fit celebrities over 50 standing side by side
Health

Shredded Over 50: Hollywood’s Most Muscular Silver Foxes

Shirtless mirror selfies are no longer a young man’s game, thanks to celebrities like Josh Brolin. The 54-year-old actor posted a surprisingly swole version of just that this past Friday, crediting his latest acting job for motivating him. Or as Brolin put it on his Instagram feed, “Dune did it.”

However, according to past posts of Brolin’s, it took a lot more than simply showing up to set to prepare for his role in Dune: Part Two. More specifically, it took about “20 squats, 20 dips, 20 push-ups in the sauna—five rounds after 225 degrees for 30 mins, followed by a 36 degree cold plunge for five minutes after 25 circuit training workout for cardio and core without rest. And tons and tons of spice.”

Despite being over 50, Brolin is in good company among older, muscular men in Hollywood. The following male celebrities over 50 could match Brolin’s strength and stamina as a gym buddy with their bodies that keep getting stronger with age.

The Rock

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson only recently turned 50 this past May, but it’s safe to say that his chiseled physique isn’t going away anytime soon. As for what his secret is, that is arguably one of the best things about the guy—he’s super transparent about what it takes to maintain a body like a marble statue. On his Instagram he regularly talks about how much time he spends in the gym and how many calories he consumes, including cheat days that are bigger than his quads.

For guys like The Rock, the key to stay fit after 50 seems to be genuinely enjoying a lifestyle built around maintaining your body. And that means when you’re not lifting weights in #IronParadise, you’re lifting food into your mouth.

JK Simmons

At 67-years-old, JK Simmons’ body was recently praised by The Rock in an Instagram post about their 2023 Christmas movie. Red One stars Simmons playing a ripped St. Nick alongside an unsurprisingly shredded Johnson.

Still, this isn’t the first time Simmons’ muscular frame has garnered attention. His biceps were making headlines back in 2016 when pictures of him working out went viral. While many people assumed he was prepping for a role in the 2017 movie Justice League, he said that was a misconception and he likes working out.

“I’m just going to the gym because after the last time I got super fat and out of shape, I decided that I was done doing that,” Simmons told The Huffington Post. “I was going to — for as long as I’m going to be on the planet — I’m going to try and take care of myself. So that’s pretty much coincidental [to filming ‘Justice League’].”

Jamie Foxx

As a star high school football player who once had ambitions to play on the Dallas Cowboys, Foxx has been in great shape since he was younger. The 54-year-old just doesn’t make a big deal about it. In fact, Foxx doesn’t even have a personal trainer, he told Men’s Health. “Go back to the old school calisthenics,” he said. For him this includes about 20 pull-ups, 25 dips, 50 push ups, 100 sit-ups, 20 to 30 back extensions per day, ideally first thing in the morning.

The Oscar winner also refuses to limit his caloric intake, which makes it all the more crucial to hold himself accountable in the gym.

Jason Statham

The Brits might prefer to describe the 50-year old Statham as “hench.” But no matter what you want to call his body, the 55-year-old Transporter star is built like a Greek God and doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

As a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Statham is trained in multiple martial arts, but he won’t kick your a– nearly as much as his workout will, his former trainer Logan Hood has said. He shared a sample of Statham’s 7-day workout plan with Men’s Health, consisting of deadlifts over 300 pounds, with the warning, “This workout was not designed for you.”

FIT GOALS

Terry Crews

For the America’s Got Talent host, the real talent may be under his shirt. That’s because Terry Crews is absolutely shredded for his age at 54-years-old. Like Foxx, Crews was a baller before he was an actor, and even went pro for six seasons as a defensive end.

Although his career path has changed since then, his habits have not shifted much. He goes to the gym everyday, fasts regularly, but much like The Rock, loves a good cheat meal, and swears by supplements like the amino acid boosting beverage XTEND.

On top of that, Crews is such a huge fan of the high protein Icelandic yogurt Skyr, that he recently co-founded his own brand of it called Thor Skyr.

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg is no stranger to getting attention for his body. The 51-year-old actor has been doing that since he posed in his underwear for a Calvin Klein ad 30 years ago. But for anyone who’s tried to maintain their bodies from their early twenties, it’s not an easy task. So how has the rapper turned model, turned actor, turned successful businessman managed to find the time?

He makes the time, mostly by waking up to workout for 90 minutes everyday at 3:30 a.m., which he insists is going easy on himself compared to the 2:30 a.m. workouts of his youth. Likewise, Wahlberg maintains a steady diet of pre-workout supplements like turmeric for inflammation, vitamins C and D, and protein powder, and is a big fan of fasting, like Crews.

