Last updated on October 27th, 2020 at 06:33 pm

We started with our Cobra Kai Inspired Workout and now we’re here.

We want the REAL deal.

Although, we actually did use an Olympic Champion Karate Workout for our Cobra Kai Inspired Workout, William Zabka ACTUALLY trained for his role and lost about 20 lbs to prepare to bring Johnny back for us.

Which is exactly what we want to learn about today!

How did Willam Zabka lose weight and train to become Johnny?

I’m sure Daniel wishes he knew too…

Zabka, in case you’re lost somewhere, stars as Johnny in both Cobra Kai, and the original Karate Kid movies!

William Zabka Stats:

Height: 6’0

Weight: 173 lbs.

Age: 53

William Zabka misses our average height for celebrities by about an inch.

Although his 5’10-6’0 range that he falls under is becoming something we see more and more often.

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.

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William Zabka Diet and Nutrition

To break down William Zabka’s workout and diet we’re going to be using a couple different sources.

Zabka did an interview with Men’s Health, and his trainer Chad Landers also has an interview with Onnit.com (who we happen to be affiliated with).

Here’s what Landers tells us about the nutrition coaching (or lack thereof) that he did with Zabka, though:

Did you oversee his diet as well?

Not really. I just asked him to eat as much lean protein and vegetables as he could. I always warn clients to avoid liquid calories as well, because they’re easy to overdo. Billy wasn’t drinking Coors Banquet to start and end every day like his character was [laughs].

Liquid calories are one of the first things to go when we start integrating members into our nutrition system here at SHJ.

Don’t worry, though, we have some more information on the actual dieting.

Zabka tells Men’s Health:

“By the end of the first season, I was as low as 176 pounds, eating around 1700 calories each day,” he said. “But that was a little too light for me, so I balanced it back out at my current weight at 185, which is around where I belong. My calories are a lot higher now, and I do strength and conditioning three times a week. Clearly, being healthy and at the right weight makes you feel good with lots of energy.”

Can we focus on the “Clearly, being healthy and at the right weight makes you feel good with lots of energy.”?

I couldn’t agree more.

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 what the Top Diets Among Celebrities actually are?  Check it out.

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William Zabka Workout Routine Research

Zabka’s calories may have been down to around 1700 at one point while cutting down to 175 lbs for Cobra Kai, but he was also training INTENSELY.

There was high volume and A LOT of training.

For this one we’re going to be going back to both our sources and combining them to build the best William Zabka workout based on the information gathered.

Here’s some initial (somewhat fun) information from Lander, Zabka’s coach:

First off, we have to know: Did Zabka wear the black headband during your workouts?

Chad Landers: No [laughs], but the very first time he came into the gym, I played the montage song from the first Karate Kid movie, “You’re The Best.” I had that playing in the background when he walked in. So I set the tone for everything right there. He thought that was hilarious. But I had known him for a while before I started training him. I probably wouldn’t have done that if I hadn’t known him beforehand!

What kind of shape was Zabka in when he started with you?

He was in good shape. A lot of people don’t realize that Billy wrestled in high school and had trained karate for real for years after Karate Kid, so it’s not like he had let himself go for the last 30 years. It’s just that when you’re going to be on camera, the requirements are a little different. The camera lies to a degree. So you’re always better off being a little bit leaner than not when you’re shooting a movie or TV show. Billy just wanted to make sure he was putting his best foot forward.

But then they begin getting into the juicy stuff.

Lander tells us about his actual training setup here:

How was the training set up?

We trained three to four days a week, which is about as much time as I get with any actor. Most of them pay for training themselves, and they don’t have a lot of time to spare. In that case, I usually do full-body workouts that cover a push exercise, a pull, and some leg exercise. I’ll intersperse the strength training with interval cardio, and then do some assistance exercises at the end—like curls, lateral raises, and other isolation lifts. For instance, I’ll have them do bench presses for maybe 5 sets of 5, resting two to three minutes between sets, and then do a 400-meter run on the treadmill. Then go on to hex-bar deadlifts followed by sprints on the Airdyne bike. I don’t like to do strength and cardio exercises as a circuit. I like the strength training to be done as heavy as possible, so I let them recover between sets, and then do the cardio afterward. That really works well for getting people cut up.

Which is essentially describing the type of training we have built in our Superhuman System, based on research of over 300+ celebrities around the world…

And for those of you older guys like Zabka, not only do we have 50+ years old killing it inside our programs, but here’s how Lander describes how Zabka came into this training:

Did you have to make any modifications due to Zabka’s age?

Not really. He didn’t have any injuries, luckily. He came in ready to rock. If there’s a safe alternative to a risky exercise, I always take it, because if I hurt somebody in the gym and the movie they’re making has to shut down production as a result, my reputation is done. A lot of trainers try to hit an actor with hours of training a day for six days a week, but there’s no way Billy could have recovered from that. Most people couldn’t.

Modifications or not, you got this!

