Jake Gyllenhaal is no stranger to transforming his physique for a role. However, despite his already impressive transformation for Southpaw (2015), the actor grabbed even more eyeballs after getting ripped to play Elwood Dalton in the Road House remake. Naturally, exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel had to review it as part of his celebrity transformation critique series.

Unlike most celebrity transformations, the BAFTA winner had to train in mixed martial arts as he had to take on former UFC double champ Conor McGregor, who played a henchman sent to deal with Gyllenhaal’s character. So, the actor’s trainer, Jason Walsh, designed a hybrid training program to build muscle and sports-based strength.

However, the exercise scientist disagreed with this approach. While he liked how Gyllenhaal didn’t waste too much time warming up, unlike Mark Wahlberg, the issues started with isometric training. “Isometrics are one of the worst objective ways to train,” said the bodybuilding coach. Israetel said that dynamic training strengthens the muscle throughout the range of motion.

So, instead of getting strong in a specific part of the ROM, it’s better to get strong throughout the ROM, especially for MMA, explained the Exercise Scientist. Israetel also disliked the exercise selection. The bodybuilding coach explained that movements like sled push would only make Gyllenhaal great at pushing sleds and wouldn’t affect his “work capacity”.

The exercise scientist also didn’t agree with Walsh’s definition of muscle coordination. Walsh believed that squats and deadlifts build muscle coordination. However, Dr. Israetel disagreed, saying they were “some of the easiest lifts you can do”. Instead of squats and deadlifts, the PhD holder suggested doing “combat training” for muscle coordination.

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Similarly, Dr. Mike Israetel had issues with Jason Walsh’s entire approach. While Walsh introduced complex factors like muscle coordination, timed sets, and offset loading to help Gyllenhaal get conditioned for MMA, Israetel had a different idea.

The exercise scientist suggests what you could do right

The Renaissance Periodization founder explained that Gyllenhaal’s training was inefficient and recommended separating hypertrophy and MMA instead of putting equal focus on them in the same routine. For anyone who might get inspired by the actor’s regimen, Israetel suggested some better alternatives.

The bodybuilding coach suggested separating hypertrophy and combat training. According to him, if some wanted to do sport-specific movements, they should engage in sports training. He also suggested “regular cardio, treadmil running,” and lifting with “short rest periods,” to boost work capacity.

Thus, it’s safe to say that the exercise scientist disagreed with Jason Walsh’s training method entirely. Israetel thought it was needlessly complex and took focus away from hypertrophy. Do you agree with the same? Let us know in the comments.

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