About The Achilles Program
This program was inspired by my many interactions and conversations with
young men who have inquired how to look like Brad Pitt when he played
Achilles in the film “Troy”.
While this program origin may seem gimmicky, I assure you it is not. Brad
Pitt’s physique and general athleticism shown in the film is actually an
excellent example of functional athletic strength, real world aesthetic sex
appeal, and masculine confidence that appeals to men and is very attractive
to women.
While Brad Pitt certainly has won the genetic lottery in having almost
universally appealing good looks, his actual bodytype is nothing exceptional
in regards to musclebuilding potential or strength. He is a “skinny white boy”
of average height, and would probably be considered to have “hardgainer”
genetics. He has over many years built up his physique, and as a fitness
professional, his “results” do not look to be the outcome of anabolics, but
simply the product of consistent training. He has trained hard and his
physique shows this.
The “Ideal” Male Body
While muscleheads will argue that Pitt is a twerp and is skinny, the reality is
that his body has almost universal appeal. I’ve been training clients for 10
years, and to this day, men still comment that they wish they could look like
Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Troy, or Snatch, or Fury (most recently).
I believe Pitt’s physique is so appealing specifically because it is the attainable
“ideal” body of an average sized man. Pitt is 5’10, looks to weigh between
155-175 lbs, and while his abdominal definition is largely genetic, he does not
look “freaky” or outsized to an extent that your average guy could not look at
his body and believe “I could look like that”.
What makes his bodytype so appealing? And what does an “Ideal” Male body
actually look like? A few key factors
1. Adonis Index Ratio
This a mathematical proportion between your waist and your shoulders. This
proportion IDEALLY should follow the “Golden Ratio” of 1.618. What this
means is that your shoulder circumference (measured from around he
medial deltoid and across the nipple line and upper back) should be 1.618
times larger than your waist. This roughly equates to a 20 inch difference
between your shoulders and your waist. While Pitt does not have
humongous shoulders, he has a very small waist, and his shoulders well
defined, which makes him look bigger than he is.
2. Chest, Arms, Abs
Guess which body parts women rank as sexiest on a man? Chest, arms, abs,
in that order. Trust my research on this one. There are 1,001 articles on what
women physically want, and chest/arms/abs comes up on ALL of them.
What stands out on Pitt? Chest (well defined looking, but again, not huge),
arms (cut, but not massive bis or tris), and abs (obviously). I would include
shoulders in this (most women know ZERO about anatomy and probably
were thinking of both) and group them together with chest.
If your abs, chest/shoulders, and arms are “muscular” and lean, you will look
sexually appealing to literally 99% of women.
3. Height, and Hair
Alright, so there is nothing that can be done about making you truly
physically taller, but you can make yourself APPEAR taller by changing your
body. How so? Big shoulders, small waist. Have a V-Taper physique will
streamline your body and will lead people to assume you are taller than you
are.
And what about hair? I mention hair not because I am an expert on male
style, but because of one Pitts key traits is his hair is always very well styled
and distinct. The man literally has never had a bad haircut. At the same time,
women rank “hair” very highly as an attractive trait. My suggestion to you
then is to get your hair styled in such a way that is complementary to your
facial features. This could also even make you look taller, and even bigger.
Having long hair myself (which I meticulously take care of), I can attest that
people routinely estimate my height and weight to be 20-30lbs heavier and
1-2 inches taller than I actually am. For the record, I am 6’2 and 205 lbs. Yet
people often ask if I am 6’3 and 220lbs. This is not by accident. I have trained
in such a way as to look much bigger than I am, and this effect is amplified by
my body language (I move very BIG) and making sure the mane always looks
good.
Genetics and the Time It Takes To Build An Ideal Physique
I had to hunt through a lot of photos, but I found enough to create a
timelines of Brad’s physique development. I show this purposely so you can
have realistic expectations about what YOUR body can look like.
This program, while effective, is not an overnight transformation.
Pitt does have good genetics, but he is also interesting because as you will
see, he really did not appear to start lifting till his mid 30s.
Pitt, 27 Years Old
Here is Pitt in 1990, when he was 27 years old.
(Disclaimer, no copy infringement of any kind is intended with any of these images)
What we see here is that he clearly has never carried much fat in his stomach
at all, and probably always has some level abdominal definition. His bodyfat
% is probably no more than 11% at any given time. This is notable, because
many of you will have to diet to have abs. We all also see though that he is
NOT a “big guy” by any means, far from it.
