Dennis Quaid’s workout and diet may not be what you’d expect when you see him shredded on vacation.

But, he’s also been in great shape for the majority of his life.

Quiad has starred in roles like Parent Trap, Wyatt Earp, The Day After Tomorrow, Far from Heaven, Frequency, and tons of others; including recent roles like Intruder, A Dog’s Journey, and even Reagan in pre-production.

Recently he’s shown off a more shredded physique than ever before.

In Intruder you can see his muscularity and “Superhero Jacked-ness” protruding through his clothes.

And now we’re going to talk about just how he has done it.

Dennis Quaid Stats:

Height: 6′

Weight: (approximate) 175 lbs.

Age: 66 years old

At over 60 years old, Dennis Quaid decided it’s time to get shredded!

If you’ve seen his recent physique, he shows off vascularity and six pack abs.

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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Dennis Quaid Diet and Nutrition

Other than Dennis Quaid’s [pretty insane] diet for Wyatt Earp in 1994, which had him lose over 40 pounds by restricting his diet (A LOT), most of the attention is on the training style that Quaid has utilized; including to stay in great shape and get shredded!

That being said, I will share some information from his Wyatt Earp diet just to shed some light on some of the unsustainable and crazy tactics that some celebrities have to go through for roles.

Here’s what True West Magazine shares from Quaid in an interview about Wyatt Earp:

To lose 42 pounds, Quaid says, “I ate 1,000 calories a day and then exercised off 600 of those calories on the treadmill. It was basically a POW diet. I would not recommend it. I had a doctor and nutritionist to monitor me for five months to make sure my fat content did not drop to a dangerous level.”

What did you eat?

• Non-fat yogurt
• Fibrous vegetables
• 300 calories of protein
• Beans
• 1 diet cookie per day

How long was the shoot? I started the diet three months before we started shooting in the first part of 1993 and then had to maintain it for five months.

What’s the first thing you ate when the diet was over? A banana cream pie.

What was the toughest part of the diet? Maintaining my energy.

On a daily basis, outside of that diet, (which Quaid himself says he does not recommend), he seems to eat quite intuitively.

Actually, for the most part Quaid has had more of an issue GAINING weight than losing it.

For that reason, eating intuitively while adding in different variations of training (which we’ll talk about below) has more-or-less evolved to Quaid’s new shredded physique.

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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Dennis Quaid Workout Routine Research

While researching Quaid’s workout routine I was able to find a handful of great information right from Quaid’s own lips!

But, I also found a couple of things that conflicted.

Here’s what they say in The Sydney Morning Herald:

For instance, when actor Dennis Quaid sought George’s help to go from being near emaciated (for his part as gunslinger Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp) to ridiculously ripped (for his role as a dragon slayer in DragonHeart), the trainer prescribed ”a bodybuilding-type approach” and steered clear of cardio, which would burn too many kilojoules.

This was information originally shared in the midst of another article in GQ, which was trying to nail down Quaid’s recent physique.

They failed to mention that SMH was referring to training in Wyatt Earp (they cut that part out), which made it seem like the recent transformation was with a “bodybuilding type approach”, rather than what he briefly used in 1994.

That information, once I tracked down the original source, made much more sense.

Especially being that here’s what Quaid actually says about his current training regime:

“I was a runner for about 35 years, but that gets hard on the knees and the joints. At least for me. So I turned to cycling, which I’m currently doing. That and yoga. Along with that, you got to still get into the gym and lift. Do the sit-ups.”

So he does mention getting to the gym and lifting, and doing the sit ups; but he is more focused on the cardio – moving from running to cycling.

To break that down a bit more, here’s what you get: Quaid went from 35 years as a runner to moving into cycling and yoga – with the occasional visits to the gym to work on resistance style training.

Quaid is also a huge advocate of starting young and continuously taking care of yourself.

Quaid states:

“I used to box when I was in my 20s,” Quaid said. “There was this guy at the time at the Hollywood Y, who was in incredible shape in his 50s. I asked him that same question. ‘How do you do that?’ He told me, ‘You take care of yourself in your 20s and 30s and the rest will take care of itself.”

Which he continues by stating:

It doesn’t mean you have to be [at the gym] every day, but you do have to live your life with that in mind. Because if you let it go, every time it gets a little harder to get back. So I’ve always stayed with it.”

But, that doesn’t mean if you’re late to start that you can’t get it going.

We have tons of celebrities that are 40-50 and even older that continue to get in incredible shape; sometimes even just getting started later in life.

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Dennis Quaid Workout Routine

Training Volume:

3-5 days per week

Explanation:

For this one we’re going to be mainly working with cycling (or if you’d like to sub running like Quaid did the majority of his life) and yoga.  I’ll also be building you two workout routines that can be utilized in a gym (one upper body focus and one lower body focus) so that you can also build this into your routine.  Quaid does mention the fact that you still have to get in there and get it done; although, it’s not the priority or main basis of his workout routine.

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.

Dennis Quaid Workout: Sample Schedule

Monday: Cycling [or Running]

Tuesday: Yoga or Upper Body Training

Wednesday: Cycling [or Running]

Thursday: Yoga or Lower Body Training

Friday: Long Distance Cycling

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Rest Day

Dennis Quaid Workout: Cycling [or Running]

On two days a week you’re going to be training with a moderate amount of cycling and/or running, but then we’ll scale it up to a long distance variation on Friday.

Here’s how you’ll do it (to keep it nice and simple for you):

Regular Cycling Days: 60 Minutes of Biking (or Running)

Long Distance Cycling Days: 120 Minute of Biking (or Running)

If you’d like to step it up a notch you can turn your “Regular” Cycling Days into aerobic concentrated training days and use High Intensity Interval Training variations in order to vary your biking in and out of higher intensity; changing your RPMs and Level of Intensity (difficulty level) every minute, or few minutes, for 45-60 minutes.

Dennis Quaid Workout: Yoga

SHJ Yoga Resources:

Feel free to utilize our yoga resources inside The Academy, random YouTube videos, or even some of these articles:

• Different Yoga Styles: An Overview to Superhuman Yoga Training
• 11 Yoga Poses for Beginners
• What You Need To Know Before Starting Yoga
• Why Do People Do Yoga? Top Reasons Why You Should Incorporate It Into Your Routine

Dennis Quaid Workout: Upper Body Training

Warm Up:

10-20 Minute Incline Walk

Workout:

Incline Chest Press

3×10

Overhead Press

3×10

Tricep Kickbacks

3×10 each arm

DB Bicep Curls

3×10 each arm

Push Ups

3×30

Sit Ups

3×25

Hanging Knee Raises

3×25

Dennis Quaid Workout: Lower Body Training

Warm Up:

10-20 Minute Incline Walk

Workout:

Squats (Back, Front, Goblet, Landmine, etc)

3×10

Dumbbell Deadlifts

3×10

Leg Press

3×10

Walking Weighted Lunges

3×10 each leg

Seated Calf Raises

3×20

Cable Crunches

3×25

Lying Leg Raises

3×25

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