Last updated on March 21st, 2022 at 10:09 am

Update Notes: We have now seen multiple different Christian Bale workout routines here at SHJ – ranging from transformations and training in The Machinist and American Psycho all the way to Batman Begins and more!

Bale is EASILY the King of Transformations, so I have done by best to break down information about cutting down and bulking up between roles and the tactics he uses to do it.

None of the changes and adaptions to his workout and overall nutrition are uncommon among celebrities I have researched within our Workout Database.

I have now researched over 300 celebrities, athletes and the world’s top performers and even wrote my book Superhuman Secrets on my research, with dozens and dozens of case studies – and I can tell you that the top performers are constantly adapting – but they’re also aware that fitness does NOT have to suck.

You can use these links to jump to specific research and workouts throughout the article (including three different workout routines) – and this article will continue to be updated as more information comes out about Christian Bale and his training.

Christian Bale Stats:

Height: 6’0

Weight: (approximate) 181

Age: 45 years old

Bale is actually about an inch off of being what we’d consider “average” height among male celebs at SHJ.

Although he does fall into a range with some other incredible celebs.

The average height falls in the range of 6’1-6’3 with celebs like Chris Pratt, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Adam Driver, Stephen Amell, Clive Standen and so many more.

Guys around 5’10-6’0 are dudes like Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Jason Statham, but the ACTUAL shorter range is filled with guys like Mark Wahlberg, Zac Efron, Kit Harington, Tom Holland and more.

Even taller than them are guys like The Mountain, Joe Manganiello, Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Winston Duke, Alexander Skarsgard and a few others.

But, don’t worry either way.

We write these routines to be utilized by any shape and size.

And now let’s take a look at some of those other transformations before getting into his diet and nutrition section.

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Christian Bale Diet and Nutrition

Your diet is really going to be in control of whether or not you’d be able to transform like Bale.

Of course you training will play a factor in the muscle you’re capable of tacking on, or toning up (and even the extra calories you burn), but without eating more or less you’ll never be able to make these drastic changes to your physique.

In an interview with TRAIN Mag Bale tells us about some of these transformations.  He starts here:

TRAIN: Talk us through the Christian Bale transformation – Which was the toughest one?

I stuffed myself after The Machinist. My first screen test for Batman Begins was a month and a half away after finishing The Machinist, so I had to get my weight back up. Then I had about five months to reach what you see in Batman Begins. At the start I was eating often and I was eating foods very high in calories because I lost 60lb.

It took me a while to even be able to work out properly after The Machinist as well, so at first it was slow progress exercise wise. I didn’t start running until a few weeks after I got my weight back up. I love running and it’s something I always do when I’m not working. I enjoy running more than weights. I think it clears the brain and obviously, it’s good for the heart.

He continues this same answer by saying:

“When I was able to workout again, I’d learnt a lot about training from American Psycho, Equilibrium and Reign of Fire. I learned a lot about bulking, cutting and nutrition, so that was something I brought into the Batman role. And my regime: I would do splits – every day focusing on a different muscle group.

I would do three sets of 10 to eight, depending on what I was working on. Usually, the last set was a little lower rep-wise because I’d want to be struggling, you know? Then I’d always shock my body with drop-sets and supersets.

“Actually, I gained too much weight in the run up to Batman Begins. I wasn’t the size that Christopher Nolan wanted, so I had to cut down 20lb or so just before shooting – I was a lot beefier at first. That cutting down was achieved by going on a calorie deficit and running more and for longer. I cut a lot of the carbs out of my diet for those few weeks as well.”

In an interview with Men’s Journal Bale and MJ tell us about his Batman Begins transformation as well; naming it one of the most impressive they’ve seen after such an insane weight-loss phase (which came from apparently having a diet based around coffee and apples).  Here’s how Men’s Journal and Bale tell us he bulked back up:

Bale’s meals followed a ratio of one part fat, two parts protein, and three parts carbohydrate. A vegetarian, Bale avoided conventional protein sources such as chicken and beef and instead gorged on eggs, cottage cheese, and protein shakes. He ate every three hours throughout the day.

