The American filmmaker and actor, Ben Affleck hails from Berkeley, California, USA, although he has English, German, Irish, and Scottish ancestry!
If you are wondering where the name, Géza, comes from in his surname, he takes it after a Hungarian family friend who was a Holocaust survivor.
Ben wanted to always be an actor. His very first acting experience comes from him being in a Burger King commercial.
Around about 1984, Ben met a great friend of his, Matt Damon.
They took drama classes together and also played Little League together.
Ben made a huge introduction to feature films when he was cast in Dazed and Confused in 1993.
Many other movies followed thereafter, such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy. They just helped to push his career even further.
Ben and Matt, together, wrote their own script for the movie Good Will Hunting in 1997. Miramax bought the script, giving Ben and Matt the control they wanted.
It was released in 1997, suddenly pummeling both Ben and Matt into fame. In fact, this movie was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won two.
This was Ben’s big breakthrough. Many movies flowed from thereon.
He and Jennifer Lopez have been dating since 2021.
It is said he is living at the moment at Jlo’s mansion since their reunion. They dated back in 2002. Her house is in California.
Before that, he was living at his beautiful mansion in Pacific Palisades. He has 3 kids from his previous marriage to Jennifer Garner.
Current Stats
- Age: 49-years old
- Weight: 94 kg./208 pounds
- Birthday: 15 August 1972
- Birthplace: Berkeley, California, USA
Accolades/accomplishments
Ben has received over 73 winning awards and 118 nominations! So we are listing only his winning awards over the last five years here.
But check out his very impressive movie career here.
Razzie Awards
- 2017 – Worst Screen Combo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (shared)
Yoga Awards
- 2017 – Worst Foreign Actor in The Accountant and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Workout Principles of Ben Affleck
Cardio is kept to the minimum
Ben wants to build muscle but he also doesn’t want to lose too much weight.
So he doesn’t do a lot of cardio. He usually starts his workout program with 15 minutes of cardio.
his will be in the form of a quick workout or a sprint on the Airdyne bike or time on the elliptical.
Ben does weight-heavy workouts
For playing the role of Batman, Ben had to go through a series of bodyweight as well as weight-based exercises. These would be planks or cable rows or pull-ups, and lunges.
Ben would be at this for around 2 hours.
He eats carbs for breakfast:
When Ben was getting into shape for Batman; his nutritionist Rehan Jalali designed a very specific diet for him. It includes minimal carbs for the day.
Ben sticks to veggies and lean proteins for the rest of his day.
Ben Affleck’s Training Methods
Ben has a trainer called Walter Norton Jr. He has been responsible for creating Ben’s training methods – it’s a method that is known as “chaos training“.
For the movie Batman v Superman, Ben does pull-up with chains around his waist.
He pulls sleds and flips tires.
His personal trainer put him through really grueling strength-building moves to keep Ben’s body functional for playing whatever role came his way.
He also has functional fitness training as well as martial arts training.
For one movie, The Accountant, Ben trained in the Southeast-Asian martial art called Pencak Silat.
This training builds balance and fluid movements. It aims to keep your own balance as you destabilize the ‘enemy’. Knowing how to balance his body helped Ben to bring mobility to his strength and size.
Ben Affleck’s Workout Routine
Bulking and shredding were the secrets of Ben Affleck’s Batman body. Norton said that for Batman, Ben did more bodybuilding. “We wanted Ben to be strong but we wanted to add mass.
The volume was higher. We lived on a lot of the basics, 80-pound dumbbell curls, heavy-loaded carries, and farmer’s walks with 60-pound weights.”
Here’s the Ben Affleck Batman workout according to Men’s Journal:
Day 1:
Block 1 (32 minutes): Warm-up & Movement
- ‘Elliptical -15 minutes’
- ‘Rumble roller – hip/TFL/VMO/2-way glute/calf – 9 minutes’
- ‘Plank with arm extension – 0 seconds – follows with 8 reps of 2-second extensions for each side’
- ‘Spiderman – From the plank position, place you right foot next to your right hand—perform 3 reps for each side (hold for 2 breaths)’
- ‘Inchworm – While touching your toes with your legs straight, walk your hands out to a plank, then walk your feet back under you—perform 5 reps (hold for 1 breath)’
- ‘Calf stretch – 5 seconds for each leg’
Block 2 (40 minutes): Torso & Strength
- ‘Dumbbell farmer’s walk – 4 walks with appropriate weight for 1 minute
- ‘Alternating hanging knee-Up – 11 reps for each leg
- ‘½-Kneeling row – kneel on your right knee in front of a cable machine, row with your right arm – perform 4 sets of 12 reps on each side’
- ‘Back bridge – 2 reps of 15 second hold – 5-second pause between’
- ‘Alternating dumbbell reverse lunge – 8 reps for each leg’
- ‘Pull-Ups – 6 sets of 4 reps – hold for 4 seconds up and 4 seconds down’
