Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man Workout and Diet Routine

Robert Downey Jr. is an American actor and producer. He is one of the biggest superstars of the decade and his career is known for many critically acclaimed as well as commercially successful ventures. Robert Downey Jr. reached new heights of success and became a global superstar after bringing to life characters like Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes.

At 57, Robert Downey Jr. continues to be one of the most influential figures in the film industry. This is his biography, diet, workout and stats.

Robert Downey Jr. Biography

Early life and career

Robert Downey Jr. was born to film producer and actor Robert Downey Sr. and actress Elsie Ann. He has an elder sister named Allyson. He started working in the movies as a child artist at five years of age. The American actor was exposed to drugs and alcohol very early in life and had to face difficult times because of the addiction as an adult.

Robert started his career as an adult actor in theatre and slowly transitioned to working in movies. He earned widespread critical acclaim for his roles during this time and was also nominated for the best actor award at the 1993 Academy Awards for playing Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 movie Chaplin. He also won the 1992 British Academy Film award for this role.

Substance abuse and legal troubles

In spite of the early success, Robert Downey Jr. went through a dark phase in the late 1990s owing to his substance abuse problem. The Iron Man star was arrested on multiple occasions for possession of drugs and went through unsuccessful rehabilitation programs as well.

Robert was sentenced to three years in prison at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in 1999. After spending nearly one year in the prison, Robert was released from the jail after a judge ruled that the total time he spent incarcerated since his initial arrests in 1996 qualified him for an early release. However, he continued to struggle with addiction for a while but was able to get over it eventually and kickstart the acting career once again. Robert claims to have been sober since 2003 and attributes this success to his wife along with family, friends, yoga and Wing Chun.

Speaking about his battle with addiction in a famous Vanity Fair interview in 2015, Robert Downey Jr. stated:

“For some folks it’s just a function of age. It’s perfectly normal for people to be obsessive about something for a period of time, then leave it alone.”

Career Resurgence

Robert Downey Jr. made a comeback to the mainstream cinema with 2003 movie Gothika and never looked back. In 2008, the troubled actor graced the screen as Iron Man which turned a new leaf in his career. Robert Downey Jr. became a global superstar with the Marvel’s Avengers series and through other iconic roles like Sherlock Holmes.

Although the Academy award has eluded the 57-year-old actor so far in his career, Robert Downey Jr. has undeniably become one of the most liked actors around the world and took home the People’s Choice award a whopping four times.

Robert Downey Jr. Training Routine

Robert Downey Jr. has seen the worst in his life. He famously struggled with substance abuse during his younger days. One of the positive habits that helped the Iron Man star steer away from substance abuse is the martial art popularized by none other than Bruce Lee – Wing Chun. Robert Downey Jr. learned this martial art from American martial artist and fight choreographer Eric Oram who has also worked as fight consultant in many of Robert’s movies. It has remained as an integral part of his training routine for the past 20 years.

One of Wing Chun’s primary principles is to perform all the movements in a relaxed and easy-going manner. This enables a person to learn and avoid flexing or tensing the muscles unnecessarily and fatigue. This ability to move the muscles with fluidity certainly helps with mind-muscle connection when a person transitions to weight training. Needless to stay, it must have benefited Robert as well.

Impact of ‘Iron Man’

Robert Downey Jr.’s fitness routine and physique went a notch above when he was signed to play Iron Man for Marvel. Iron Man is nowhere near as muscular, well defined and insanely conditioned as some of the other avengers like Captain America or Thor. However, he has a well balanced and toned physique that still belongs in the top 1 percent of the population. Additionally, Robert Downey Jr. had to look like a guy that could be a superhero and fight off some powerful supervillains to save the world. Therefore Robert did gain significant muscle mass before portraying the character of Iron Man.

Robert Downey Jr. is not as young as some of his co-stars. Therefore he has to take a slightly different approach than some of the other actors that have transformed their physiques to play a superhero character. His training is aimed more towards developing functional strength. Also, the training split incorporates a perfect balance of volume and frequency to allow his body to get the most out of the workouts.

Sustainability and consistency

Although Robert Downey Jr. trains hard in the gym, he has to be very careful and cautious when he trains. He can’t go hard or unnecessarily heavy just because he wants to ‘push his own limits’. Why you may ask? Robert Downey Jr. is one of the biggest movie stars of the decade. He is a part of many mega-budget projects and a lot of money rides on him. Robert cannot afford to suffer a training injury and jeopardise the filming schedule or other work commitments. Therefore maintaining consistency and sustainability in workout form the core principles of the Iron Man star’s training program.

Speedy recovery is essential to maintain consistency and therefore practises like Yoga and meditation have become an integral part of Robert’s training routine. He dedicates two days of his week to yoga and meditation to allow his body to heal and recover from hard training.

While it is absolutely possible to try and achieve your fitness goals by yourself, seeking professional help for achieving a certain look to fit into a role for a mega budget movie is advisable. Robert Downey Jr. trained under famed fitness coach Brad Bose to improve his physique for the roles.

