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Achilles Program by Alexander Cortes
Achilles Program by Alexander Cortes
Achilles Program by Alexander Cortes
PROGRAM
Crafting The Body Of A DemiGod
About The
Achilles Program
This program was inspired years ago by my many interactions and
conversations with young men who have inquired how to look like Brad
Pitt when he played Achilles in the film “Troy”. While this program origin
may seem gimmicky, I assure you it is not. Brad Pitt’s physique and general
athleticism shown in the film is a dramatic representation of a physique
that all men hope to achieve, that of a HERO.
All men aspire to look heroic. Whether this aspiration is realized or not
depends on the man’s dedication to training and bringing the vision to life.
The realization that having a powerful, aesthetic body changes your status
and influence in the world happens when a man is young, usually a boy.
As boys turn into teenagers, the desire grows. Young men make their way
into weight rooms and gyms, in the hopes that their physique will
transform into something mighty.
To look heroic is to live heroic. If the mind and body are one, then a might
body is an equally mighty mind. Transformation does not happen without
a plan though.
While Brad Pitt no doubt won the genetic lottery in having almost
universally appealing good looks in the face, his actual bodytype is nothing
exceptional in regards to muscle building potential or strength. He is a
“skinny white boy” of average height, and would probably be considered to
have “hardgainer” genetics. His physique over his career was the outcome
of resistance training, having a trainer that knew good exercise selection,
and time spent in the gym. He put in work in the gym, and he got results.
With the right plan, right actions, and dedication, you too can have your
own heroic transformation.
And the Achilles Program is that plan.
The “Ideal” Male Body
While a hardcore bodybuilding fan might argue that Pitt is a twerp, the reality is
his body has almost universal appeal.
Both men and women are drawn to symmetry, leanness, and proportion.I’ve
been training clients for 12 years, and to this day, men still comment that they
wish they could look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Troy, or Snatch, or Fury, or
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Pitt’s physique is appealing specifically because
it is the attainable “ideal” body of an average sized man. Pitt is 5’10, looks to
weigh between 155-175 lbs, and while his abdominal definition is largely genetic,
he does not look “freaky” or outsized to an extent that your average guy could
not look at his body and believe “I could look like that”.
What are the key factors that create a Heroic Masculine Body?
What stands out on Pitt? Chest (well defined looking, but again, not
huge), arms (cut, but not massive bis or tris), and abs (obviously). I
would include shoulders in this (most women know ZERO about
anatomy and probably were thinking of both) and group them
together with chest.
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3. Height, and Hair
Alright, so there is nothing that can be done about making you
truly physically taller, but you can make yourself APPEAR taller
by changing your body.
How so?
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(Disclaimer, no copy infringement of any kind is intended with any of these images)
1. Pitt naturally has wide shoulders that look big. He is clearly skinny as you can
tell by his arms, but because his shoulders dominate, he looks good.
2. Pitt is naturally quite lean. He clearly has never carried much fat in his
stomach at all, and probably always has some level abdominal definition. His
bodyfat % is probably no more than 11% at any given time.
Overall, he still still a skinny guy, would barely fill out a schmedium shirt. He
has no real mass to his physique despite his shoulder structure being good. He’s
lean, but skinny guy lean, and looks like maybe he runs and does pushups and
situps.
Maybe you are not as lean as Brad Pitt, but the lesson is clear: you want to look
more aesthetic? Build some shoulder muscle, and drop the excess bodyfat.
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Pitt, 29 & 34 & 39 Years Old
Moving forward to years, here is Pitt at age 29. And age 34. This is not an
“advanced” physique, this is a slim guy who works out and doesnt get fat.
It is not until 1999 in fact that Brad Pitt shows up RIPPED for Fight Club. While I
believe he worked out through his 20s and 30s with regular cardio, its not until
Fight Club that he seemed to take bodybuilding seriously.
His look in this film became iconic; abs, chest, and shoulders, and leaner than he
had ever been prior.
While this body might seem unattainable, Brad’s weight during the film was
reported to be between 150-155 pounds, at 5-6% bodyfat.
