Look like a Hollywood superstar with the Terry Crews Workout & Diet Program!
Terry Crews is an actor, TV presenter, and former NFL football player. He first earned acclaim as an actor for playing Julius Rock in Everbody Hates Chris and Terry Jeffords in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Also, who can forget his classic Old Spice commercials?
Apart from being known for his impeccable sense of humor, acting, and football skills, Terry is an advocate for women’s rights and an activist against sexism. In 2017, ‘Time‘ magazine featured him in the ‘Person of the Year‘ list for his courage in sharing his experience of sexual assault.
Growing up, Terry Crews enjoyed expressing himself through art and earned a sponsored art scholarship at the Center for Arts in Michigan.
Related: Terry Crews Claims He Was Groped By A “High-Level Hollywood Executive”
After finishing high school, he earned another scholarship in Art Excellence. We bet you did not know this about the pec popping star.
Apart from his artistic passions, Terry is a skilled football player. Although arts was his favorite hobby for the majority of his schooling days, a growing passion for football soon took over.
Terry played as a linebacker for WMU broncos, and his outstanding performances earned him and his team All-Conference honors and the 1988 Mid-American Conference Championship title.
Terry Crews Stats
Name: Terrence Alan Crews
D.o.B.: 30 July 1968
Birthplace: Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 245 lbs
Profession: Actor, TV Presenter, ex-Football Player
Watch: Conor McGregor Does His Best Terry Crews Impression After Autograph Signing
Terry Crew’s Transition From Football to Acting
During his six-year pro football career (1991-1997), Terry played for some of the top NFL teams, including Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, and the San Diego Chargers.
Terry Crews Career NFL Statistics
Games played: 32
Tackles: 57
Assists: 38
After retiring from NFL in 1997, Crews moved to LA to pursue a career in acting. His first film was ‘Young Boys Incorporated‘ – that he had also co-produced.
Terry Crews made his Hollywood debut in 2000 with the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, “The 6th Day.” Although Crews started his career with a big film, he failed to land a single gig for the following two years.
After spending a couple of years searching for work, Terry finally made his first big breakthrough. He got a role in the movie Friday After Next, playing Damon.
Trivia: In his autobiography ‘Manhood: How to Be a Better Man or Just Live with One,’ Terry Crews revealed that he was addicted to pornography. He underwent rehabilitation in 2010 to overcome his porn addiction.
Related: TOP 30 MUSCLE MOVIES
Terry Crews Fitness Principles
Crews is a hardcore Hollywood action hero. He spent four years as an NFL linebacker and still lifts with a dedication that would put many pro athletes to shame.
Here are some fitness principles Terry Crews swears by:
1. Do Not Be Scared of Failure
Terry Crews is not scared of pushing his boundaries, whether in a gym or on a movie set. Talking about comedy, Terry said, “Comedy is all about failure, and you need to learn how to fail because jokes don’t always work.”
The same could be said for working out as well. You would never realize your true potential until you go all-out in the gym. Bump up your training intensity, and you will be surprised by how much your body can endure.
2. You Get Better With Age
With age comes experience. Crews still trains with ridiculous intensity but has tweaked his workouts to better suit his busy schedule, age, and joints.
“As a young man, I could jump off a roof, fall on my back and get up without a problem. But now, if I stub my toe, I’m out for two weeks. It made me realize that instead of just working harder, I needed to work smarter. I used to lift lots of heavyweights for lots of reps, but it would wear me down. So I tried lowering the reps, and I found that if I just got two heavy reps in per set instead of five or six, I’d get more benefit from it. Plus I’d recover better, and I wouldn’t feel as tired.” – Terry Crews
According to The Expendables actor, you should experiment with different training techniques and figure out what works for your body. He believes that your workouts should always make you feel better, not worse.
Related: Benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training For Bodybuilders
3. Experiment With Food
Crews has been making adjustments to his diet regimen as he has gotten older.
Like many pros, Terry Crews used to eat five to six times a day when he was younger. But he eventually realized that he was eating too much and had to work out even harder to burn off the excess calories.
Terry is currently following an Intermittent Fasting (IF) diet that seems to be working wonderfully for him, but more on this later.
4. Run For a Better Physique
Terry Crews is an avid runner and runs four miles (6.5 km) a day. He claims to cover the distance in less than 30 minutes. On being asked about his running routine, Crews says, “I really notice the difference when I don’t run – I become irritable. I’m not the same person.”
Related: Why Running and Bodybuilding Are A Great Combination For Gains
5. Believe in Yourself
You need to set big goals for yourself and then have the faith and courage to pursue them. Terry believes in having people who want the best for you and see you succeed in your corner. You need to share your goals and progress with them. This close circle will keep you accountable in your transformation journey.
Check Out: Terry Crews Faces Off With CT Fletcher In This Intense Gym Session
Terry Crews Diet Program
Terry Crews does not believe in bulking or cutting. He believes in looking good all the time.
“I always stay about two weeks out from being able to take my shirt off.” – Terry Crews
Terry does not follow a typical Hollywood action star diet program. You will not see him gulping down 6-8 meals every day. And no, chicken breast and rice are not on his menu.
Crews follows a 16:8 Intermittent fasting (IF) diet. Meaning – He fasts for 16 hours straight and eats anywhere between 3-4 meals in an eight-hour window.
