Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing many major roles in the television scene. He had the ability to play any genre you throw at him, whether that’s romance, comedy, or action which made him receive many awards and nominations throughout his career. He appeared in many films such as Dirty Dancing, Road House, and Point Break. In addition to that, Swayze was also known for his media image and looks since he was named “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1991, not only because of his attractive face, but also for his impressive physique. With that being said, how did he manage to build his muscles? In other words, what was Patrick Swayze’s Workout Routine?
Patrick Swayze’s workout routine mainly consisted of classical bodyweight exercises and martial arts such as Wushu, Taekwondo, and Aikido. Additionally, he pursued multiple athletic skills, including ice skating and classical ballet, which also played a role in his impressive physique.
In this article, we’ll talk about Patrick Swayze’s body transformation over the years and the workout routine that allowed him to reach his physique.
Patrick Swayze’s Stats
Before getting into his workout routine, we first need to establish some of his basic stats (as of 2009)
- Age: 57
- Height: 5’11”
- Weight: 165 lbs
- BMI: 23
- Body fat percentage (in the movie “Road House”): Somewhere between 12 to 15%
As you may have noticed, Patrick Swayze was pretty tall (5”11”) which allowed him to appear buff, especially with the amount of weight that he has. In addition to that, he has a body fat percentage that’s low enough to make him appear lean and pop out his muscles.
Patrick Swayze’s Body Transformation:
In this section, we’ll compare Patrick Swayze’s physique at each age to see how his body has changed over the years:
Age 20s: This is the oldest picture I could find of Patrick Swayze where he showed his muscles. Although when this was taken is unknown, he appears to be in his 20s. As you can see, Patrick had already developed some kind of muscle mass at this age. He didn’t have impressive pecs, but he had decent shoulders, biceps, triceps, and forearms.
Age 30: At this age, Patrick Swayze landed a role on the TV show “The Renegades” where he played the leader of a gang. As you can tell from the picture, he was a little bit skinny during this time but he was still lean and he still had those impressive arm muscles.
Age 35: At this age, Patrick Swayze played the iconic role of Johnny Castle which made him a superstar and earned him his first Golden Globe nomination. In this movie, Patrick had the best shape of his life. He had to get bigger and leaner in order to play the role of a dancer and he went above and beyond as you can tell from the picture. He got a lot bigger, increased his arm size even more, and developed his pecs and lats.
Age 37: After playing the role of Johnny Castle, Patrick Swayze became an in-demand actor. He followed it up with a handful of films including “Road House” in which he played a cooler at a newly refurbished roadside bar that protects a small town in Missouri. That’s exactly why he needed to be in shape in order to portray that character perfectly. However, that wasn’t a problem for Patrick since he kept his physique from his last move and even improved it in some points. He had impressive pecs, arms, and we get to see his shredded six-pack.
Patrick Swayze’s Workout Routine
As we’ve seen in the previous section, Patrick Swayze already had an impressive physique even at a young age. That’s because, during his 20s, he pursued multiple athletic skills, such as ice skating and classical ballet.
If you didn’t know, ice skating works nearly every muscle group in the body such as the leg and abdominal muscles. And like any other workout, it also trains aerobic fitness (cardio). The same thing with classical ballet which is considered a weight-bearing form of exercise that strengthens muscles.
Additionally, he also played football during high school which played a huge role in building up his impressive physique, and at the same time, he practiced martial arts such as Wushu, Taekwondo, and Aikido. All of these help tone the muscles and increase their mass since punching and kicking require a lot of strength and agility while heavily engaging your arms, legs, and core.
Furthermore, while preparing for some of his more significant roles such as Johnny Castle, Patrick Swayze used to perform some intense bodyweight exercises.
In one of Rob Lowe’s (Swayze’s friend) interviews with Joe Rogan, he said “Swayze used to do bodyweight push-ups with his feet up against the wall all night long”. I’m sure that was only a small part of his workout routine and that he did a lot more bodyweight exercises to work his body and improve his physique.
Conclusion:
If you look up to Patrick Swayze or want to achieve his “Road House” physique, it’s gonna require a lot of hard work, here’s what you need to do:
- Learn some form of athletic skills such as ice skating to improve your cardio and stay lean
- Practice a sport like football or martial arts to increase your muscle mass and lower your body fat percentage
- Start implementing intense bodyweight exercises during your workouts
