How Paul Mescal got achievably ripped for Gladiator 2, according to ...
As for stunt work, Blakely left all of that to stunt coordinator Nikki Berwick, trusting in her experience and Mescal’s athleticism to ensure he had the size, but also the mobility needed to outmanoeuvre an enemy, or a charging rhino.
“Swinging a sword was never an issue for me or for him,” says Blakely. “We didn’t need to worry about it because we knew Nikki would take care of it. She and I had a combined game plan.”
Mescal's Gladiator diet
Nutrition-wise, Mescal stuck to all the usual good stuff: eggs, chicken, beef, rice, fish and so on. With one caveat.
“There were some negotiations with Paul,” says Blakely. “At the start he said ‘I warn you, I do drink and I do smoke. He realised he would have to curtail that, but he wanted to work in times he could have a few drinks here and there.”
Blakely didn’t see it as a problem, equating a few pints to calories in/calories out. “If you're prepared to sacrifice on the other end, that's something that we can do,” was his response.
It got to the point where not only would Mescal tell Blakely how many drinks he’d had since their last session, but he’d also ask how many drinks his current session allowed him that night – a level of honesty refreshing in Blakely’s celebrity clients.
“His body just soaked up [the food],” says Blakely. “He was putting on lean tissue while losing weight.”
Despite the odd pint and cig, Blakely calls Mescal a “dream client” enthusing that he was never late, was always committed, and always left his phone in the locker room. In fact, he became such an exercise aficionado that Blakely remembers Mescal correcting his brother’s form when the three would train together.
The one caveat was that Mescal needed to know how torturous the workouts would be in advance. “Paul’s brain needs to know what he's got to do before he starts,” laughs Blakely. “There'd be a five minute negotiation of what we're going to do and how much we're going to do each session, and once he's got that in his head it's literally head down and get it done.”
Filming in Morocco they did finally include some sprint work in sessions, and Blakely says in typical fashion, Mescal went all out. “If anything, I had to hold him back,” he says. “When he does something, he does it at 110%, and I didn't want him doing that, I wanted him doing 80% so he didn’t hurt himself.”
Blakely's training session tips
Blakely is quick to point out that everyone is different, and it’s unlikely you’ll be A) as pushed for time as Mescal or B) training to fight sharks in a flooded arena. With that in mind, he suggests you stick to the usual four to five set, ten rep range on the below routine, which is based on Mescal’s chest day workout.
