Jake Gyllenhaal: Natty or Not (ROAD HOUSE)

With the release of the new movie “Road House”, Men’s Health highlighted the workouts and training that Jake Gyllenhaal underwent to achieve the physique he has in the leading role. The question I always get asked when it comes to an actor’s physical transformation is: “did they take anything to achieve that physique?” And when it comes to my review of Jake Gyllenhaal’s transformation and training for Road House, I know this question is being asked.

What is the answer? Well, in my opinion, it doesn’t seem like he had taken anything along the lines of PEDs to achieve the body he has in the movie. While some might disagree with me, I have some reasons as to why I think Jake stayed natural throughout his training for the movie.

The first reason I think that Jake Gyllenhaal stayed natural during his Road House transformation is because Jake didn’t make some sort of insane transformation nearly overnight. As a matter of fact, if you look at the timeline over the years that it took him to achieve his current physique, it is certainly achievable over that period of time.

Secondly, Jake didn’t actually gain a significant amount of size or muscle. On the contrary, he went on a cut to remove excess body fat while building muscle, dropping around 20 pounds in the process. As we know, stripping away body fat and getting leaner leads to the appearance of overall more muscularity. Being able to see definition in the muscle will make the body appear larger and more muscular when in actuality, the person just has low body fat that doesn’t cover muscle definition or striations.

Another reason that I think Jake Gyllenhaal had a natural transformation is because of how long he and his trainer spent together preparing for his role in Road House. The body that they worked for was not achieved in a matter of weeks or months, but rather over the course of about a year. Looking at where Jake started and where he ended and understanding the time frame of the training journey, what he achieved appears to be very natural and possible. Again, he didn’t add significant size while staying lean in a relatively short period of time.

When factoring all these aspects together, it doesn’t appear to me that Jake Gyllenhaal was taking PEDs or steroids in order to achieve his physique for the movie Road House. It looks to me like he did this naturally with proper training, good nutrition, and a realistic timeframe.

For more celebrity workout reviews and critiques as well as information you need in order to get the most out of your own workouts, be sure to stay tuned to this channel and remember to subscribe so that you never miss another video from a physical therapist with a pro sports background as a PT and strength coach.

Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

[GoldenYearsMuscle-withTom]

I totally agree with you Jeff!
Just a healthy transformation thru hard work, healthy diet, and enough rest and recovery. 👍

[pranakhan]

Based on the statistically low amount of people who engage in any physical training, most of the people blaming PEDs aren't even on a consistent workout schedule. It's just an excuse for poor lifestyle choices and a lack of discipline.

[barnzYT]

As he’s had good physique for many years over various roles I’d say he’s natty. It’s the actors who go from fat to ultra shredded or skinny to shredded in a very very short time that get you thinking they’re on PEDs

[MMAFAN-yz]

The problem is he became shredded in a couple months. He is an actor, they give them steroids for a role. It makes sense.

[felipestopazzolli]

That’s attainable without steroids but that doesn’t mean he didn’t take them.

[PeteKona]

People forget genetics play a big role in how much muscle you can put on and how quickly. Also, muscle memory is a real thing. I lifted in my 20's and gained muscle so fast people swore I was on PEDs (I wasn't, nor would I ever take any). Life happened, stopped lifting for like 20 years. Went back to the gym in my 40's, started lifting again, and all my muscle from when I was in my 20's came back very quickly.

[Anatime]

"Everybody's on Steroids."-Nate Diaz

[Barkeroni]

10s of millions in the bank, chefs, trainers, private gyms...kinda makes it easy

[LiamPierce]

People forget that this guy has a team of trainers, chefs etc behind him as well. No way majority of us could ever achieve that physique but if we had a whole team dragging us through the workouts and food, we could achieve this physique if not slightly worse

[GarrettAnderson-dd]

Him and Connor both juiced up in this movie.

[MasaCheez]

Agreed. I dropped from 215 at 15% body fat to 187 at 7.5% body fat last fall. I looked rediculously ripped and all sorts of "roidy". Not on the juice though. Just very low body fat. Was impossible for me to maintain though.

[joncamacho]

I, who has studied the evolution of Jake's body for many many years, concur

[jacobsmith]

Thank you brooo!!!! I’ve been saying this and have no problem being proven wrong…. I say this because of you’re content years ago, while I was in the military, helped me train properly to become a better version of myself… Thank you and keep going strong brother.

[mouvementebr]

That's nuts how many people are gullible enough to think he's natty here

[ThePaulg]

One thing I'm sure i read or watched on YouTube in the past isntjat his abs had had some makeup shading or something like that to make them look more defined.

[forthehomies]

All it takes is a small amount of something to really enhance you. Whether it be a steroid to keep you lean, to dry you out, to help your strength or to put on some muscle.... There's really 0 reason for him NOT to take at least SOMETHING to enhance his looks. I mean, there are millions and millions of dollars on the line for these Hollywood gigs. Regardless though, Jake is one of the hardest working dudes in Hollywood both on and off the set and in the gym. He deserves it, for sure.

[joshpoi]

Before watching Jeff's comment, I knew he would say he doesn't think so. Likely because psychologically, Jeff gets criticized for this himself and denying steroid use in similar looking individuals helps his own case.

[OfekAG]

Why do people shout steroids on every impressive physique, starting to sound like excuses to justify why their body isn't as impressive, It would be really weird to assume jake is on steroids, he is clearly not.

[ohwell]

Why did people think he was on steroids that a pretty normal looking guy proportionally

[AllenHanPR]

Jake has always had a MMA body his whole career. He was changed weight classes.