Jason Momoa's gruelling Aquaman body transformation - chicken diet to training

11 December 2023 , 17:30

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Jason Momoa's physique has come a long way since his early Baywatch days (Image: Getty)

Jason Momoa trains hard for his incredibly muscular and pumped physique that's seen him play leading roles in Game of Thrones and Aquaman.

The American actor, who rose to fame on Baywatch in 1999, has portrayed many shredded, imposing characters over the years, including DC's Arthur Curry and GOT's Khal Drogo. But despite his big natural build, it takes a lot of dedication and restriction to look the way he does.

After starring on Baywatch over two decades ago, Jason, who stands at 6 ft 3 and weighs 17 stone, has followed gruelling regimes to grow his muscles and get fitter for numerous film roles. With Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hitting cinema screens this month, we take a look at the 44-year-old's strict routine...

Jason is genetically muscular and says 'Hawaiians are big people', which suited his Baywatch character (Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock)

The leading actor had a rock-climbing gym built for him on the set of Aquaman in 2018 to train (Publicity Picture)

Back in 2011, Jason opened up about his gruelling regime for Conan the Barbarian. "We were doing about six hours of training a day, two hours of sword work, then take a break and stretch, do three hours of weight training and then cardio and try to sleep as much as possible and eat boiled chicken breast every two hours... which is not very good," he explained, adding that he carried the chicken around in tinfoil.

The star continued: "To get a nice body and live healthily, [you need to] eat clean. Don't eat cr*p food and exercise. We did things to the extreme, like lifting heaving weights, but two hours of exercise a day makes you feel better, and just eating healthily. Don't eat big meals, eat small ones." As well as snacking on chicken and exercising often, Jason is known to listen to heavy metal music when he's training for a film.

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Of course, genetics do play a part in his physique, with the actor who boasts a 50 inch chest once reminding an interviewer: "Hawaiians are big people." The Game of Thrones star has a naturally athletic build and enjoys being active. In fact, he much prefers getting outdoors or in a ring to lifting weights in the gym. According to Men's Health, he likes surfing, skateboarding, boxing, mountain biking and rock climbing.

In a 2020 interview, James told the publication: "Lifting weights is challenging. I'd rather just do hikes and bodyweight stuff: normal push-ups, pull-ups, squats." Just so he'd have somewhere to practice, his team built him a rock-climbing gym on the Aussie set of Aquaman in 2018. More recently, Jason launched a reality TV show with rock climber Chris Sharma called The Climb in the US, where climbers tackle the world's biggest mountains.

Nia Dalton