He looks like he was incredibly skinny and would barely fill out a schmedium
shirt. He has no real muscle to his physique at all. He’s lean, but skinny guy
lean, and he looks like maybe he runs and does pushups and situps once in
awhile. He was 27 years old when this film was made, so you young guys that
feel like you are behind you really are not.
Pitt, 29 & 34 & 39 Years Old
Moving forward to years, here is Pitt at age 29. And age 34. Again, no real
muscle mass AT ALL.
It is not until 1999 in fact that Brad Pitt has ANY muscle at all, and this was for
Fight Club. While I do think he “worked” out through his 20s and 30s with
regular cardio, it’s quite likely he never really lifted weights till he was THIRTY
SIX and had to be in “fighting shape” for ​Fight Club​.
His look in this film become iconic; abs, chest, and shoulders, and leaner than
he had ever been prior.
While this body might seem unattainable, Brad’s weight during the film was
reported to be between 150-155 pounds, at 5-6% bodyfat.
Again, that is a SKINNY guy. His training was at least 50% martial arts, so he
definitely got a hell of alot of cardio in.
His lifting program is laughable at how “Bro” it is. He trained ONE muscle
group per day, with 3 sets of 15 reps, one exercise at a time. He put on some
muscle mass, but it was probably no more than 10-15lbs from what he
weighed prior. He likely “recomped” his weight, losing 3-5 lbs and gaining
8-10lbs of muscle. He trained around 6 months before filming began, which
is a reasonable estimate of time given his genetics and overall look he had in
the film.
You can find his Fight Club program by clicking here​ 1
What stood out to me most prominently was how simple this routine was. 3
sets of 15, 4-5 exercises a workout.
For a beginner who has never really lifted, this is not a bad starting point.
Would I suggest you do this program? Maybe, maybe not, there are a few
factors that must be kept in mind
1
Archive: ​http://archive.is/hpQUV
1. ​Pitt is naturally VERY lean​, and he’s got good separation between
muscles. A little muscle goes a long way on his physique, more so than most
people.
2. ​While high reps DO work for muscle mass​, a MIXED approach can
produce superior strength and size results. Changing rep schemes
periodically keeps the stimulus novel and effective
3. ​Training higher frequency​ (training a muscle twice a week) produces
more results than once a week, especially for a novice.
So it is an effective program, but do not think it is the “ultimate” workout by
any means.
Following Fight Club, Pitt appeared in Snatch, this time as an Irish Traveler
bare knuckle fighting champion. He was not as lean as Fight Club, but he had
more “size” this time around (relatively speaking. We are talking about a
165lb man here). What really stands out is his chest, shoulders, and traps.
Compared to his 20s, they are visibly thicker with muscle. His arms also are
larger overall, although his biceps and triceps are not particularly
developed…
Pitt, 41 Years Old
Now, his next iconic look would not be until Troy in 2004, a full 5 years after
Fight Club.
What made such a difference? MUSCLE MASS. Pitt finally had some “density”
in his chest, shoulders, arms, and overall body. He actually has forearms
muscles for the first time in this film.
How did he train for this role?
He hired a trainer, a gentleman by the name of ​Gregory Joujon-Roche​. Now, I
honestly don’t know how truthful this routine is. There are no direct sources,
no direct interviews, and the trainer passed away from cancer some years
back. Still, after a lot of sleuthing,​ I found the supposed routine online.
Word of warning, the given routine is 2-3 hours a day, and I seriously
question the accuracy. Having been a trainer myself in Hollywood, there is a
tradition of highly embellishing actors transformation programs. And this
program looks like semi bullshit, semi total fabrication.
“Roche, who charges $5,000 per week, also came with access to a masseuse,
nutritionist, martial arts instructor, yoga instructor, and core trainer”
Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not. The routine itself is wildly imbalanced, with no
posterior chain or back work at all. The lifting focuses entirely on
shoulders/chest, has ONE arm day, abs, and shoulders/chest again. He
apparently also did nothing but circuits to failure, and no sets or reps or
given. The leg training is entirely cardiovascular, and he never did ANY free
weight exercises for legs other than leg extensions. The weight workouts are
all preceded by an hour of interval cardio.
