nov. 22, 2024 in the United States.

The sequel stars indie darling Paul Mescalwho bulked up big time for his role as Lucius Verus. In a flurry of new promotional photos released on Jul. 1, 2024one thing is clear — Mescal’s Verus has had access to a dumbbell or two.

We were already hyped for Scott’s next directorial turn at a historical epic, but after seeing how much work Mescal has been putting in for his role, we’re positively giddy. is going to examine how Mescal transformed his body for and give you a warrior’s arm workout to boot.

Paul Mescal Body Transformation

In Dec. 2023, Mescal chatted with star Natalie Portman as part of ‘s ongoing “Actors on Actors” series, which pairs unlikely Hollywood duos for a series of back-and-forth conversational interviews.

There is a physical robustness required for the character.

Paul Mescal for The Hollywood Reporter, 2023

When Portman prompted Mescal on how he’s preparing for his role in the sequel, Mescal touched on how many protein shakes he’s been putting away: “It’s a big departure from everything I’ve done before.”

• Folks who engage in strength training require higher-than-average amounts of dietary protein. (1)
• A commonly cited figure for those who enjoy bodybuilding workouts is to consume 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. (2)
• So, if you weigh roughly 180 pounds and are shooting to gain muscle, aim for 130 to 180 grams of protein each day from either whole-food sources or whey protein powders.
• You can also check out ‘s handy protein intake calculator to find out just how much protein you need based on your body type and physical activity levels.

However, Mescal is surprisingly mum about the specifics of his workout routine for . Speaking to earlier in 2023, Mescal remarked on the current state of body transformations for men in tentpole Hollywood blockbusters:

• “With films like this, there is sometimes a focus on [bulking up] … Of course there’s a physical robustness required for the character, but past that, I’m not interested … Sometimes I see films and I’m like, ‘That person doesn’t look real.’”

A Arm Workout To Try

Mescal is on-mark about one thing — Hollywood certainly holds its leading men and women to larger-than-life standards. But does that mean that a physique with real “physical robustness” is out of reach? We don’t think so.

The star has certainly built muscle ahead of , a fact that’s evident across the film’s promotional photography. If you’ve found yourself inspired to pick up a shortsword after seeing Mescal in action, we urge caution.

But if you want to build and tone your arms with functional arm exercises, we’ve got you covered. Give this one a spin. All you’ll need is a few pairs of dumbbells and your own body weight:

• Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curl: 4 x 8
• Dumbbell Skull Crusher: 3 x 12
• Chin-Up + Diamond Push-Up: 2 x AMRAP, as a superset

Hammer curls are a biceps curl variation that targets the brachialis and brachioradialis; muscles which make your arms appear thicker from the front.

The dumbbell skull crusher works your triceps on the back of your arm, and studies have shown that doing triceps exercises with your shoulder flexed builds more muscle than other options, such as cable pushdowns. (3)

We love a superset to finish things off, so go for a one-two punch of chin-ups (which emphasize your biceps instead of just your back) and a triceps-focused push-up variation as well.

releases on Nov. 15, 2024, in the United Kingdom and a week later on Nov. 22 in the United States.

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References

1. Tagawa, R., Watanabe, D., Ito, K., Ueda, K., Nakayama, K., Sanbongi, C., & Miyachi, M. (2020). Dose-response relationship between protein intake and muscle mass increase: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. , (1), 66–75. Advance online publication.
2. Iraki, J., Fitschen, P., Espinar, S., & Helms, E. (2019). Nutrition Recommendations for Bodybuilders in the Off-Season: A Narrative Review. , (7), 154.
3. Maeo, Sumiaki & Wu, Yuhang & Huang, Meng & Sakurai, Hikaru & Kusagawa, Yuki & Sugiyama, Takashi & Kanehisa, Hiroaki & Isaka, Tadao. (2022). Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position. European Journal of Sport Science. 1-26. 10.1080/17461391.2022.2100279.

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