Training splits and exercises

Robert Downey Jr.’s training routine focuses on compound lifts and bodyweight movements. Isolation movements are scarce in the program but he does incorporate some important isolation movements like stiff leg deadlifts in the routine. The Sherlock Holmes star does intense training on three days of the week and the training split includes lower body, full body and upper body workouts. On rest days, Robert does not stay completely inactive and practices light physical work like yoga. His training program focuses on getting the most out of each training session.

A typical week of Robert Downey Jr.’s workout routines looks like this:

Monday – Lower Body Workout

• Band Squats – 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Leg Curls – 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Leg Press – 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Suspension Trainer Lunges – 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps
• Suspension Trainer Superman Squats – 3 sets of 15 reps
• Romanian Deadlifts – 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Sandbag Squats – 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Crunches – 3 sets of 25 reps
• Leg Lifts – 25 reps
• Flutter Kicks – 25 reps

Tuesday – Yoga and Meditation

Robert Downey Jr. does not train heavy on Tuesday and instead focuses on Yoga and meditation.

Wednesday – Full Body Workout

• Air Squats – 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Bench Press – 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Lateral Pulldowns – 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Arnold Press – 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps
• Calf Raises – 3 sets of 15 reps
• Stiff Leg Deadlifts – 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Pull-Ups – 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
• Crunches – 3 sets of 25 reps
• Leg Lifts – 3 sets of 25 reps
• Flutter Kicks – 3 sets of 25 reps

Thursday – Yoga and Meditation

Thursdays are also dedicated to yoga and meditation.

Friday – Upper Body Workout

• Weighted Pull-Ups – 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Weighted Dips – 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Swiss Ball Bench Press – 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Low Rows – 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Continuous Tensions DB Shoulder Press – 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Bosu Ball Push-Ups – 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps
• Suspension Trainer Push-Ups – 3 sets to failure
• Suspension Trainer Rows – 3 sets to failure
• Lateral / Front Shoulder Raises – 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Kettlebell Swings – 3 sets of 40 reps
• Sandbag Power Throws – 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps
• Crunches – 3 sets of 25 reps
• Leg Lifts – 3 sets of 25 reps
• Flutter Kicks – 3 sets of 25 reps

Saturday and Sunday – Rest Days

Robert Downey Jr. Diet

If you can’t follow a routine consistently, chances of you failing are close to one hundred percent! And that is not an exaggeration. Robert Downey Jr. follows the same principles in his diet as he does in his training – consistency and sustainability. He consumes approximately 3500 calories per day and includes a good amount of carbohydrates to meet his caloric intake required for the day. He also ensures sufficient fluid intake with water, coffee as well as green tea. His diet consists of regular whole foods and it is also a simple diet that he can follow comfortably in spite of a busy schedule. In 2020, Robert Downey Jr. switched to a completely vegan diet to reduce his carbon footprint and lead a healthier, more sustainable life.

Diet before adapting vegan lifestyle

Before starting with the vegan diet, Robert Downey Jr. followed a diet that had eggs, chicken, beef or fish as the primary source of protein. However, he included good portions of salads and leafy vegetables as well. A typical day of the Iron Man star’s eating looked like this:

Breakfast

Robert Downey Jr. started the day with eggs, milk, bread and tomato to sustain him till lunch time.

• 2 Scrambled or boiled eggs
• 2 bread slices
• 3 pieces of tomato
• Skimmed milk

Lunch

The lunch used to have chicken for protein, bread for carbohydrates while salad and leafy greens sufficed the vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber requirements. Robert Downey Jr. also consumed unsweetened tea or coffee at this time. Overall, his lunch included:

• 2 bread slices
• Salad
• Chicken with Mayonnaise
• Tea or coffee – unsweetened
• Leafy green vegetables

Dinner

The Iron Man star consumed vegetables along with a healthy portion of lean protein sources for the final meal of the day. For dinner, Robert Downey Jr. ate:

• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Green beans
• Lean pork, beef, chicken or fish

Supplements

He supplemented the diet with supplements to assist with nutritional requirements and maintain peak fitness level. His supplement stack included:

• Protein shakes
• Vitamins
• Creatine

Diet after adapting veganism

Since turning vegan, Robert Downey Jr. has completely eliminated animal products like dairy, eggs and meats from his diet. He meets the protein requirement with vegan protein sources like seeds, tofu, beans and protein shakes. Plant milk has replaced the animal milk in his diet. His typical day of eating as a vegan looks like this:

Breakfast

• Oatmeal with plant milk 
• Bananas and seeds
• A portion of mixed fruit

Lunch

• Roasted butternut squash kale salad
• Tofu stir fry with beans & lentils
• A small cup of brown rice or herb pasta 

Snacks

• A cup of unsalted nuts
• Smashed cucumber salad
• Protein shake 

Dinner

• A large portion of steamed vegetables
• Sweet potato fries
• Black beans veggie burger

Personal Life

Robert Downey Jr. was married to actress and singer Deborah Falconer from 1992 to 2004. The couple has a son named Indio Falconer Downey. In 2005, Robert married film producer Susan Nicole Downey. The couple has a son named Exton Elias (born 2012) and a daughter named Avri Roel (born 2014).

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