Momoa’s leg day training includes circuits for increased intensity and blood flow to the quads.
Get excited if you’re ready to work those legs like Jason Momoa! But before we dive into that, make sure you check out his previous chest workout too. Both of these workouts were crafted by celebrity trainer Mark Twight, who has helped sculpt stars like Henry Cavill for his role as Superman. These leg and chest workouts are designed to help Momoa prepare for his upcoming role in the Aquaman sequel, set to hit theaters later this year in December. In this post, we look at Jason Momoa’s leg workout.
Sculpting your legs is so important in bodybuilding that “don’t skip leg day” has been made mainstream. You should listen to those experts and always make sure that you take your leg workouts seriously. It helps burn more calories, strengthens the lower body muscles, and improves cardio (1).
For this Aquaman leg day workout, Twight put him through mostly drags and pulls with the assurance that they work. He says they’ll train your leg muscles to avoid soreness, proving the exercise works. Mark Twight also admits they had to make the routines fun with Momoa.
There is no better trainer to work with for Jason Momoa than Mark Twight. They both share a love for climbing, so it was easy for Twight to find ways to plan the training sessions to include them. This can be particularly tricky as climbing involves staying light and agile while Momoa needs to look well-built for his role in Aquaman.
Below we’ll share what gains Momoa’s leg workout delivers for those interested in adding them to their routines. Here’s Jason Momoa’s leg day workout for his upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom role.
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Jason Momoa’s Leg Workout
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Aquaman’s leg workout was split into two circuits of exercises consisting of five rounds each. Circuit-based resistance training is a great way to condition your body and build strength simultaneously (2). Momoa rested between rounds for four to five minutes and did six different exercises. Let’s take a look at how each circuit and exercise went below.
| Exercises |
| Sled Push |
| Sled Pull |
| Single Leg Extensions |
| Dumbbell Walking Lunges |
| Bulgarian Split Squats |
Jason Momoa Leg Day — Circuit One
After some great warmups, Momoa went through five rounds of the sled push, sled pull, and single-leg extensions. After each round, a 20kg plate was added for all the sled movements. A study in 2011 found this type of progressive overloading to be very effective for muscle growth (3).
Sled Push
The sled push effectively builds bigger calves, triceps, glutes, quads, shoulders, and hamstrings. This exercise also does wonders for your hip flexors, core, and chest muscles. On the advice of Mark Twight, Jason Momoa pushed the stacked sled with two 20kg weight plates for 20 meters before increasing the weight in subsequent rounds.
Sled Pull
Next in the circuit was the sled drag with the same weight as used above. This exercise targets the calves, glutes, quads, hamstrings, and lower back. With the sled pull, your upper body muscles, like your arms, will be on fire. Jason Momoa dragged the sled for 20 meters before moving on to the next routine.
Single Leg Extensions
Last in this circuit is the single-leg extension, in which Momoa added drop sets of 6,12, and 18 reps on each leg. He dropped about two to three weight plates after each set. This isolation exercise is a great way to increase muscle hypertrophy in your quads and strengthen your legs.
Jason Momoa Leg Day — Circuit Two
In this training, Mark Twight took Momoa through dumbbell lunges and Bulgarian split squats in five rounds. Just as in the first circuit, it was done with a four to five-minute rest period between rounds. Twight also advises using dumbbells of 20-25 kg for this circuit.
Dumbbell Walking Lunges
Dumbbell walking lunges are a great way to strengthen your hips, legs, core, and glutes muscles. You’ll especially feel it when you do them for 40 meters, as Jason Momoa did for this leg workout. Experts consider this exercise a functional exercise since it follows movements you do every day, like picking things off the floor.
Walking lunges differ from static lunges because they require more balance and recruit more muscles in your core. This exercise builds your quads, glutes, hamstrings, hips, and calves. It also helps to sculpt your abs.
Bulgarian Split Squats
The Bulgarian split squat is a great lower-body exercise that targets the legs and works on your core. Bodybuilders use this routine to build the muscles in the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves. Many athletes prefer this routine to the traditional squat because it doesn’t overload your lower back or cause back pain.
For this routine, Jason Momoa did ten reps with a 10-second hold at the bottom position of the tenth rep. This iso-hold will help you improve your strength at that point in your range of motion. It’s a great way to reap the benefits of isometric training without expending too much energy and compromising the rest of your movements. After this first round, Momoa rested for five minutes before going for four more rounds.
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References
- Reis, V. M., Garrido, N. D., Vianna, J., Sousa, A. C., Alves, J. V., & Marques, M. C. (2017). Energy cost of isolated resistance exercises across low- to high-intensities. PloS one, 12(7), e0181311. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181311
- Ramos-Campo, D. J., Andreu Caravaca, L., Martínez-Rodríguez, A., & Rubio-Arias, J. Á. (2021). Effects of Resistance Circuit-Based Training on Body Composition, Strength and Cardiorespiratory Fitness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Biology, 10(5), 377. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10050377
- Peterson, M. D., Pistilli, E., Haff, G. G., Hoffman, E. P., & Gordon, P. M. (2011). Progression of volume load and muscular adaptation during resistance exercise. European journal of applied physiology, 111(6), 1063–1071. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-010-1735-9