Supposedly he trained a lot of martial arts for this film, which would have been
cardiovascular. He also trained for 6 months before filming began, which is a
reasonable estimate of time given his genetics and overall look he had in the
film.
His supposed lifting program is laughable at how “Bro” it is. According to what
you can find online, he trained ONE muscle group per day, with 3 sets of 15
reps, one exercise at a time. As BRO of a program if there ever was one
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You can find his Fight Club program by clicking here
Archive: http://archive.is/hpQUV
How much muscle mass did he gain? He looks perhaps 10lbs heavier than he
did before at most, but because his shoulders and abs so are defined, it looks
more impressive than the scale would imply. And we can learn a few things from
this film and his lool
Being Lean ALWAYS Makes you look more muscular, and if you
1 lift like a Bro and prioritize upper body, you will look aesthetic
Basically, follow a bodybuilding program, develop your upper body, and then get
lean enough to see your abs.
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Following Fight Club, Pitt appeared in Snatch, this time as an Irish Traveler bare
knuckle fighting champion.
He was not as lean as Fight Club, but he had more “size” this time around
(relatively speaking. We are talking about a 165lb man here). Not being so
depleted gave him a much fuller look to his muscles. And he seems to have
trained his back more than before.
Compared to his late 20s, his arms also are larger overall, and although his
biceps and triceps are not particularly developed (he does not have good arms
genetics), he has more mass.
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Pitt, 41 Years Old
Now, his next iconic look would not be until Troy in 2004, a full 5 years
He was LEAN. He was lean, which makes you look bigger. And he had marginally
more muscle mass than he did a decade prior. Which if you lift weights in a
progressive manner for 10 years, you would expect to happen. Add in a 12 week
cut and tanning bed and cinematic lighting, and you will look good on camera.
His trainer for this film was a gentleman by the name of Gregory Joujon-Roche.
THis trainer passed away from cancer years ago, and did no interviews, but after
Word of warning, the given routine is 2-3 hours a day, and I question the
fabrication.
“Roche, who charges $5,000 per week, also came with access to a masseuse,
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Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not. The routine itself is wildly imbalanced, with no
posterior chain or back work at all. The lifting focuses entirely on shoulders/
chest, has ONE arm day, abs, and shoulders/chest again. He apparently also did
nothing but circuits to failure, and no sets or reps or given. The leg training is
entirely cardiovascular, and he never did ANY free weight exercises for legs
other than leg extensions.
The weight workouts are all preceded by an hour of interval cardio. What does
stand out is the “boxing” workouts of doing weighted punches, and the sword
fighting training. I can personally attest from having done this for combat sports
that this is a great arm and shoulder workout.
The whole thing looks absurd on paper, and it would be incredibly exhausting,
not to mention highly catabolic and downright lousy for muscle growth.
Professional opinion, I call BS that he actually did this. But if I ever meet him, I’ll
ask him.
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Training
To Be Achilles
Now that you have a thorough overview of the ideal male
physique, Pitts physical history and training, and insight into
what to emphasize in training, let us finally get to the
program
Now that you have a contextual overview of the ideal male physique and we
have demystified the “Troy” body and what looking good requires, let us finally
get to the program itself.
This program is not contrived “bro science” that I made up myself. It is based on
proven, scientific principles of programming.
For increased muscle growth in a particular muscle, train that muscle with
higher frequency (2-3 times a week
For increased muscle growth in a particular muscle, train with at least 10 sets
weekly, going as high 20 sets per week (these sets are done across multiple
workouts)
Use effective exercise selection
This program prioritizes upper body development. This does not mean you
ONLY train your upper body, it is a total body program (as all my programs are)
Assume each workout will take 60-90 minutes. Do not change the program. Do
not change the workouts.
A) You know your way around a gym and are not a total novice that has never
touched a weight in your lift.
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This program emphasizes chest, arms, shoulders, and abs, and you will look
good with your shirt off at the end of it.
This is a muscle gaining program, not a strength emphasis program. While you
can expect to get stronger, do not think this is any kind of “big 3” program for
your squat, bench, and deadlift. It is not.