What does stand out is the “boxing” workouts of doing weighted punches,
and the sword fighting training. I’ve had many boxers attest that this is an
effective an arm and shoulder builder. Additionally, learning to handle a
sword is very upper body intensive, so this may have been responsible for
his muscular development more than anything else.
The whole thing looks absurdly difficult on paper, and it would be incredibly
exhausting, not to mention highly catabolic and downright lousy for muscle
growth. Maybe he did do this, maybe not. If I ever meet Brad Pitt, I’ll ask him.
What Can We Learn From This Though?
● Interval cardio works really really well for torching through calories and
bodyfat
● When in doubt, high volume training works for making things happen
faster
● Training 6 days weekly is likely to produce some kind of result if
nothing else
Brad pitt at age 41, and finally looking like he’s actually lifted weights.
Training To Be Achilles
Now that you have a thorough overview of the ideal male physique, Pitts
physical history and training, and insight into what to emphasize in training,
let us finally get to the program
This program is upper body centric, that much should be obvious. I have
designed this on the predication that;
A)​ You don’t have bird legs and terrible lower body mobility.
B)​ Your lower body is not wildly disproportionate with your upper body.
C)​ You know your way around a gym and are not a total novice that has
never touched a weight in your lift.
This program is meant to emphasize chest, arms, shoulders, and abs, and
you hopefully will look much improved with your shirt off at the end of it.
This is muscle gaining program, not a strength program. While you can
expect to get stronger, do not think this is any kind of “big 3” program for
your squat, bench, and deadlift. It is not.
This program is 12 weeks long, and consists of three phases. Each phase
lasts for 4 weeks. You will see that the same movements are done phase to
phase, but different rep ranges. Month 1 is all high reps, month 3 is
moderate reps and higher volume sets, and month 3 is high volume sets but
lower reps on all compound movements. You will start with hypertrophy and
end focusing more on strength.
Along with lifting, you are training abs. And train them A lot. You are train abs
5 days a week, and you will alternate between upper abs, lower abs, and
obliques. This ends up being very simple, as you each time you go to the
gym, you will pick an exercise, do 4 sets of it, and then be done. Overall your
abs will get 20 working sets a week.
For cardio, you have 3 days of assigned workouts. This can be done with your
lifting, or be done entirely separate. You can conceivably train every day with
this program, or group cardio and lifting together and keep it to 5 days.
Word of warning, I would not consider this an “easy” program by any means.
You will be in the gym A LOT. You have the option of only doing the lifting,
and disregarding the cardio entirely.
The training frequency changes through the program, with the first 2 months
being major emphasis on upper body.
Weeks 1-4:​ You train lower body once a week, and upper body TWICE a
week.
Weeks 5-8:​ You train Chest, Shoulders, and Arms, twice weekly, and back and
legs ONCE weekly
Weeks 9-12:​ You train each muscle group once a week, Legs, Chest,
Shoulders, Back, Arms
Abdominal Workouts
This is as simple as it gets. Simply pick a movement, and do 4 sets of 8-15
reps of that movement. For bodyweight movements, you can double the
reps if you feel it is warranted. The ab training schedule is on a rolling split
over the 5 days. Meaning it will change week to based upon what you ended
with from the week prior. Example below
Mon.
Tues.
Wed.
Thur.
Fri.
Sat
Sun
Mon.
Tues.
