We’re doing a beach body breakdown of the one and only, Zac Efron.
This guy has gone through quite the fitness transformation from his early days dancing on High School Musical to saving lives alongside The Rock in Baywatch.
Zac went from looking like a skinny kid to a full on beast!
A quick note on the structure of this video before getting into it:
If you Google “zac efron” and look at the image results, you’ll find that Zac has had a number of different physiques over the years.
We’re going to focus on three specific physiques, and how to get each one.
1. Charlie St. Cloud – lean without a ton of muscle
2. Neighbors – ideal for jump rope dudes
3. Baywatch – completely jacked
Our goal is to help you create the body you want.
Let’s dive in!
Zac Efron Physique #1 – Slender
If you want to look like Zac did during his early days in 17 Again and Charlie St. Cloud, he was super lean and this is the easiest physique to create out of the three we’ll cover.
Physique #1: How to Workout
First off, in order to maintain this physique, Zac was really active. He often played sports, went hiking a lot, and was just constantly burning tons of calories all day long.
Activity was a lifestyle, not a checkbox on a to-do list.
If you want to make getting lean part of your life, start moving consistently.
• Walk to work
• Play more sports
• Take the stairs
Be intentional to move your body each day, and especially on the weekends.
Beyond staying regularly active, Zac worked with a trainer who put him on a 3-2-1 workout regiment.
We’re not going to dive too deep into the details of that here, but here are the basics.
• Frequency: 5x a week
• Protocol: Alternate between slow, controlled weight lifting and high intensity interval training (HIIT)
• Exercise all major muscle groups
To make this easy for you, instead of trying to create your own workout routine, checkout our free 4-week challenge where you’ll get daily jump rope and bodyweight workouts PLUS a community to support you on the journey.
Physique #1: How to Eat
Zac is a naturally lean guy, so he was actually trying to gain a little bit of muscle in preparing for his early roles.
For most of us, if we’re trying to go for the super lean body, we’re not gonna be trying to put on muscle. We’ll likely be trying to burn fat and lose weight.
In terms of nutrition, the ideal strategy in this case is simple: eat in a calorie deficit.
Our nifty Nutrition Calculator is the easiest way to determine how many calories you should consume and the level of macronutrients you should eat.
Now what was Zac eating?
Real whole foods. Stuff like eggs, oats, vegetables and fruits to keep it clean.
This won’t necessarily help you lose weight faster, but it will make it easier to hit your calorie and macronutrient goals so you can live your healthiest and most optimized life.
Zac Efron Physique #2 – Lean
The closest thing we’ve seen to the Jump Rope Dude physique from Zac is his character in Neighbors.
This is characterized by being lean, hard, chiseled and athletic. Overall you’ve got a very functional body.
Physique #2: How to Workout
With a scrawny body type to start with, Zac focused on building lean muscle and lifting weights consistently in order to increase mass.
3-Day Split
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Monday: Shoulders + Back + Abs
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Wednesday: Shoulders + Legs
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Friday: Chest + Arms
Zac’s real goal was to increase strength in order to gain lean muscle mass.
Slow strength training = Visibly increased muscle mass
This is accomplished by staying in a low rep range (4-6) per set for main lifts (like bench press).
For auxiliary lifts (like bicep curls), Zac increased repetitions (10-12) per set.
While Zac was focused on gains, many of us need to focus getting lean more than anything else.
We also recommend introducing 2-3 days of high intensity interval training (HIIT) in addition to a weight lifting regiment. You know, like jumping rope. 🙂
Physique #2: How to Eat
Nutrition is going to be relatively consistent across all three of these physiques.
When Zac was trying to put on muscle, he ate in a calorie surplus.
Calorie Surplus: Eating more calories than you are expending on a daily basis
Remember, you can use our nifty Nutrition Calculator to run your personalized numbers based on your body metrics and goals.
Lastly, eat whole, real foods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats. These foods are nutritious and also make it easy to hit your macros (aka eating the right amount of protein, carbs and fats).
When you do that, it makes it even easier to reach your fitness goals because each positive step you take is multiplied by the other.
Fitness ≠ Nutrition + Exercise
Fitness = Nutrition x Exercise
Healthy habits compound each other much more than they complement each other.
Zac Efron Physique #2 – Jacked
For his appearance in Baywatch, our buddy Zac starred next to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. You’re talking about a guy who travels with his own personal gym.
To prepare for the role, Zac put on 10 lbs of muscle mass over the course of a year.
This takes incredible commitment and is super impressive because 10 lbs is about the maximum amount of muscle mass you can expect to naturally gain in a year.
If you want to hit this kind of insane goal, it has to be your #1 fitness priority.
Physique #3: How to Workout
Here’s the quick rundown of what muscle groups to target in a given week:
Monday: Back and Biceps
Tuesday: Core
Wednesdays: Legs
Thursday: Core
Friday: Chest, Shoulders, Arms
Here’s a great article on the specifics of Zac’s routine including the reps and sets.
Our approach for these kind of results can be found in our Swole Samurai program.
Remember, Zac spent a year working out and eating right to gain those 10 lbs of muscle mass. And during the last 12 weeks, he added HIIT routines to get shredded.
If you want similar results, consistency is key.
Physique #2: How to Eat
In order to train his body over the course of a year to produce this extreme level of fitness, Zac adhered to an intentional nutrition strategy:
52 weeks of calorie surplus
12 weeks of calorie deficit
9 days of no sugar and carbs
NOTE: This is an extreme approach and not something we recommend unless you’re training to costar with a former pro wrestler anytime soon.
Let’s be real
While it’d be cool to walk the red carpet The Rock, we don’t plan on being in a summer blockbuster or becoming body builders anytime soon.
And if you’re reading this, you aren’t either.
Like us, you probably want the lean, muscular physique we promote here at Jump Rope Dudes (see #2 above).
It takes consistent effort to accomplish, but it doesn’t require a tremendous amount of work. We promise you won’t be living at the gym to get there. 🙂
At the end of the day, decide what physique you want to create and see it in your mind so that you know what you’re going after. Don’t mindless wander around the gym or casually jump rope on the sidewalk if you don’t know what you want.
Having clarity on the type of body you’re aiming for, and how you want to feel in that body, will carry you through the work to get there.
The more clarity and focus you have on where you’re going, the easier it’ll be to create the desired result.
Focus + Clarity = Power
The name of the game is to stay consistent above all else.
Consistency > Everything
Consistently move your body and eat intentionally.
Understand that your body is a science equation. If you add the right inputs, you’ll get the output you want.
If you have an idea for a physique you want us to create, hit us up on Instagram.
#dothething
RESOURCES:
- The best jump rope in the world (according to us)
- 4-Week Weight Loss Challenge
- Follow us on Instagram: @officialjumpropedudes
- Lose fat with our Shredded Ninja workout plan
- Build muscle with the Swole Samurai exercise program
- Go deeper on the details of your diet with our Nutrition System
- Supplement your daily vegetable intake with Athletic Greens