The first program is Achilles 3.0, which last 12 weeks, and consists of three
phases. Each phase lasts for 4 weeks.
The second half is Achilles Elysium, which is also 12 weeks. They are meant to be
done together.
Achilles 3.0 emphasis Upper body, while Elysium emphasizes posterior chain.
By the end you will have a holistic understanding of how to train for structural
balance in your physique.
Along with lifting, you are training abs. And training them A lot.
You can train abs up 5 days a week, although I recommend 3-4 days as being
sufficient.
Word of warning, I would not consider this an “easy” program by any means.
You will be in the gym 5 days a week. You need to be focused. A minimalist
routine this is not.
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The Achilles 3.0 Program
is Structured as follows
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Abdominal
Workouts
Abdominal workouts are mandatory, and we keep it simple.
If you don't train abs, do not complain about your abs not looking as good as
possible.
I want you to train abs 3-4 times weekly. Simply pick a movement, and do 4 sets
of 8-15 reps of that movement. There are “upper ab” exercises, which are
basically versions of crunches and situps.
And there are “lower ab” exercises which are various kinds of leg raise type
movements. For bodyweight movements, you can double the reps if you feel it
is warranted.
Upper Abdominal
Lower Abdominal
Exercises Exercises
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Phase I
1. Seated leg curls or stability ball leg curls 1. Incline Bench Press 4x5-8
or lying leg curls (use whatever machine is 2. Flat DB Chest Press 3x10-15
available) 4x8-15
3. Cable Decline Chest Fly 2x10-15
3. Walking Lunges-Can use DB or BB across 5. Bent Over Rear Delt DB Raise 4x10-15
the shoulders 4x8-12 steps per leg
5x8-10
5. Cable Tricep Pushdowns 5x10-15
6. EZ Bar Bicep Curls 5x5-8
7. Overhead Rope Extension 5x8-12
3x6-8
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Phase II
1. Incline Bench Press 3x8,6,4 (pyramid up 1. Wide Grip Pull-ups (substitute with
in weight on each set)
Pulldowns if necessary) 3x8-10
1. Seated leg curls or stability ball leg 1. Converging Chest Press 3x8-1 0
curls or lying
Workout 3:leg curls (use whatever
Legs 2. Dips (bodyweight) 2x10-15-add
machine is available) 3x15-20
weight is bodyweight is too eas y
2. Weighted Step ups 3x8-10
3. Decline Cable Chest Flys 2x10-15
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Phase III
2x8-10
Workout 5: Arms
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Optional-Phase IV
A Man of Bronze
The Man of Bronze Workouts are less in exercises, but very intense in
the volume. You will be doing A LOT of sets. And the goal here is to
get the workouts done as FAST as possible, lifting the heaviest
weights possible.
While the workouts might end up being short, the density of each
workout is a very powerful stimulus. PLEASE do not do anything
extra. Only do what is given
During this month, I recommend ZERO cardio. You should still train
abs of course. But outside of the workouts, do not do any additional
cardio.
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Optional-Phase IV
A Man of Bronze
8x8 is an old school bodybuilding set/rep More high volume. 8X8 should be as fast as
scheme that was created by Vince Gironda, possible, BUT still challenge yourself with
the worlds first bodybuilding and personal the weights. You’ll get a wicked pump while
trainer “guru”. The sets drop down, butyou building strength endurance
still finish with heavy weight on your final 6
sets
Workout 5: Arms
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Cardio+Abs
3 Days Weekly
Workouts
Workout A Workout B
cardio.
Sprint
Sled Pushe
Jump Rop
Burpee
Hitting a Heavy Ba
Concept 2 Ro
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Simple Diet Suggestions
To Gain Muscle Mass:
Your calorie intake 7 days a week is your bodyweight x 1
Your protein intake is your bodyweight x 1=total protein intake in grams
Your carb intake is 40% of your calorie intake. Consume carbs before and
after training
All remaining calories are from Fat
Eat at least 3 meals a day. Have a protein shake before sleeping every night.
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Who Is Alexander
J.A. Cortes?