Michael B. Jordan builds the Adonis Creed physique under trainer Corey Calliet across three Creed films. He trains up to four times per day during peak preparation windows: a brief conditioning workout in the morning, boxing practice at midday, and a cardio or lifting session in the evening.
Calliet's background as a professional bodybuilder shapes the program's structure, but the boxing requirements of the role demand that the muscle moves like an athlete's rather than a bodybuilder's. The program blends those two demands through a four-day lifting split combined with daily fight training.
This article covers the full four-day lifting split Calliet designs, the daily boxing conditioning that frames each lifting session, and the six-meal dietary approach that fuels the preparation.
The Corey Calliet Training Philosophy
"I needed Michael to look like a champion but move like one too. That's what the boxing does that the weights alone can't." - Corey Calliet, trainer
Calliet designs the Creed program from the fundamentals of athletic conditioning and bodybuilding simultaneously rather than treating them as separate disciplines. The four-day split provides the structural muscle-building stimulus through progressive overload, while daily boxing conditioning develops the cardiovascular capacity and rotational power a world-class fighter must demonstrate on screen.
Every session opens with a one-mile moderate-paced run as a warm-up. Calliet uses this consistently to establish blood flow, elevate core temperature, and provide a daily fitness benchmark that can be tracked for improvement.
Weekly Training Structure
"Jordan trained three or even four times in a day." - Corey Calliet, trainer
| Day | Lifting Focus | Boxing / Conditioning |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Chest and Triceps | Morning conditioning + midday bag work |
| Tuesday | Back and Biceps | Morning conditioning + midday sparring |
| Wednesday | Cardio Circuit | 25 reps per exercise, 2-3 rounds, full conditioning |
| Thursday | Shoulders and Arms | Morning conditioning + midday bag work |
| Friday | Legs and Core | Morning conditioning + evening cardio |
| Saturday | Active recovery | Light boxing technical work |
| Sunday | Rest | Full rest |
Monday: Chest and Triceps
"Workouts on days one, two, and four are performed in straight set style with 30-45 seconds rest between sets." - Corey Calliet, trainer
Monday chest and tricep work follows straight-set style with 30 to 45 seconds of rest between sets. The reduced rest adds a cardiovascular component to the session and creates metabolic stress that augments the mechanical tension from the compound pressing movements.
- One-mile warm-up run
- Barbell bench press: 4 sets x 10 reps
- Incline dumbbell press: 4 sets x 10 reps
- Cable fly: 3 sets x 12 reps
- Dumbbell pullover: 3 sets x 12 reps
- Tricep pushdown: 4 sets x 12 reps
- Overhead tricep extension: 3 sets x 12 reps
- Dips: 3 sets x 15 reps
Tuesday: Back and Biceps
"Chicken and other lean proteins play a particularly important role in the actor's diet plan." - Corey Calliet, trainer
Tuesday's back session uses weighted pull-ups as the primary pulling movement because they develop relative strength alongside lat width. Jordan must lift his full body mass through a full range of motion, combining bodyweight compound pulling with barbell rowing to produce the back visible in the Creed fight sequences.
- One-mile warm-up run
- Weighted pull-ups: 4 sets x 8 reps
- Bent-over barbell row: 4 sets x 10 reps
- Seated cable row: 3 sets x 12 reps
- Lat pulldown: 3 sets x 12 reps
- Barbell curl: 4 sets x 12 reps
- Hammer curl: 3 sets x 12 reps
- Concentration curl: 3 sets x 12 reps
Wednesday: Cardio Circuit
"Day three is performed as cardio and circuit training with 25 reps per exercise and 2-3 rounds." - Corey Calliet, trainer
Wednesday replaces straight-set lifting with a high-repetition circuit performed for 25 reps per exercise across two to three rounds. The format shifts the stimulus from mechanical tension to metabolic conditioning, developing the cardiovascular capacity boxing demands without requiring the recovery that heavy lifting needs before Thursday's training.
- Jumping jacks: 25 reps
- Push-ups: 25 reps
- Jump squats: 25 reps
- Mountain climbers: 25 reps
- Burpees: 25 reps
- Medicine ball slam: 25 reps
- Box jumps: 25 reps
- Battle ropes: 25 seconds
- Complete 2-3 full rounds with minimal rest
Thursday: Shoulders and Arms
"I needed Michael to look like a champion but move like one too." - Corey Calliet, trainer
Thursday shoulder and arm work develops the upper body width and arm definition the Creed costume and fight choreography demand. Overhead pressing movements are paired with high-volume lateral raise work to build the shoulder width that creates the visual impression of a powerful fighter from the front angles most commonly used in boxing scene cinematography.
- One-mile warm-up run
- Military press: 4 sets x 8 reps
- Dumbbell lateral raise: 5 sets x 15 reps
- Front raise: 3 sets x 12 reps
- Rear delt fly: 4 sets x 15 reps
- Barbell curl: 4 sets x 12 reps
- Hammer curl: 3 sets x 12 reps
- Skull crusher: 4 sets x 10 reps
- Tricep pushdown: 3 sets x 15 reps
Friday: Legs and Core
"Jordan trained three or even four times in a day." - Corey Calliet, trainer
Friday leg and core work anchors the week's lower body development. Squats and deadlifts develop the explosive leg drive that fighting requires. Core movements are integrated between compound lower body sets rather than added at the end, maintaining the elevated heart rate and training the core under the fatigue conditions where it needs to function during a fight.
- One-mile warm-up run
- Back squat: 4 sets x 8 reps
- Deadlift: 4 sets x 6 reps
- Leg press: 4 sets x 12 reps
- Walking lunge: 3 sets x 12 reps per leg
- Hanging leg raise: 4 sets x 15 reps (between squat sets)
- Ab wheel rollout: 4 sets x 12 reps
- Plank: 3 x 60 seconds
- Cable crunch: 3 sets x 15 reps
The Boxing Conditioning
"That's what the boxing does that the weights alone can't." - Corey Calliet, trainer
The daily boxing sessions that run alongside the four-day lifting split are what most distinguish the Creed physique from a conventional celebrity transformation. Bag work, sparring, and technical boxing practice develop the reflexes, footwork, and punch mechanics that make the fight sequences read as technically credible to boxing audiences.
Jordan trains with professional boxing coaches throughout the preparation rather than choreographers, learning actual technique that Calliet credits for the physical confidence and authority Jordan displays in the ring sequences.
Explore Similar Routines
- Jake Gyllenhaal's Workout Routine. Gyllenhaal's Southpaw preparation pursues the same boxing-credible physique goal as Jordan's Creed work, using comparable volumes of fight training alongside conventional lifting.
- Conor McGregor's Workout Routine. A real professional fighter's conditioning program that shows the training demands Jordan approximates in the Creed preparation.
- Henry Cavill's Workout Routine. Cavill's Gym Jones preparation is the closest parallel to Jordan's in terms of training intensity and the dual demand for genuine athletic capability alongside aesthetic development.
- Chris Bumstead's Workout Routine. Bumstead's competitive bodybuilding split shares many structural elements with Calliet's approach, reflecting Calliet's bodybuilding background in the program design.
This Creed preparation is built almost entirely from barbell, dumbbell and bodyweight work plus daily boxing, Calliet's program names no supplements or branded gear, so there is no affiliate stack to publish here. The week pairs a four-day lifting split with bag work, sparring and a one-mile warm-up run that opens every session.