Outlander star Sam Heughan is passionate about fitness, but the actor’s goals for his workouts aren’t only based on achieving new PRs or building his body to look the part for roles he’s been cast to play.
He still trains for those reasons too, and fans of his performance in Starz’ Outlander series can attest that Heughan has the physicality to portray a Scottish Highland warrior. To take exercise to another level, however, Heughan says that he also uses his training as both an opportunity to spend time outdoors in his native Scotland and as a vehicle for his philanthropic efforts.
“I really wanted to share my love of the outdoors, of working out with people, so I created My Peak Challenge,” he told the MH crew. Heughan says the organization has raised over $6 million for charity, and has “Peakers” spread around the world, focused on different disciplines like mindfulness and yoga. “It’s really about being adaptive, and I think that’s kind of how I look at my training these days,” he says.
His workouts range from strength training and fight work for Outlander and other projects like Bloodshot and SAS: Red Notice to endurance training outdoors, like hiking and road races (he once ran two marathons in two months for charity).
Heughan stopped by MH HQ to show off a circuit strength training routine, which he says is representative of most days he trains (inside, of course). If you want to give his workout a try yourself, get ready to learn a little bit about pressups.
Sam Heughan’s Workout
Warmup
- Rowing Machine
2 minutes - Band Pull-Apart
3 sets of 10 reps - Pushup to Inchworm
10 reps
10 to 1 Ladder Workout
Perform each exercise as a circuit. Start with 10 reps for each movement, then 9 reps for the second round, and continue descending down the ladder accordingly until 1 rep for each.
- Deadlift
- Kettlebell Front Cycle Squat
- Pushup (or Bench Press)
- Leg Raise