Upper
Lower
Obliques
Upper
Lower
Rest
Rest
Obliques
Upper
Upper Abdominal Exercises
Stability ball crunches
Bosu crunches
Incline Sit-ups
Pulldown crunches
Ab wheel
Lower Abdominal Exercises
Lying leg raises
Hanging leg raises
Flutter kicks
Reverse crunches
Stability ball or suspension trainer Pikes
Oblique Exercises
Machine Crunches
Bicycle Crunch
Oblique Cable twists
Pallof Presses
Landmine rotations
Side crunches
Phase I ​(All Numbers Are Given In Sets By Reps)
Workout 1: Legs
1. Seated leg curls or stability ball leg curls 4x8-15
2. Leg Press 4x15-20
3. Lunges-alternate between DB lunges and barbell lunges 4x8-12 steps per
leg
4. Leg extensions 2x20-30
5. Calf raises (4 sets seated and 4 sets standing) 8x10-15
Workout 2: Chest + Shoulders
1. Low Incline DB Press 3x10-15
2. Rope Facepull 3x10-15
3. Incline Bench Press 3x10-15
4. Seated DB Lateral Raise 3x10-15
5. Chest supported DB row, elbows flared 3x10-15
Workout 3: Back + Arms
1. Chin-ups/Pull-ups 3xAMAP
2. Seated Moderate Grip Row 3x10-15
3. T-Bar Row 3x10-15
4. DB Hammer Curls 3x10-15
5. Cable Tricep Pushdowns 3x10-15
Workout 4: Chest + Shoulders
1. Dips (bodyweight) 3xAMAP
2. Flat DB Press 3x10-15
3. Seated DB Shoulder Press 3x10-15
4. Chest Flys 3x10-15
5. Wide Grip Seated Row 3x10-15
Workout 5: Back + Arms
1. Neutral Grip Pulldowns 3x10-15
2. T-Bar Row 3x10-15
3. Bent Over DB Row 3x10-15
4. Overhead DB French press 3x10-15
5. Standing Barbell Curls 3x10-15
Phase II ​(All Numbers Are Given In Sets By Reps)
Workout 1: Chest + Shoulders + Arms
1. Incline DB Press 4x8-12
2. DB Shoulder Complex Front raise, side raise, overhead press 3x20,15,10.
Complete the given reps for each movement, then move immediately to the
next exercise (ie, 20 reps front raises, then 20 reps side raises, then 20 reps
overhead press. 2nd round, 15 reps, each, so on and so forth)
3. Flat Barbell Bench Press 4x8-12
4. Seated Wide Grip Row 4x8-12
5. Tricep Rope Pushdowns 4x8-12
6. Alternating Supinated Cable Curls 4x8-12
Workout 2: Legs
1. Lying leg curls or stability ball leg curls 4x10-15
2. Single leg Split squat 4x10-15
3. DB Goblet Squats 4x10-15
4. Forward and reverse lunges 4x8-12
5. Standing Calf Raises 8x8-12
Workout 3: Chest + Shoulders + Arms
1. Pushups 4XAMAP
2. Flat DB Chest Press 4x8-12
3. Arnold Press 4x8-12
4. DB Power Upright Row 4x8-12
5. DB Hmnmer Curls 4x8-12
6. Close Grip Bench Press 4x8-12
Workout 4: Back
1. Wide Grip Pulldown 4x8-12
2. T-Bar Row 4x8-12
3. Machine Row 4x8-12
4. Rope Facepull 4x8-12
5. Chinups/Pullups 4x8-12
Workout 5: Chest + Shoulders + Arms
1. Dips 4xAMAP
2. Incline Bench press 4x8-12
3. Machine rear delt fly 4x8-12
4. Rack Scraper Press 4x8-12
5. EZ Bar Bicep Curls 4x8-12
6. DB French Press 4x8-12
Phase III ​(All Numbers Are Given In Sets By Reps)
Workout 1: Chest
1. Incline Bench Press 5x4-8
2. DB Flat Bench Press 4x6-10
3. Moderate grip pushups 3xAMAP
Workout 2: Back
1. Rack Pulls 5x5-8
2. Chest Supported DB or Tbar Row 5x6-10
3. Chinups/Pullups 5XAMAP
Workout 3: Legs
1. Barbell Back Squats 5x6-10
2. Barbell Romanian Deadlifts 5x6-10
3. Bodyweight Lunges, 100 total reps
Workout 4: Shoulders
1. Standing Barbell Press 5x3-5
2. Seated DB Shoulder Press 4x6-10
3. Rope Facepull 6x10-12
Workout 5: Arms
1. EZ-Bar Biceps Curls 5x6-10
2. Close Grip Bench Press 5x6-10
3. Supinated alternating DB curls 5x8-10
4. Overhead DB French Press 5x8-10
5. Pronated Cable Curls w/ EZ Curl Bar 5x10-12
6. Cable Triceps pressdown w/ rope 5x10-12
Optional-Phase IV-A Man of Bronze ​(All Numbers Are Given In Sets
By Reps)
The Man of Bronze program is an optional one month extension to the
Achilles Program. This program is for those individuals who have gotten truly
awesome results and want to make one final four week push to maximize
their muscle gains.
The Man of Bronze Workouts are less in exercises, but very intense in the
volume. You will be doing A LOT of sets. And the goal here is to get the
workouts done as FAST as possible, lifting the heaviest weights possible.
