Cam Gigandet Abs Workout – With Diet
One of the tightest abdominals you will ever set your eyes on comes from Tacoma, Washington born Cam Gigandet. The guy has a lot of fans, many who totally want to know how they can build a defined, cut and impressive set of abs like the actor.
You probably saw him in the movie, Never Back Down, where he pretty much ran around for entire show with his shirt off, showing a tight, lean and muscular body.
Because I know many readers of this blog look for fitness tips plus inspiration, I am going to share with you some of the secrets behind Cam Gigandet’s abdominal routine.
You see, I have studied this actor’s workout routine and feel fairly confident about some of the specific things he did to create the sick pack look you see in his movies. I won’t be going over his entire body workout here, just the development of his abdominals because that is what many folks seem to be interested in.
Let’s start off with Gigandet’s stats and then move on to discussing the workout. Pay particular attention to his body type.
Born: August 16, 1982
Body Type: Mesomorph
Height: 6.0
Sign: Leo Male
Weight: 160-165 LBS
Never Back Down Plot
Never Back Down is a flick that came out in 2008 starring Sean Faris, Amber Heard, and of course, Cam Gigandet. The basic plot involves a rebellious teen Ryan McCarthy (Gigandet) getting involved with an underground fight club, where he is mentored by a veteran mixed martial arts veteran.
While there is obvious violence in the movie given the nature of the plot, the film itself offers viewers an excellent view of what a peak set of abdominals looks like when properly trained.
Cam Gigandet and Physique
Before we take a microscope to hit abdominal workout, it is super important to remember that Gigandet’s abdominal workout for Never Back Down occurred when the actor was approximately 26 years old (movie came out in 2008).
I mention this because for males, peak strength is thought to occur between the ages of 26-years old and plateaus somewhere in the early to mid-40’s, according to the current research.
It is important to note here as well that Gigandet was already involved in martial arts before this movie. He also was involved in outdoor physical activities, which provided him an excellent base from which to start his training and diet for the movie.
Because Gigandet’s body type is Mesomorph, it was easier for him engage in training in a way that would produce the Never Back Down abdominals you see in the movie. Generally speaking, in order to get a six-pack like Cam Gigandet in Never Back Down, your percentage of body fat needs to be 10% or lower.
If you are interested in knowing what your body fat level is, consider conducting a quick assessment of your Body Mass Index (BMI). If your body fat level is higher, you will want to focus on slimming down and cutting out carbs and calories to reduce body fat.
How to Get Gigandet’s Abs
To get abdominals like Cam Gigandet, you will want to focus three basic areas.
- Diet
- Cardio
- Ab Exercises
I will quickly walk you through the three areas to give you the essentials as part of your own workout plan. Keep in mind that strength training needs to be part of your general approach here, with the components listed in what follows as general guidelines. Gigandet Diet The Cam Gigandet, “Never Back Down diet for abs” should focus on the obvious, which is low in carbohydrates and high in protein.
Using scientific research that involves your BMI and your Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR) you can determine how many calories you need per day. In Gigandet’s case, he likely was taking in no more than 2,500-2,800 calories a day, given his body type and low body fat count. When you look at the star in this movie, you will notice he has a slender, muscular, “tight” build. He is not super muscular but instead, “cut”.
Example Foods
Likely meals that Gigandet ate as part of his training program to develop his abdominals for Never Back Down include water packed tuna (179 calories/39g protein), chicken breasts [skinned] (142 calories/26g protein) and turkey breast [skinned] (153 calories/34 g protein).
There is a great book entitled, Flawless by Bob Paris, a world renounced Body Builder who provides a good deal of information on how to create a strength building program that includes abs with diet that you may wish to buy to help you create your diet plan.
Cardio and Ab Workout
Obviously, cardio and weight training were important components of the end result for what you see in Gigandet in Never Back Down. I will walk you through some basics in each area to give you a few pointers.
Important Note: Remember that in order to get the look like you see with all of the fighters in Never Back Down, the guys worked out for 2-3 hours a day while also on the payroll of the film studio as part of their contract!
Cardio
Remember, Gigandet was already slender before taking on the role because of his mesomorph body type. He didn’t have to do a lot of cardio in order to reduce his body fat level.
He likely was engaged in the following types of cardio exercises while training for this flick:
- 30 minutes of high intensity cardio, 3x a week. Examples include the Stair-Master at level 7 or higher.
- 20 minutes of seated bicycle, 3x a week set to level 7 or higher
- Jump Rope exercises for 15 minutes.
Cam Gigandet Ab Workout
To get the six pack abs you see Gigandet sporting in Never Back Down, you need to know he was involved with lots of abdominal exercises on a daily basis. The Cam Gigandet ab routine is not for the weak!
Studying his physique and pouring over the available information on his workouts for this movie, I believe he was engaged in the following types of abdominal exercise routines.
- Crunches at no less than 600 per day, breaking up the ab workouts in sets of 200. This would mean he worked his abs with crunches at a count of 200, 3x a day at a minimum. You can find out more about basic crunches with tips on my “Six Pack Abs” page. Many of these kinds of crunches can be completed from home and away from the gym. Tip: Set your smart-phone to go off every 2-3 hours to remind yourself to do the ab exercises, like crunches mentioned here!
- Roman Chair Ab Exercises at the gym. This type of exercise involves the use of a Roman Chair, coupled with an occasional plate to put resistance on the rectus abdominis, which is the large muscle in the center of the abdomen. He likely also used this approach to work his external obliques.
- Side Bridges, used to develop the quadratus, tumbourum and obliques.
At the gym, there were likely other abdominal exercises mentioned here, like reverse brunches on the bench, crunches on the bench, twists and seated crunches on a ball.
Final Thoughts
You now have the basic essentials of what was likely involved for Cam Gigandet to create the six pack (really 8 pack) set of abdominals you saw in Never Back Down. It is possible that the actor was also involved in basic Plyometric Exercises, which focus on building strength and power.
However, because he was training for a martial arts type movie, coupled with the fact that he already had a long history of martial arts training, the need for plyometric type exercises was probably minimal.
I hope you found this article informative and helpful with your workout plan. If you like what appeared here, please share with others and be sure to to Like Men’s Culture on Facebook.
