Jake Gyllenhaal sent shockwaves around the MMA world when he stepped inside the octagon at UFC 285.

Footage even captured him securing a highlight-reel flying knee ‘knockout’.

The actor attended UFC 285, headlined by Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane, with fellow Road House actor Conor McGregorCredit: AFP

However, not all was as it seemed, as the 42-year-old actor was actually filming a faux fight for a remake of the 1989 cult classic film, Road House, starring Patrick Swayze.

Gyllenhaal plays Elwood Dalton in the reboot, and looked absolutely shredded when he weighed in for his fictional middleweight title bout against champ Jax Harris, played by former mixed martial artist and UFC fighter, Jay Hieron.

While the film, set for release in 2023, stars Conor McGregor – who is believed to be playing one of the main henchman of the film’s villain – it was Gyllenhaal’s ripped physique that captured the attention of casual and hardcore fans alike.

The secret to his jacked Road House physique was the ‘VersaClimber’

The Oscar-nominated star is notorious for having a meticulous and dedicated approach to his craft, and his insane body transformation for the upcoming flick is testament to that.

Gyllenhaal had a faux weigh-in ahead of filming inside the cage and looked absolutely jackedCredit: Twitter

But getting an MMA fighter’s chiselled bod is no easy feat.

In fact, it required hours upon hours of gruelling graft in the gym with his trainer, Jason Walsh, at Walsh’s New York-based fitness studio, Rise Nation.

Walsh revealed that one of the secrets to Jake’s jacked physique in Road House was the vertical climber (also known as the VersaClimber).

The VersaClimber is a mountain climber machine that provides a “true” total body, unique vertical workout by actively engaging all major muscle groups including arms, shoulders, back, quads and calves.

Walsh explained that Gyllenhaal regularly attended his VersaClimber classes while training for Road House, saying, “He was going there [Walsh’s studio] a lot especially since we were trying to get him into UFC fighter shape.”

Gyllenhaal’s gruelling Southpaw workout regimen including 2,000 sit-ups a day

Gyllenhaal is no stranger to putting himself through the wringer for a role, having allegedly ran 12 miles a day to get in shape for 2014’s Nightcrawler.

While the Donnie Dark and Brokeback Mountain star is yet to divulge all the details about his approach for Road House, one look at his fanatical workout plan for Southpaw gives an insight into what it takes to be sculpted like a Greek god.

Gyllenhaal reportedly worked out twice a day, packing on 13kg of muscle for the lead role in the 2015 movie, which saw the actor play Billy “The Great” Hope – a professional boxer who sets out to get his life back on track after losing his wife and having his daughter taken off him.

Gyllenhaal appeared on The Howard Stern Show before the film’s release where he revealed the insane amount of exercise he was putting in to look like an Adonis.

“I trained twice a day for five months,” he told Stern. “I started at three miles and eventually, I was running eight miles. I would go and work out for two hours doing mitt work, heavy bag and speed bags.

Footage of his impressive build did the rounds as he filmed a scene with co-star Jay HieronCredit: Twitter

Gyllenhaal got in tip-top condition by doing a crazy amount of classes on the VersaClimberCredit: Twitter

“Over five months, every single day, twice a day you just start learning the techniques. It took me two months to get the speed bag and feel confident with the speed bag.”

In a separate interview, Gyllenhaal revealed what an average day in the gym would like.

It involved:

• 1,000 sit-ups
• An 8-mile run
• 1-2 hours of boxing/sparring
• 1 hour of core workouts
• 1-2 more hours of boxing/cardio
• 1 hour of weightlifting (shrugs, bench press, tire flipping, etc.)
• 1,000 additional sit-ups before bed

Although Gyllenhaal is playing a UFC fighter in Road House rather than a boxer, he likely adopted a similar method, potentially swapping out some boxing time for a little grappling, wrestling and jujitsu practice.

He would also engage in a brutal core workout routine which would involve two-three rounds of the following:

• Pull-ups (1 set of 10 reps)
• Arm walk-outs (1 set of 10 reps)
• Bicycle crunches (1 set of 20 reps)
• One leg/arm plank (1 set of 10 reps)
• Dips (1 set of 10 reps)
• Pushups (1 set of 10 reps)
• Deadlift (1 set of 10 reps, 1-2 minutes of rest)

Additionally, his weightlifting routine was equally demanding.

It would reportedly involve two-three rounds of:

• Dips (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Crunches (1 set, 25 reps)
• Weighted pull-ups (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Barbell squats (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Barbell deadlift (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• DB shoulder press (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Walking lunge (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Dumbbell shrugs (1 set, 8-12 reps)
• Bench press (1 set, 8-12 reps)

Diet was crucial in fuelling his intense workouts

While Gyllenhaal’s workouts were obviously vital, they would have been futile had he not also honed in on his diet.

On average, the Road House actor would reportedly eat six or seven meals per day, every three hours or so, focusing on carbs in the morning to fuel his workouts before shifting to higher protein in the afternoons and evenings to build and repair his muscle.

In an interview with Bodybuilding.com, Gyllenhaal said: “My diet would consist of lots of eggs, chicken, fish, bananas, apples, almonds, cacao beans, raisins, goji berries, rye bread, pasta, couscous and potatoes, and lots of steamed vegetables and salad: avocado, tomatoes, broccoli, and other dark-green leaves.

“Nothing was fried, and everything was as natural as possible. I would drink plenty of water throughout the day, as well. In terms of supplements, there was vitamin D3 and vitamin C, and then also protein shakes.”

It certainly paid off as he looked like an absolute beast.