In the end, it’s a steady diet of Wahlburgers that will get you looking like that at 51, and consistent self-discipline appears to be the funkiest way to be a part of this jacked bunch.

Hugh Jackman

Jackman’s intense training for Wolverine spanned over 17 years, and while the 54-year old actor is as disciplined as they come, podcaster Joe Rogan lumped Jackman into his list of suspected jacked-from-steroids superhero celebs.

Despite the nonsense noise, Jackman’s routine includes a lot of rowing because it improves compound exercises and core work, he told Men’s Health. Jackman’s 60 to 90 minute workouts are based on bodybuilding exercises like squats and deadlifts, but trainer Mike Ryan also plays with tempo, weight and rest time.

Jackman’s also taken a liking to intermittent fasting, which helps his sleep. When he breaks his fasts, he fills his plate with proven muscle-builders. “My nutritional staples are the clean bulking usual really: boiled chicken, greens, broccoli, spinach, lean steak, avocado and cauliflower,” he told Train Mag.

Gerard Butler

When the 52-year old led 300 Spartans to their death, he was the most jacked king Hollywood’s ever seen. But the training was brutal, and he told Insider the pressure to channel his inner Leonidas took its toll. “In some ways I was ruining my body,” but Butler admits he looked, “amazing doing it.”

His days of fighting Persians may be over, but the action star still focuses on fitness. Butler now has a personal trainer who’s since toned down his workouts to prioritize lean mass and less body fat with more full-body workouts, trainer Joe Dowdell told Men’s Health. His routine includes double-racked kettlebell front squats, three-point cable rows, EZ bar curls, and landmine torso rotations.

LOOK GOOD, FEEL GOOD

Idris Elba

While you might find 50-year-old Elba behind a barbell, boxing is really where his training takes hold—and what keeps him fight-ready.

He told Men’s Health that staying fight-ready feels, “like you can last forever,” and that kickboxing is a sure-fire way to achieve that. Don’t be surprised to see him shadowboxing either. “You don’t need any equipment, and it works every muscle,” he said.

Despite his A-list physique, Elba isn’t afraid of sweets. As long as he eats a good breakfast—full of carbs and protein—he’s got no guilt eating a Snickers bar as his “favorite midnight snack,” he told Men’s Health.

Vin Diesel

Diesel’s been on the fast and furious track for most of his career, and at 55, he looks ready for anything—including an 11th Fast and Furious film. While he doesn’t throw weights around like he did in his 20s and 30s, he told Men’s Health his goal is to focus on individual body parts. Gaining as much weight as possible is in the past and he now hits, “two sets of powerlifting and then go into higher rep sets.”

His diet is, “very much your typical diet for people who want agility, lower body fat and higher muscle mass,” he told Train Mag. That includes, “lean proteins, lots of complex carbs, lots of veggies and fruit, and then also a lot of water,” he said.

Lenny Kravitz

Kravitz lives a luxurious life on his Bahamian island, but hasn’t succumbed to laziness. The 59-year old rocker is shredded—thanks to his jungle workouts and freshly-stocked produce-filled fridge, full of leafy greens, bell peppers, mangos, and avocados.

“I’m very careful about what I put into my body and how I take care of my body,” Kravitz told Men’s Health. “It’s a combination of eating all these things and working out and keeping my muscles and my joints in shape, so that I can do what I do.”

His workouts are basic with high reps including dumbbell and bodyweight exercises.

Christopher Meloni

Meloni shocked the Internet with his nude Peloton ad, not because his junk was out (although blurred), but because the 61-year-old TV detective is beyond fit.

His four-day lifting routine involves heavy compound movements, but he credits squats for his strength. “I’m ashamed to say, they’re kind of new to me,” Meloni told Men’s Health.  “And the reason why is because they’re very tough.”

Diet-wise, Meloni has dipped his toes into veganism and tries to avoid gluten. “I actually had a gluten-free pasta just the other night that shocked and pleased me,” he told Interview Magazine. “It’s a close cousin to the Beyond Meat–type stuff, and I’m a big fan of those as a change of pace.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger 

The seven-time Mr. Olympia winner, star of Kindergarten Cop (really, Arnie), and former California governor has been fit AF for decades.

Schwarzenegger admits he was addicted to training. But Arnie knows age is a limiting factor and the 500-pound bench of his prime isn’t on the table anymore at 75.

“I’ve chosen to adapt to my age,” he said in a newsletter per Men’s Health, “make my workouts a little bit different and focused on staying lean, and avoiding injury.”

He also attributes a plant-based diet for lowering his cholesterol, he said in a newsletter per Insider.

A-LIST HEALTH HABITS