And, before you go saying that this dietary section should involve more talk about him being a vegetarian (although we do have a Nutrition Class for that in The Academy: Monks), he went on to tell GQ in an interview that he’s no longer a vegetarian (and seems to hop around a bit; which makes sense considering these transformations).

His interview with TRAIN continues on to tell us more about his nutrition:

TRAIN: You seem to have your diet and nutrition down whether you have to gain or lose weight.

Not including The Machinist, Rescue Dawn or The Fighter – where I had to lose weight – my role for American Psycho was my most restrictive diet-wise. There were no cheat meals. It was all lean protein. No sugars, good fats and low carbs.

Playing Batman and my other physical roles while I was very dedicated to my diet wasn’t as severe. With Batman my goal was to be lean, yet have a muscular physique, but not as lean as I was in American Psycho.

My whole thing was about having speed, strength, stamina and agility – being that lean would be counterproductive to some of those things – I want a bit more weight there. Batman relies on speed and strategy. Diet-wise I would eat smaller meals every two or three hours. Each meal I would aim for a balance of lean proteins, carbs and good, healthy fats.

Pretty much every meal would have that mix. I’d also try to eat a lot of vegetables, drink good old H2O and more low-calorie fruits when I’m cutting.

So, if you missed that, he opted for a low carb diet with no cheat meals and good fats (also completely cutting sugars in that “low carb restriction”) for one of his most impressive physiques shown off in American Psycho (pictured below).

During a regular nutrition phase (in between these crazy transformations) we’ve seen Bale jump around from vegetarian to just simply eating intuitively.  He clearly knows how to manipulate his diet and nutrition to drastically transform his body, but on a regular basis he opts for a simple “healthier” look.  He doesn’t always walk around incredibly shredded, but he does generally shoot back to a healthy weight after one of these roles (just like he did at the time of writing this), and then sustains.

Hopefully we’ll see him sustain it this time longer than normal.

We see a lot of celebs opt for a sustainable approach like this.

That’s why our Academy Nutrition Classes (Monks, Minimalists, SuperHumans, Vikings, Spartans, Hunter Gatherers, Greek Gods, Samurais, & Eat Fat, Lose Fat) revolve around helping you find the specific diet that is right FOR YOU.

Of course, there are a lot of reasons to HAVE the strict guidelines.

We’ve seen a lot of celebs opt for specific restrictions. 

For example: Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart incorporate 80/20 dieting with big weekly cheat meals, Hugh Jackman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hopper, and Terry Crews utilize intermittent fasting(something I use daily as well), Mustafa Shakir and Madelaine Petsch are vegans, Brandon Routh and Frank Grillo opt for paleo, and tons of others utilize their own variations as well.

And, that’s just to name a few celebs from each, by the way.

You can check out our Nutrition Pillars for more information and articles on all of the above and more.

Curious where over a hundred celebs fall in their dietary choices ranging from High Protein and Keto to Vegetarian, Vegan and Intermittent Fasting? Want exclusive celeb meal plans? Check this out.

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Christian Bale Workout Routine Research

We actually have a handful of great information for Bale’s workout routine coming from some of his interviews as well.

His original workout routine (which is directly below this section) actually fits right into a lot of the research I found on his bulking phases, so that training still stands.

We’ll also be building a brand new workout routine (version two like we’ve seen for celebs like Chris Hemsworth, Michael B. Jordan, Stephen Amell, Paul Rudd, Henry Cavill, Chris Pratt, and others) based on new information that he’s shared in interviews.

Here’s some more of what he tells TRAIN Mag:

TRAIN: To have speed, and agility, I imagine your workout regime didn’t revolve just around weights?

It wouldn’t just be weights. Say it was back day, I wouldn’t just be doing lat pull-downs. I’d also do wide-grip pull-ups and bodyweight-style moves as well, because I was aiming for speed, strength, stamina and agility. It wasn’t just about being muscular. If it was triceps I would do dips until failure and other bodyweight exercises mixed in with lat pull-downs and tricep extensions.