- ‘Shoulder bridges: 10-second hold – then 8 reps of 2-second extension for each side’
Block 3 (22 minutes / Doing as many sets as possible): Strength & Fitness
- ‘Airdyne bike sprint – 20 seconds’
- ‘V-Grip pulldown – 15 reps’
- ‘Seated row handle grip – 12 reps’
- ‘Alternating dumbbell open curl – 5 sets of 5 reps – each arm, then 5 reps together’
- ‘Goblet squat – 8 reps’
- ‘Lateral squat – 6 reps – each side’
Day 2
Block 1 (30 minutes): Warm-up & Movement
- ‘Airdyne Bike Sprint: 10 reps of 5 minutes at 75% (finish with 15-second sprint, then 45-second rest)’
- ‘Soft Roller (upper back/lat/quad/glute/ham junction – 8 minutes’
- ‘Brettzel stretch – 2 reps for each side – hold for 5 breaths’
- ‘Kneeling lat – 1 rep each side – hold for 5 breaths’
- ‘½-Kneeling quad stretch – 2 reps for each side – hold for 5 breaths’
- ‘Brettzel – 2 reps for each side – hold for 5 breaths’
Block 2 – 32 minutes – Torso & Strength
- ‘Off-Bench oblique side crunch: 8 reps dynamic – followed with hold for 8 seconds’
- ‘Valslide body slide – 4 sets of 12 reps’
- ‘Dumbbell lateral raises – 4 sets of 12 reps’
- ‘Back bridge with March – Hold Bridge for 8 seconds – Then do 4 knee raises on each leg’
- ‘Dumbbell shrug – 5 sets of 6 reps’
- ‘Rear delt machine – 4 sets of 15 reps’
- ‘1 Leg hip lift – 3 sets of 8 reps for each side – hold for 2 seconds’
- ‘Triceps pushdown: 4 sets of 10 heavy reps, then 10 lighter reps’
Block 3 (36 minutes): Strength
- ‘Dumbbell deadlift – 4 sets of 6 reps’
- ‘Dumbbell bench press – 4 sets of 10 reps – count 3 seconds from up to down position’
- ‘Pec fly – 4 sets of 12 reps’
- ‘Ball leg curl – 4 sets of 6 reps -hold for 2 seconds’
Ben Affleck’s Diet Plan
Ben had just 16 weeks to get into shape for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
But he had an excellent nutritionist, Rehan Jalali, who set some goals for Ben like gaining 24 pounds before he began shooting.
To get into shape for this movie, Ben put on muscle mass while losing body fat.
He worked very hard and kept to these dieting rules:
1) He limited salt
If you want to lose weight, you will need to limit your sodium intake. If you have too much salt, you could experience water retention in your body.
Don’t consume more than 1500-2000 mg of sodium each day.
2) Take CLA as a supplement
CLA helps you to turn stored fat into energy. When you supplement with CLA, you help to burn fat even when you are not being physically active.
3) Lean on lean protein
There are studies to show that when you eat a high protein breakfast, you reduce hunger and can help you to eat up to 135 fewer calories later in the day.
When you eat a protein-rich breakfast, you feel fuller for longer, reducing your need to binge-eat.
4) Cardio after fasting
Some studies say that when you work out in the morning after your sleep, can allow you to burn up to 20% more fat.
It is apparently because your body at that time is depleted of glucose, which is the body’s main source of energy. It will therefore use stored fat for its fuel.
5) Cutting out dairy
Milk often makes you retain subcutaneous water and if the body does hold too much water, you won’t see defined muscles.
6) No carb intake at night
A lot of fitness guys blame fats for weight gain, but the main culprit could actually be excess carbs in the diet. Studies show that eating carbs at bedtime can make you put on weight.
Rehan Jalali ensured that Ben’s diet had the right nutrition ratios. These are them:
- 2,790 Calories
- 45% of carbohydrates
- 35% of lean protein
- 20% of essential fats
The diet plan of Ben Affleck for Batman
When Rehan Jalali was asked about Ben’s diet, he said, “The goal was to get him a lean, muscular commanding presence on screen. The goal was to follow my book, The Six Pack Diet Plan. 75% of it is really diet and supplementation. It includes 6-7 high-quality meals per day.”
Meal 1
- Protein Shake
- CLA supplement
Meal 2
- 4 Egg whites
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1 banana
- 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil
Meal 3
- Protein bar
Meal 4
- 1 serving of chicken breast
- A medium sweet potato
- 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil
Meal 5
- 1 large apple
- 1 Serving of unsalted almonds
Meal 6
- 1 serving of salmon or chicken breast
- Steamed Brussels sprouts
- Spinach or broccoli
Ben Affleck’s Supplements
Ben doesn’t share a lot of info on the supplements he takes except CLA. So we have just added some that help people who want to build muscle and follow an exercise and diet program such as Ben.
- CLA
- BCAAs
- Greens supplement
- Magnesium
- Tyrosine
- Protein
- Pre-workout
- Omega-3
- Calcium
- Vitamin C
Ben Affleck’s noteworthy recommendations
- Not having a plan: Find out the reason you want to get fit. Build your goals from there.
- Get a tutor because a coach can help you get your fundamentals fine-tuned and create accountability
- Don’t get stagnant, continuing to re-evaluate your path
- It’s all about consistency; it’s about building a schedule that you can keep to.
- Don’t hold onto preconceived notions. Keep your mind open to trying new things until you find success
“It doesn’t matter how you get knocked down in life – that’s going to happen – all that matters is that you gotta get up” – Ben Affleck