Jake Gyllenhaal sure has changed his physique since his earlier days. Gyllenhaal’s diet and exercise program is what has helped him turn his body into something that’s..well… noteworthy.

Jake was born in 1980 into a family of film people. He began acting when he was ten. Although he’s been in a ton of movies, his body is not the thing that got him his jobs. I mean, it really was his great acting (and probably his smile and sense of humor) that gave him true merit.

Compare his body a while back to his training for Prince of Persia.

 Quite an improvement, right?  I mean, look at his shoulders.  Impressive mass gains, there.

So what did he do?  Well his trainer, Simon Waterson, helped him build some muscle using good ol’ fashioned hard work. You might want to look Simon up. He’s a former Marine and has trained some impressive stars like Daniel Craig.

Jake Gyllenhaal Workout

Yep, it took 4 months of hard training.  I’m not talking ’bout a little 30 minute daily jaunt, either.  We’re talking hard ass training, 2 times a day for months, people! 

He did an hour and a half of cardio.  He did rounds of running and ab work.  Oh yeah – he did this all while wearing a weighted vest. He’s a tough lil’ cookie.

Then, for his second workout, he did an hour of resistance training.  He used mostly bodyweight exercises like pullups and ab work.

See, the secret to his body wasn’t the exercises he did, per se, but the sheer volume and dedication:  A lesson everyon seeking to be truly fit must learn.

Jake Gyllenhaal Diet

Gyllenhaal’s diet consisted of mostly whole foods, with some protein shakes and bars for supplements. He had fruit, nuts, and coffee early in the morning, lots of healthy protein for breakfast, a healthy carb with meat and salad for lunch, and soup and more protein for dinner.  He snacked on protein when he was hungry, and did his best to make the best possible, non-sugary choices.

One thing about Jake really strikes me.  His trainer, Simon Waterson, is noted for saying this about Gyllenhaal:

“He was 110 percent committed…I have to give Jake a lot of the credit. …he was very disciplined. I have a massive respect for him because at the end of the day, he is an actor and very committed to being the best.”

Well, then, so do I, Simon, so do I.

Source:  Popeater