The workouts were intense. I wouldn’t play around. Every day was a mix of weights, bodyweight moves, compound moves and then a run. It was intense, especially on the first movie when I had to gain all that weight after The Machinist. I’m not comparing myself to an athlete at all, but I would treat it like a boot camp.

And to build on that we have a snippet of what his training looked like from what he told Men’s Journal:

Compound movements made up the heart of Bale’s training, including power exercises such as cleans, snatches, and squat jumps so that he could be as explosive and agile as the Caped Crusader himself. Below is one of his workouts.

Chinup Superset with Cable Row (4 sets of 10–12 reps each)
Power Clean (4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6)
Snatch-Grip High Pull (4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6)

So we immediately see that he switches up his training (which is why our Academy is built around adaptation with over 500 workout routines and nearly a dozen dietary classes), and we’ll be incorporating supersets, bodyweight training, weight lifting, and some high intensity.

He says “I wouldn’t play around”.

So you’re going to have to get ready for these routines.

The first one is a more typical weightlifting/powerlifting styled routine for those of you looking to lift weights and bulk up, while the second will incorporate the higher intensity and mix of supersets, calisthenics and other weightlifting movements.

Christian Bale [American Psycho] Workout Routine Research

A lot of you have specifically asked for Christian Bale’s American Psycho workout.

With the popularity of people wanting to know what Bale did for it, there are a LOT of articles that are just throwing out a bunch of nonsense.

For that reason I scoured the internet and pieced together a ton of different sources and was able to find out that Will Tennyson’s Christian Bale Workout was the closest to the real thing out there.

Will does “I Trained Like” videos on his channel just like Brandon (my younger brother) does on our Superhero Jacked YouTube Channel – but his American Psycho video is top notch!

One thing I knew about the training for the role was that it was fairly minimalistic – and Bale never actually went to the gym.

Here’s how Tennyson breaks it down:

For Christian Bale to achieve the look of Patrick Bateman, he ate 6 “clean” meals a day focusing on good quality protein, carb and fat sources. His training was very minimalistic as before this role, he never stepped foot in the gym!

And, because I know you guys are going to ask, this is a sample diet plan that his daily nutrition would have looked like:

• Meal 1: 6 eggs (hardboiled), 100 grams of oatmeal with raisins
• Meal 2: Full can of tuna on whole wheat pita with a scoop of peanut butter
• Meal 3: 8 ounces chicken breast, 1 serving broccoli, 1.5 servings angel hair pasta, 85 grams brown rice
• Meal 4: Protein shake, 1 banana, and 1 protein bar
• Meal 5: 8 ounces chicken breast, 1 serving broccoli, 1.5 servings angel hair pasta, 85 grams brown rice
• Meal 6: 1 scoop of protein, 2 cod oil liver pills, 5 grams of creatine

Here’s what Bale actually had to say about his training and nutrition, though:

“[Patrick Bateman] is so vain and obsessed with his looks. While the psychology of the character was something that I could perform, you can’t fake the physicality. Working out is incredibly boring. I swear it’s true that the bigger your muscles get, the fewer brain cells you have. I found I had to stop thinking when I was in the gym because if I thought about it, I’d realize how ridiculous it was that I was pumping iron when I could’ve been out having a drink and a cigarette and enjoying some lunch. I did three hours a day for six weeks with a personal trainer and some time before that. I ate an awful lot during training and then almost nothing during filming.”

Christian Bale Batman Workout Routine

 So, what do we know about Christian Bales training?

For one, we know it must be amazing!

Other then that we know we have to utilize some really good mass gain training.  Although we will want to add in bits of cardio to burn the fat, the best route to go would be a typical bodybuilder or powerlifter routine.

The Workout Schedule

With this routine you’re going to want to workout 5 days a week adding in the ab and cardio routines [I will list at the end] up to 3 days a week.

