He’s come a long way since his days wearing a Hogwarts uniform. In the run-up to playing the iconic Caped Crusader in the new film, The Batman, Robert Pattinson changed up his diet and exercise routine.
In an interview with GQ in 2020, Pattinson hit out against Hollywood’s demands on actors to transform their bodies for a lead, and joked that he wasn’t going to work out for the movie. Despite this, Pattinson did change up his workout routine and has since told Healthy for Men that the role helped him embrace fitness.
Read on to find out how Robert Pattinson got in shape for The Batman. Looking for more workout inspiration? Here’s how Alan Ritchson packed on 30 pounds of muscle to play Reacher and the best apps to download if you want to get paid to walk.
Robert Pattinson’s The Batman workouts and diet
In an interview with Healthy for Men, the 34-year-old actor revealed his workout secrets as he trained for the role. "You look at the true warriors of the superhero genre — [Chris] Hemsworth, The Rock, [Robert Downey Jr., [Chris] Evans — and wonder if you're putting yourself in the wrong place," Pattison said. "It's all about pushing boundaries and building up to a point where you know you can do justice to the physicality required. And past that, so much of it is letting the special effects and on-screen exchanges produce the real magic. Overall, it's just very exciting."
Pattinson revealed his training regime was a mix of ab workouts, running, and military-style moves, mixed up with long walks and boxing. Sounds grueling, right?
Here’s a look at Pattinson’s Batman ab workout:
Five minutes of cardio to warm-up
Bicycle crunches: To do a bicycle crunch, start on your back with your feet pressed into the floor, hip-width apart. Think about sucking in your belly button, place your hands lightly behind your head with your elbows wide, and raise your head and neck up off the mat. Raise your legs to a tabletop position, and engage your abdominal muscles, straighten the left leg slowly, out, and away from your body with your toe pointed.
As you do this, bend your right knee in towards your torso, and twist your left elbow to touch your right knee (it doesn’t matter too much if it doesn’t actually touch). Then swap sides, rotating and touching your left knee in towards your chest, touching your right elbow to your knee. Keep alternating sides slowly, and in control. Read more about how to do a bicycle crunch and the variations to try here.
Dumbbell side bends: To do a dumbbell side bend, start standing with your legs shoulder-width apart. With a dumbbell in one hand, slowly lower the dumbbell down your leg towards your knee, crunching your torso as you do so and working into your obliques. Then use your abs to lift your torso back up to your starting position.
Double crunches: For double crunches, start by lying on your back, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. As you crunch your torso up towards your knees, lift your knees up off the floor towards your elbows. At the top of the movement, your forehead should be about six inches from your knees. Pause at the top, then reverse the movement until you are back to your starting position.
Superman holds: It seems apt there were Superman holds in the superhero ab workout. To do a superman hold, lie on your belly on your exercise mat, stretching both arms and legs out from your body. Engage your glutes and raise both arms and legs off the floor, aiming for about six inches. You should feel a stretch in your lower back. Hold the pose for a couple of seconds before lowering back to your starting position.
Pattinson would also run 3-6 miles four times a week to build up his endurance for the role. Inspired? We’ve found the best running shoes, the best running phone holders, and a beginner’s running plan that’ll get you up to running for 30 minutes continuously in just six weeks.
Finally, he’d do military-style sandbag workouts on the beach, performing squats, lunges and sprints while holding a heavy sandbag.
Pattinson also told On Demand Entertainment that he even started to enjoy the training; “Training's a lot more fun when you get good at it," he said. "Once you pass over the six-week mark then it's alright, then you feel bad if you're not doing it. It's kind of what everyone says.
Robert Pattinson's The Batman diet
Unfortunately, it seems that Superhero diets are nowhere near as exciting as they might seem in comic books. In his interview with On Demand Entertainment, Pattinson said, “I never want to see a piece of white fish with lemon on it ever again”.
The Healthy for Men article also revealed he had cut out alcohol in the run-up to filming, as well as processed meats and fried foods.
In an interview with People, Pattinson revealed in the days before his topless scene in the movie, he was counting his sips of water. "You just cut down and cut down and cut down before the couple of scenes with your shirt off, and you're counting sips of water," he said.
Who’d want to be a superhero, right?