While the workouts might end up being short, the density of each workout is
a very powerful stimulus. PLEASE do not do anything extra. Only do what is
given
During this month, I recommend ZERO cardio. You should still train abs of
course. But outside of the workouts, do not do any additional cardio.
Workout 1: Legs
1. DB Goblet Squats 10x10
2. Barbell Romanian deadlifts 5x8-10
5. Calf raises (4 sets seated and 4 sets standing) 8x10-15
-The goal with this workout is SPEED. That doesn't mean light reps, it means
performing each rep with precision and acceleration. Use weights that will
challenge you on this
Workout 2: Chest + Shoulders
1. Incline Bench press 7x5
2. Bodyweight Dips 7x6-15
Only two exercises, but A LOT of sets between the two movements. Except to
have the best chest pump of your life after this workout
Workout 3: Back
1. Chin-ups/Pull-ups 8x8
2. Cable Rope Facepulls 7x10
3. Seated Close Grip Cable Row 6x6
-8x8 is an old school bodybuilding set/rep scheme that was created by Vince
Gironda, the worlds first bodybuilding and personal trainer “guru”. The sets
drop down, butyou still finish with heavy weight on your final 6 sets
Workout 4: Chest + Shoulders
1. Flat DB Press 8x8
2. Seated DB Shoulder Press 8x8
3. Machine Rear Delt Flys 7x10
-More high volume. 8X8 should be as fast as possible, BUT still challenge
yourself with the weights. You’ll get a wicked pump while building strength
endurance
Workout 5: Arms
1. Pronated Cable Curls 5x15
2. EZ Bar Bicep Curls 5x6-8
3. Tricep Pushdowns 5x10-15
4. Overhead DB French press 5x10-15
-Nothing fancy on this arm workout, 10 sets of biceps, 10 sets of triceps.
Emphasize the peak contraction on all biceps movements, and full range of
motion on the triceps movements
Cardio+Abs 3 Days Weekly
(Can be done separate or together with lifting)
Basic Cardio-Warm-up with a fast 5 minute walk before every workout. This
can be done outside or on a treadmill. This walk should be done at 4mph
Workouts
There are two different cardio workouts you’ll be performing
Workout A
Done once a week.
60 total minutes of sustained aerobic cardio.
Your HR should between 60-70% of your maximum HR
Workout B
Done twice weekly.
20 minutes of high intensity interval cardio.
This can be any of the following:
● Sprints
● Sled Pushes
● Jump Rope
● Burpees
● Hitting a Heavy Bag
● Spine Bike or Airdyne Bike
● Concept 2 Row
● Sprint for 10-20 seconds, rest for 40-50 seconds, repeat
Diet
This is a mass gaining program, and I elected to keep this as absolutely
simple as possible.
The diet is as follows:
● Your calorie intake 6 days a week is your bodyweight x 16
● Your protein intake is your bodyweight x 1.25=total protein intake in
grams.
● Your carb intake is 40% of your calorie intake. Consume carbs before
and after training.
● All remaining calories are from Fat.
● Eat at least 3 meals a day. Have a protein shake before sleeping every
night.
● Use the app Fit Genie if you are utterly clueless on how to follow a diet,
or contact me if you need diet help.
If you want to use this program to Cut Bodyfat, then do the following:
● Your calorie intake 6 days a week is your bodyweight x 11.
● Your protein intake is your bodyweight x 1.25=total protein intake in
grams.
● Your carb intake is 20% of your calorie intake. Consume carbs before
training.
● All remaining calories are from Fat.
● Eat at least 3 meals a day. Have a protein shake before sleeping every
night.
● One day a week, have a HIGH Carb day. Notice I did not say a “cheat
day and eat like shit day”. I mean focus on clean carb intake from fruits
and grains (not sugar), as much as you can, and whatever protein you
can fit in with it.
● Use the app Fit Genie if you are utterly clueless on how to follow a diet,
or contact me if you need diet help.
Who Is Alexander J.A. Cortes?
My name is Alexander Juan Antonio Cortes. I am a writer, dancer, personal
trainer, and storyteller. I have an obsession with the art and science of
self-actualization. I believe that everything in the body and mind can be
trained to be better, faster, stronger.
Here’s my website: ​https://cortes.site/
Follow me on Twitter: ​@AJA_Cortes
Follow me on Instagram: A
​ JA_Cortes
Learn about my other training programs​.