October 22, 2024, 1:32 pm | Read time: 8 minutes
Series fans can hardly avoid him: David Boreanaz has been shaking up the TV world for around 25 years. Viewers know him from “Buffy,” “Angel,” “Bones,” and his current seven-season series “SEAL Team.” In the latter, he has to credibly portray a Navy Seal, which requires physical fitness in particular. The actor has now revealed how he trains for it and what is important in addition to strength exercises.
Whether portraying a vampire, an FBI agent, or currently a member of an elite military unit, David Boreanaz thrives on physically challenging and action-packed roles. Beyond looking and moving convincingly in his Navy Seal role, the actor must maintain peak physical condition to endure the grueling filming days and perform various stunts safely. Now at 55, David Boreanaz may not find these demands as effortless as during his Angel stint, which spanned from 1997, when he was 28, until 2004, at age 35. Because he has already put his body through a lot for his roles over the years, hard training is still a must – but above all, the focus is on the most effective recovery possible.
Overview
Why recovery is so important for David Boreanaz
It is well known that training without optimal recovery is significantly less effective. However, for David Boreanaz, this aspect of his training routine is a top priority for another reason. In an interview with US magazine Men’s Health, he revealed: “When you play a Navy Seal and have to behave accordingly, you’re physically challenged. You’re out there shooting tough scenes, reenacting missions, jumping out of helicopters, and crawling around.”
And because, as mentioned, the 55-year-old has always enjoyed realizing projects with lots of action, he now notices the marks this has left on his body. “My shoulders keep giving me problems,” he explained in the interview, which took place in his home gym while his trainer Roy Paras massaged and stretched him on a bench. “He’s already torn three of his four shoulder muscles,” the trainer said and went into detail about his famous client’s complaints.
Injuries that would actually have required an operation. However, as this would mean that Boreanaz would not be able to work for four to six months, this has so far been out of the question – as long as the series is “on air.” “But that’s not an option, so we focus on my shoulder, knees, and hip to ensure I can get through the days,” the actor explains. “For me, it’s mainly about recovery, i.e., how quickly I can recover so that I can get back to work or the next workout.”
What Boreanaz does before the workout
After the physiotherapy treatment, David Boreanaz stretches. He also does a few initial exercises with resistance bands to get his upper and lower body moving. Only then does the actual workout begin.
David Boreanaz seal training
You can see the individual exercises from David Boreanaz’s seal training in this video:
Warm-up
Seated butterfly with resistance band
Two sets of 20 repetitions
David Boreanaz sits on a weight bench with a resistance band attached to a structure in front of him. He positions both palms inside the band and performs the butterflies, sitting down at shoulder height.
Backhand step-back with resistance band
Two sets of 20 repetitions per side
The actor uses the band construction to train with the resistance band while standing with one arm stretched sideways at the head, moving upwards and backwards. At the same time, he takes a small step back with the opposite leg (step back).
Lateral band walk
Two sets of ten steps in each direction
In this exercise, a resistance band surrounds Boreanaz’s thighs while his trainer holds a band around his midsection and allows himself to be pulled along by his client’s side steps, adding weight and resistance. The perfect workout for legs, bottom, and hips.
Full body rotation
Two sets of ten repetitions, with each leg forward
In this exercise, the 55-year-old uses two body-length poles, which he places on the floor and holds and moves with both hands to rotate his body from a lunge position.
Workout
Cable Rotation Swing
Two sets of ten repetitions per side
With the two-handed rotation on the cable pulley, the series star engages his entire upper body and core.
Cable punch
Two sets of ten repetitions per arm
In this exercise, David Boreanaz imitates boxing punches with one arm on the cable pulley.
One-arm cable row
Two sets of ten repetitions per arm
According to Boreanaz’s trainer, this exercise is ideal for getting the actor’s shoulders – one of his weak points – in shape so that he is protected from injury during fight scenes.
Squat rotation with medicine ball
Two sets of ten repetitions per side
In this full-body exercise, the 55-year-old holds a medicine ball in front of his chest with both arms and then rotates his upper body from side to side while doing squats at the same time.
Boxing
Five to eight rounds of two to three minutes each, with a one-minute break in between.
Two to three times a week, the Hollywood star supplements his workout with a short boxing session with his trainer: “To get the heart rate up.” This strength and endurance regimen aligns with his goal to build muscle while staying flexible and lean rather than bulking up excessively. In his Navy Seal role, he must be swift yet also capable of executing slow, precise movements, such as sneaking through tight spaces, which demand agility from smaller muscles, the core, and joints. In addition to strength training, sparring is ideal for focusing on precisely these areas of the body and fitness skills.
Landmine training
Three sets of ten repetitions per position
David Boreanaz also trains his shoulders with the Landmine barbell. To do this, he presses the barbell upwards with one arm (on each side) and with both hands.
Single-arm dumbbell rowing
Three sets of ten repetitions per side
For this exercise, the actor remains standing and bends his knees slightly and his upper body far forward (almost horizontally to the floor). With the non-training hand, he supports himself on another piece of gym equipment, while with the other hand, he takes a dumbbell and rows with one arm.
Butterfly on the cable pulley
Three sets of ten repetitions
To strengthen his chest, back, and shoulders, David Boreanaz performs the butterfly exercise on the cable pulley.
TRX overhead flys
Three sets of ten repetitions
The series star performs further flys on TRX bands. This has the advantage that he can move his arms more flexibly, namely in a V-shape from the chest upwards, and can also use his entire body, with which he leans backward, as weight.
Medicine ball throwing in a spread stance
Three sets of five repetitions per side
In this exercise, which many people will remember from school, Boreanaz stands in a spread stance and throws the medicine ball with both hands, rotating to one side from above (over his head) onto the floor. An ideal workout to train endurance as well as strength.
Push-ups
Three sets of ten repetitions
The actor modifies his push-ups by performing them at a slight incline, with his hands placed on a weight bench, deviating from the classic floor version.
Cable crunch
Three sets of ten repetitions
To do this, David Boreanaz lies on the floor with his head facing the cable, raises his legs at a 90-degree angle, and pulls the cable with both hands from his head to his chest.
Curls with the EZ barbell
Three sets of 21 repetitions: seven half repetitions at the bottom, seven half repetitions at the top, seven full repetitions
Bicep curls are not a classic arm workout for nothing and should not be missed by the Hollywood star.
Hanging knee lift
Three sets of 20 repetitions
This exercise looks easy, but it’s not at all. It not only requires strength in the hands and arms but also strong abdominal muscles. David Boreanaz hangs from a pull-up bar with his arms bent and lifts both knees towards his upper body.
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Boreanaz’s motto: always listen to your body and adapt your training accordingly
Despite his well-structured training schedule, David Boreanaz maintains a degree of flexibility in his regimen. “I stay in the here and now and listen to my body,” he explained in the interview. This approach means that he scales back on days when he experiences discomfort while intensifying his routine when he feels capable. “If I’m feeling really down, I might not go to the gym, but instead go swimming to help my recovery,” says the action-tested actor. On other days, he overcomes his lack of motivation and still goes to the gym for strength training because he knows his body so well that he knows he can do it now and can even go beyond certain limits. Overall, it’s always about striking a balance between two training goals: on the one hand, challenging his body to improve his fitness level and, on the other, not overshooting the mark and going backward in the long term.