And finishing off with Lander’s interview before hearing from the man himself (Zabka with Men’s Health), here’s what he says about some specific Cobra Kai training:

Did you do any training to specifically prepare him for his fight scenes?

Yes. One thing we did quite a bit of was single-leg training, because I knew he was going to do a lot of kicking. So we did stepups, reverse lunges. Also, I didn’t know how the camera crew was going to set up their shots. I didn’t want him to only be able to kick with his right leg if they needed him to kick with his left to get a certain shot. I didn’t want to risk him being weak on one side or in any way that that could hurt his performance, so we worked a lot on muscle balance. But I’m sure they worked on that in his karate training too, which I wasn’t a part of.

Keep this in mind when you get mad at me for all the leg work that is added.

We’re going to mainly be based the workout routine on the information we saw above, and we heard from Zabka about his nutrition already as well, but now I want to add in some other information that Zabka and trainers bring to Men’s Health.

It may have been years ago, but Zabka didn’t come into Cobra Kai with nothing.  Back for Karate Kid he got to train with Master Pat Johnson for the choreography.

Zabka states:

“He trained all of us, and actually plays the referee at the end of the film, during the competition,” Zabka said. “He’s a legend in martial arts. He built me up from nothing. I didn’t know anything about it when I first started. I was a wrestler in high school and very limber and athletic. The discipline that he gave physically, mentally and technically was incredible; so much so, that I trained with him after the film was over. It’s amazing how his teaching has stayed with me all these years.”

But I think that’s our queue to start training.

Are you ready?

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William Zabka Workout Routine

Training Volume:

3-4 days per week

Explanation:

For this one we’re going to be training with full body workouts that cover all the areas Zabka was working each day with trainer Lander, who tells us all the information we need.  We’ll be working with a push, a pull, and a leg exercise each day (at a minimum) and then adding in cardio and accessory work as he describes in the interview. I’ll also be providing you with some optional MMA training resources you can add to your training from right here at SHJ.

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.

William Zabka Workout: Sample Schedule

Monday: Full Body Zabka Training A

Tuesday: Full Body Zabka Training B

Wednesday: Mixed Martial Arts Training (Optional)

Thursday: Full Body Zabka Training C

Friday: Full Body Zabka Training D

Saturday: Active Rest Day/Optional MMA

Sunday: Rest Day

William Zabka Workout: Full Body Zabka Training A

Warm Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk

Workout:

Bench Press

5×5

Rest 2-3 min between sets

Run

400m

Hex Bar Deadlifts

5×5

Rest 2-3 min between sets

3 Min of On-And-Off Airdyne Sprints

Sprint 30 Seconds, Rest, Repeat for 3 Min Total

Front Squats

5×5

Rest 2-3 min between sets

Double Unders

4×20

Accessory Work:

Bicep Curls

3×10

Lateral Raises

3×10

William Zabka Workout: Full Body Zabka Training B

Warm Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk

Workout:

Incline Chest Flyes

4×12,10,8,6

Rest 2-3 min between sets

5 Min Sprints of Treadmill

Sprint 30 Seconds, Rest, Repeat for 5 Min Total

Wide Grip Lateral Pulldowns

4×12,10,8,6

Rest 2-3 min between sets

Row

400m

Leg Press

4×12,10,8,6

Rest 2-3 min between sets

Alternating Skip Jump Rope

4×50

Accessory Work:

Weighted Step Ups

3×10

Tricep Cable Pushdowns

3×10

William Zabka Workout: Full Body Zabka Training C

Warm Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk

Workout:

Incline Bench Press

5×5

Rest 2-3 min between sets

Boxer Skips

4×50

Bent Over Rows

5×5

Rest 2-3 min between sets

Swim

400m

Back Squats

5×5

Rest 2-3 min between sets

5 Min Sprints on Row Machine

Sprint 30 Seconds, Rest, Repeat for 5 Min Total

Accessory Work:

Dips

3×10

Arnold Press

3×10

William Zabka Workout: Full Body Zabka Training D

Warm Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk

Workout:

Decline Hammer Strength Press

4×12,10,8,6

Rest 2-3 min between sets

5 Min Sprints of Treadmill

Sprint 30 Seconds, Rest, Repeat for 5 Min Total

Hammer Strength Rows

4×12,10,8,6

Rest 2-3 min between sets

Run

800m

Bulgarian Split Squats

4×12,10,8,6

Rest 2-3 min between sets

Freestyle Skipping

4×50

Accessory Work:

Chin Ups

3×10

Alternating Weighted Pistol Squats

3×10 total

William Zabka Workout: Mixed Martial Arts Resources

• Deathstroke Workout Routine
• Daredevil Workout Routine
• Moon Knight Workout Routine
• Sagat Workout Routine
• Anna Diop Workout Routine and Diet Plan
• Frank Grillo Workout Routine and Diet Plan
• Ryan Potter Workout Routine and Diet Plan

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