Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Hollywood journey has been full of highs and lows. The actor became one of the most notable action stars in the industry following the release of the 1988 film Bloodsport. However, his career graph saw a fall during the 1990s, but he was not done and made a spectacular comeback with the 2008 crime drama JCVD.
He has continued working in the industry and was soon offered to star alongside Sylvester Stallone in the 2010 action film The Expendables. While Van Damme turned down the offer for the 2010 film, he accepted it when he was proposed to star as Villain in its sequel The Expendables 2, and the actor had to work extra hard to fulfill Stallone’s demands to get in shape for his role.
Jean-Claude Van Damme Had to Get in Shape For The Expendables
Jean-Claude Van Damme joined the cast of The Expendables sequel as its antagonist, and the actor has shared how it allowed him to “push the envelope more in terms of being creative and to be crazier.” While he was quite fit for his age when cast in the 2012 action film, he has admitted that he did not have the physical shape he would have liked.
His co-star Sylvester Stallone also insisted that he should build up before he started filming.“When I came on the set, I am sad to say, I was not in shape,” he shared during an interview with the fitness magazine Coach in 2012.
The actor shared that it was especially hard for him as he was constantly traveling at the time, and working out in the middle of everything was not easy for him. However, he still started training as soon as the Rocky star advised him to do so.
“But I did start to train right away because Sly basically said to me to build muscle and have arms, like, the size of trains,” he shared. Getting back in shape was also one of the ways for him to get in his character, and it included hours-long training, following his diet, working on his flexibility, and fighting practice with Stallone.
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Special Training Method
During his interview with Coach, Jean-Claude Van Damme explained the fitness routine he followed to get in shape for his role in The Expendables 2. He shared that his training included three cardio sessions of a maximum of 45 minutes. The cardio session was followed by four weight sessions and the actor does not prefer to train with heavy weights.
The actor also shared his own form of training method based on yoga moves, which he refers to as isometric training. “You can do this any place in the world with some very specific movements,” he shared as he stated that it’s the “best training” in the world. Van Damme claimed that one can do it anywhere and anytime they wish, and he follows the same and it becomes natural over time.
The Expendables 2 is available on Prime Video.
Source: Coach
