Last updated on March 5th, 2021 at 08:28 am

Mustafa Shakir is Superhero Jacked.

And we want to know how.

We’ve seen tons of Marvel Netflix Original stars, and we’re diving into another one today.

Did you ask who we’ve seen thus far? 

Good, because I wanted to share.

We just recently saw Rachael Taylor, but we had already seen Charlie Cox, Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Krysten Ritter, Jon Bernthal, Finn Jones, Elodie Yung, Jessica Henwick, Simone Missick and Rosario Dawson.

Mustafa Shakir Stats:

Height: 6’1-1/2

Weight: (approximate) 188

Mustafa Shakir is right around average height for celebs we’ve seen at SHJ.

The shorter range is guys like Mark Wahlberg, Zac Efron, Kit Harington, Tom Holland and more.

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

Even taller than them are guys like The Mountain, Dwayne Johnson, 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.

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Mustafa Shakir Diet and Nutrition

Mustafa Shakir is a vegan.

I get that out of the way right away because almost every single article about Shakir’s regime is based around that fact.

In an interview with Men’s Health they tell us:

Shakir follows a completely Vegan diet — “I’m very strict,” he said.  His diet primarily consists of whole fruits and vegetables, raw foods, beans, and nuts; on top of it all, he’s also cut out alcohol and caffeine.

Which they continue on with a fun fact that I’m dying to share.

They say:

Despite his rigorous nutrition regimen, any man’s body — even one as bulletproof as Bushmaster’s — has its limits.  Shakir admits to following his diet “about 85 percent” of the time — “Because sometimes I just got to eat the french fries.”

You guys have to know why I wanted to share this.

It’s all about sustainability.

All the celebrities we see incorporate little things in their diets that allow them to sustain their transformations.

That’s why our Academy Nutrition Classes (Vikings, Samurais, Spartans, Hunter Gatherers, Greek Gods, Minimalists, Monks) revolve around sustainability and finding the regime that works best for YOU.

In an interview with GQ Shakir states:

How different was your diet before prepping for the show?

Not that different, man. If I’m just chilling and I’m in L.A., I’ll go to Greenleaf for some chicken and pancakes—not real chicken, obviously—but that’s about as far as I’ll go. Most people maintain diets because they’re trying to get some physical effect, and it’s not that for me. It’s about spiritual attunement. It’s to feel good. So a “cheat day” for me is just cheating myself.

I don’t really like sugar—if I have it, I get these spikes in my blood pressure and my mood, and that’s not fun for me. And if I have heavy, greasy stuff, it has a depressive effect on my body. Cheat days are having an extra shot of wheatgrass. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m grateful, because I understand how food has affected my body. So with that information, I can have my hand on the steering wheel more firmly.

But yeah, I’m beyond cupcakes.

We know guys like Hugh Jackman and Terry Crews utilize intermittent fasting, and I myself like to use that as a tool around my nutrition pillars as well.

But, that being said, it’s okay to try different things and find what is best for your lifestyle.

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Mustafa Shakir Workout Routine Research

Mustafa Shakir also stepped it up on his workout routine.

When your role consists of taking on Mike Colter’s Luke Cage, you want to get as bulletproof as possible…

Men’s Health gives us:

Which is true on an emotional level, but he certainly looks like he’s carved from stone. Shakir ramped up his already-intense training from daily to two-a-day workouts to prepare to enter the Marvel Universe. For leanness, he incorporated hot yoga to his schedule; for Bushmaster’s martial arts mastery, Shakir endured formal Capoeira training.

And Shakir continues the interview stating:

“The character, he moves squirrelly,” the actor said. “I ended up dropping about 15 pounds.”  Before stepping into a fight with the hero of Harlem, Shakir’s frequent gym partner was a BOB (body-opponent-bag).”I got a lot of work outs in on that,” he said. “That pretty much prepared me to go to the fight choreography, so I could follow along and do the majority of my own stunts.”

I’m sure Coach Derek loves that.

But there’s a lot more information out there for us, so get ready.

In the interview with GQ Shakir gives us a ton.

All of which I want to share with you here:

GQ: To start off, what was your workout routine before Luke Cage?

Mustafa Shakir: I did a mixture—still do, actually—of weight training, bikram or hot yoga, and some running and here there. With martial arts, I do kick drills and kata, which is essentially going over forms. It’s a version of shadow boxing. That’s the gist of the regimen, but there’s a lot of variation with the weightlifting and calisthenics mixed in between sets.

The supervillain training montage. How did that change when you were getting in shape for the show?

I just did a lot more cardio. When I went in, my first thought was that I wanted to match Luke in terms of brawn, you know what I mean? I thought that was the whole thing about being a formidable foe. But quickly I found out I was supposed to be doing capoeira and stuff like that, so I went in the other direction, just leaning out as much as possible. I bolstered the percentage of cardio versus weight training, and I kept the bikram to stay limber. Sometimes I would be up super early and do one morning workout and one in the middle of the day. There was also volume training, where I did one big workout and then three 15-minute joints.

So basically he was training a lot.

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Mustafa Shakir Workout Routine

Training Volume:

5+ days per week

Explanation:

Shakir was training high volume.  In multiple interviews he mentions training multiple times a day.  I’m going to program you a full day of training that can be broken down into two workouts if needed.  You’re also going to be training 5 days per week.

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.

Day One: Chest and Triceps

Warm Up:

Stretch

3×5 Pull Ups

3×10 Dips

3×15 Push Ups

Cardio:

3×60 seconds Heavy Bag (or BOB)

20-30 min jog

Workout:

Bench Press

4×12

Incline Dumbbell Press

4×12

Dumbbell Chest Flys

4×12

Weighted Dips

4xFailure

Tricep Cable Pushdowns

4×12

Skull Crushers

4×12

Tricep Overhead Extension (Cable or DB)

4×12

Day Two: Hot Yoga and MMA

It’s time to get active.

You have off from the weights but not the activity level.

Mustafa Shakir liked to utilize hot yoga, but also got big into MMA training.

Join us in The Academy and train with Coach Derek’s MMA style routines, utilize our yoga videos, or even get out there and take some classes!

Day Three: Legs and Shoulders

Warm Up:

Stretch

3×5 Pull Ups

3×10 Dips

3×15 Lunges

Cardio:

3×60 seconds Heavy Bag (or BOB)

20-30 min jog

Workout:

Back Squat

4×12

Leg Press

4×12

Hamstring Curls

4×12

Quad Extension

4×12

Military Press

4×12

Shoulder Flys

4×12

Power Cleans

4×12

Day Four: Hot Yoga and MMA

It’s time to get active.

You have off from the weights but not the activity level.

Mustafa Shakir liked to utilize hot yoga, but also got big into MMA training.

Join us in The Academy and train with Coach Derek’s MMA style routines, utilize our yoga videos, or even get out there and take some classes!

Day Five: Back and Biceps

Warm Up:

Stretch

3×5 Wide Grip Pull Ups

3×10 Dips

3×15 Push Ups

Cardio:

3×60 seconds Heavy Bag (or BOB)

20-30 min jog

Workout:

Deadlift

4×12

Cable Rows

4×12

Lateral Pulldowns

4×12

Face Pulls

4×12

Standing DB Bicep Curls

4×12

Preacher Curls

4×12

Cable Hammer Curls

4×12

Looking to step it up a notch?
Join The Superhero Academy and start unleashing your inner SuperHuman.