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Christian Bale Workout Day One: Back

Wide Grip Lateral Pull Downs

3×10

Barbell Rows

3×10

Shrugs

4×25

Wide Grip Pull Ups

3×10 (Can add weight)

Deadlifts

10-8-5-5-3-Max

Christian Bale Workout Day Two: Arms

Dumbbell Curls

3×10

Skull Crushers

3×10

Hammer Curls

3×10

Tricep Overhead Extensions

3×10

Seated Concentration Curls

3×10

Tricep Cable (Rope) Extensions

3×10

Christian Bale Workout Day Three: Shoulders

Dumbbell Front Raises

3×10

Pull-Ups

3×10 (Can be weighted)

Dumbbell Lateral Raises

3×10

Dumbbell Shrugs

3×25

Presses

10-8-5-5-3-Max

Christian Bale Workout Day Four: Legs

Calf Raises

25-25-25

Seated Leg Curls

10-10-10

Weighted Lunges

20-20-20

Weighted Step Ups

20-20-20

Front Squats

10-10-10

Squats

10-8-5-5-3-Max

Christian Bale Workout Day Five: Chest

Dumbbell Chest Press (Light)

10-10-10

Cable Flyes

10-10-10

Decline Cable Flyes

10-10-10

Incline Bench Press

10-10-10

Weighted Push-Ups

25-25-25

Barbell Bench Press

10-8-5-5-3-Max

Christian Bale Workout Abs and Cardio

Cardio

20 Minute HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)

90 Sec. Walk @3MPH

30 Sec. Sprint @8-10MPH

OR

60 Sec. Walk @3MPH

60 Sec. Jog@6-7MPH

Ab Training

3 Rounds of:

50 Crunches

25 Leg Lifts

25 Flutter Kicks

15 Second Banana (Reverse Superman Hold)

OR

50 Crunches

25 Russian Twists

25 Flutter Kicks

30 Second Plank Hold

Christian Bale Workout Routine Version Two

Training Volume:

5+ days per week

Explanation:

Christian Bale says: Every day was a mix of weights, bodyweight moves, compound moves and then a run. It was intense, especially on the first movie when I had to gain all that weight after The Machinist. I’m not comparing myself to an athlete at all, but I would treat it like a boot camp.

For that reason we’ll be building the routine around what he told Men’s Journal he used for his weightlifting, while also making sure to utilize calisthenics, compound movements, and finish off with a run to burn extra fat.

Want To Upgrade This Workout?

The Superhero Academy now comes with an Upgrade Your Workout Tool that allows Academy members to turn any SHJ workout into a 4-8 week fully planned regime detailing exact weights to lift and including reverse & tradition pyramid training, straight sets, super sets, progressive overload and more.

Christian Bale Workout: Sample Workout Routine Schedule

Monday: Bench Press, Calisthenics, Weights and Cardio

Tuesday: Deadlift, Calisthenics, Weights and Cardio

Wednesday: Off Day or Extra Cardio

Thursday: Power Cleans, Calisthenics, Weights and Cardio

Friday: Squats, Calisthenics, Weights and Cardio

Saturday: Overhead Press, Calisthenics, Weights and Cardio

Sunday: Off Day or Extra Cardio

Christian Bale Workout: Bench Press, Calisthenics, Weights and Cardio

Warm Up:

5 Minute Incline Walk

Jump Rope

3×100

Compound:

Bench Press

4×12,10,8,6

Supersets:

Superset One:

A. Machine Chest Flyes

3×10

B. Standing Overhead Tricep Extension

3×10

C. Dips

3xFailure

Superset Two:

A. Incline Dumbbell Press

3×10

B. Standing Overhead Tricep Extension

3×10

C. Push Ups

3×25

Superset Three:

A. Incline Dumbbell Press

3×10

B. Tricep Cable Kickbacks

3×10

C. Hex Press

3×15

Cardio:

Complete 30-45 minutes of cardio from the selection below:

• High Incline Walk
• High Intensity Interval Training on Treadmill or Bike
• StairMaster
• Elliptical

Christian Bale Workout: Deadlift, Calisthenics, Weights and Cardio

Warm Up:

5 Minute Incline Walk

Jump Rope

3×100

Compound:

Deadlift

4×12,10,8,6

Supersets:

Superset One:

A. Lateral Pulldowns

3×10

B. Alternating Hammer Strength Rows

3×10 each arm

C. Wide Grip Pull Ups

3×10

Superset Two:

A. Cable Rows

3×10

B. Straight Arm Pulldowns

3×10

C. Chin Ups

3×10

Superset Three:

A. Lateral Raises

3×10

B. Face Pulls

3×10

C. Wide Push Ups

3×25

Cardio:

Complete 30-45 minutes of cardio from the selection below:

• High Incline Walk
• High Intensity Interval Training on Treadmill or Bike
• StairMaster
• Elliptical

Christian Bale Workout: Power Cleans, Calisthenics, Weights and Cardio

Warm Up:

5 Minute Incline Walk

Jump Rope

3×100

Compound:

Power Cleans

4×12,10,8,6

Supersets:

Superset One:

A. Kettlebell Swings

3×10

B. Single Arm Deadlift w/ KB

3×10 each arm

C. Goblet Squats w/ KB

3×10

Superset Two:

A. Incline Machine Press

3×10

B. Preacher Curls

3×10

C. Push Ups

3xFailure

Superset Three:

A. Close Grip Bench

3×10

B. Alternating Dumbbell Curls

3×10

C. Close Triangle Push Ups

3×20

Cardio:

Complete 30-45 minutes of cardio from the selection below:

• High Incline Walk
• High Intensity Interval Training on Treadmill or Bike
• StairMaster
• Elliptical

Christian Bale Workout: Squats, Calisthenics, Weights and Cardio

Warm Up:

5 Minute Incline Walk

Jump Rope

3×100

Compound:

Back Squats

4×12,10,8,6

Supersets:

Superset One:

A. Hamstring Curls

3×10

B. Weighted Lunges

3×10 each leg

C. Glute Bridges (weighted)

3×10

Superset Two:

A. Leg Press

3×10

B. Calf Raise on Leg Press

3×10

C. Jump Rope

3×100

Superset Three:

A. Front Squat

3×10

B. Cable Pullthroughs

3×10

C. Bulgarian Split Squat

3×10 each leg

Cardio:

Complete 30-45 minutes of cardio from the selection below:

• High Incline Walk
• High Intensity Interval Training on Treadmill or Bike
• StairMaster
• Elliptical

Christian Bale Workout: Overhead Press, Calisthenics, Weights and Cardio

Warm Up:

5 Minute Incline Walk

Jump Rope

3×100

Compound:

Overhead Press

4×12,10,8,6

Supersets:

Superset One:

A. Snatch Grip High Pull

3×10

B. Single Arm DB Snatches

3×10 each arm

C. Clap Push Ups

3×10

Superset Two:

A. Arnold Press (seated)

3×10

B. Upright Rows w/ Bar

3×10

C. Shrugs w/ Bar

3×10

Superset Three:

A. Shoulder Front Raises w/ DB

3×10

B. Shoulder Lat Raises w/ DB

3×10

C. Shrugs w/ DB

3×25

Cardio:

Complete 30-45 minutes of cardio from the selection below:

• High Incline Walk
• High Intensity Interval Training on Treadmill or Bike
• StairMaster
• Elliptical

Christian Bale American Psycho Workout Routine

Training Volume:

One Day of Training
(To Be Repeated and Varied w/ Other Training)

Upgrade This Workout:

The Superhero Academy now comes with an Upgrade Your Workout Tool that allows Academy members to turn any SHJ workout into a 4-8 week fully planned regime detailing exact weights to lift and including reverse & traditional pyramid training, straight sets, super sets, progressive overload and more.

Christian Bale American Psycho Workout

This workout is shared by Will Tennyson on his YouTube Channel and we will build off of it to make a full weekly workout in another article if you guys enjoy this short breakdown for an upper body workout.

Christian Bale American Psycho Upper Body Workout:

Tennyson also added in HIIT Training and/or the stationary bike. If you’re doing HIIT Training I would consider using our Jump Rope Circuits (we know Bale uses jump rope and calisthenics in the movie).

Pullups: 2 sets of 5 reps

Bench press: 2 sets of 5 reps

Dumbell curls: 2 sets of 10 reps

Lateral raise: 2 sets of 10 reps

Hanging leg raise: 2 sets of 10 reps

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