Terry eats his first meal at 2 pm, and his biggest meal comes at around 10 pm. During his fasting periods, he only drinks green tea and amino acids.
As per Terry, eating his biggest meal at night helps his body produce more testosterone and growth hormone while he sleeps – giving him more fuel for his workout for the next morning.
Related: Do Carbs at Night Make You Leaner or Fatter?
Terry Crews Diet Regimen
Meal #0 (5 am): A glass of amino acids. He drinks a gallon of amino acids a day.
Terry might also have a cup or two of coffee in a day, but with coconut oil and no sugar or cream. The oil provides healthy fats that his body needs in a fasting cycle.
Meal #1 (2 pm): Eggs and bacon with a salad, or a charcuterie board filled with salami, cheeses, bread, and of course, almonds.
Meal #2 (5 pm): Protein shake.
Meal #3 (8 pm): Bread, pasta, bison ribeye, sweet potatoes, and broccoli.
Snack (10 pm): Cheesecake/Pudding/Pie/Pinkberry
Terry Crews is a self-proclaimed dessert guy. He does not end his day without a slice of cheesecake or two. Terry being Terry uses almond flour as a base for the cheesecake as it provides him with essential healthy fats.
Cheat Days
Terry Crews follow the IF diet six days a week and allows himself one cheat day. On his cheat days, the Hollywood star eats whatever he wants – pizza, ice cream, pancakes, you name it.
Related: This Is How You Can Overcome A Cheat Meal
Terry Crews Workout Program
Terry’s athletic background and years of training experience weigh heavily in his training regimen. He prefers compound exercises such as power cleans and deadlifts as he believes these build “total-body power” and thicken his muscles.
After completing his functional routine, Terry focuses on specific muscle groups using isolation movements. Crews is an advocate of lifting heavy (especially for men in their 40s and 50s) as he believes it helps boost testosterone levels naturally.
Next Read: Isolation Vs. Compound Exercises: Strength, Weight Loss & More
Terry Crews Training Routine
Terry follows a five-day training routine and gives his body two days off to rest and recuperate from his workouts.
Monday: Legs
- Warm-up: 5 minutes
- Leg press: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Standing calf raise: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Hack squat: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Leg extension: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Hanging leg raise: 4 sets to failure
- 4-mile run
Terry Crews starts his workout routine with a leg workout. Unlike most lifters, Crews trains his calves in the middle of his leg training session. Remember: Figure out what works for you and stick with it. It is the fastest way of making progress in the gym.
Tuesday: Chest and Arms
- Warm-up: 5 minutes
- Push-up: 4 sets of 15 reps
- Incline bench press: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Barbell bench press: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Pull-up: 4 sets of 25, 18, 15, 10-12 reps per set
- Dumbell curl: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Bicep curl 21s: 4 sets of 7 reps per set
- Push-up and dip superset: 3 sets to failure
- 4-mile run
On Tuesday, Terry trains his chest and arms. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star does not spend more than 1.5 hours in the gym. He keeps his rest duration between sets limited to 60 seconds. So, focus on keeping your intensity high throughout the workout.
Wednesday: Stretch, Abs, and Cardio
- Warm-up: 5 minutes
- Push-up: 4 sets of 15 reps
- Stretching exercises
- Shoulder Side lateral raise: 1 set of 10 reps
- Reverse fly: 1 set of 10 reps
- Hanging leg raise: 1 set to failure
- Crunch: 1 set to failure
- 4-mile run
The third day of the week is a relatively easy day for Crews. He performs a series of stretching exercises to loosen his muscles and improve his mobility. He finishes the workout with a couple of ab exercises done to failure.
Thursday – Back
- Warm-up: 5 minutes
- Barbell deadlift: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Pull-up: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Side to side chin-up: 1 set per side at 6 reps per set, and 1 set in the middle at 3 reps
- Reverse-grip bent-over row: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Smith machine bent-over row: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- Seated cable rows: 4 sets of 10, 8, 6, 4 reps per set
- 4-mile run
Terry follows a high-volume routine on his back day. He starts his back workout with deadlifts and then moves on to pull-ups for building width and ends with rowing exercises for thickness.
Friday – Shoulders and Plyometrics
Terry Crews includes a variety of exercises in his workouts to ensure he is targeting his muscles from every angle. Although his shoulder workout is short, he makes sure he has annihilated the muscle group by the end of the session.
Check Out: Top Hollywood A-Listers With Awesome Physiques
Supplements
Terry Crews relies on supplements to recover after his workouts and power him through his days. He uses the following supplements:
1. Multivitamins: Terry Crews takes vitamins thrice a day. It ensures that he is meeting his daily micronutrient goals.
2. Amino Acids: Crews wakes up at 4:45 am every day and eats his first meal nine hours later. He sips on amino acids throughout the day to keep his energy levels high.
3. Whey Protein: Protein is the building block of muscle. Terry has a protein shake between his lunch and dinner to ensure he is not burning off any muscle mass.
Next Read: TERRY CREWS’ SECRET UPPER BODY WORKOUT
Conclusion
Terry Crews know a thing or two-thousand about fitness. He has managed to maintain a ripped physique for 20 odd years. The Expendables star proves that age is just a number on your driver’s license.
If you were to internalize one thing from the Terry Crews workout and diet program, it should be this – experiment with a lot of new things and stick to what works for you – even if it means going against the grain.
Who do you think has the best physique in Hollywood? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.