{"id":50671,"date":"2015-02-18T07:29:55","date_gmt":"2015-02-18T12:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/?p=50671"},"modified":"2015-02-26T13:12:30","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T18:12:30","slug":"bradley-cooper-bulked-role-lifetime-american-sniper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitzness.com\/blog\/bradley-cooper-bulked-role-lifetime-american-sniper\/","title":{"rendered":"How Bradley Cooper Bulked Up For His Role as Chris Kyle in American Sniper"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Keith<\/a>

Courtesy of Keith Bernstein\/Warner Bros, AP<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Acclaimed actor Bradley Cooper, otherwise known as Chris Kyle in the newly released film American Sniper<\/em>, had to gain<\/strong> 40 pounds of muscle<\/strong> to accurately portray his character as a Navy SEAL. This movie featured the true story of real life sniper Chris Kyle, who was tragically killed in 2013 by a veteran\u00a0 whom Chris was trying to help at the time. Chris Kyle is said to be the deadliest sniper in American history with a total of 160 confirmed kills during his four tours in Iraq.<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>

Courtesy of Warner Bros<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Cooper, at a normal weight of 185 pounds, told Men’s Health magazine, <\/em>“I had to get to the point where I believed I was him. At 185 pounds, it would’ve been a joke. His size was such a part of who he was…Chris wasn’t ripped. He wasn’t sinewy. He was just a bear.” To get his weight up to 225 pounds in just a short 10 weeks, Cooper had to intake more than 5,000-6,000 calories every day, eating roughly every 55 minutes.<\/strong> Cooper expressed, “It was a real shock to my body. If it\u2019s pizza and cake, that\u2019s one thing. Putting 6,000 calories a day in your body gets old quick.” In addition to a strict diet, he also had to physically train two times per day. Men’s Health<\/em> described how Cooper revamped his body in such a short amount of time:<\/p>\n

“In the first workout, beginning at 5 a.m., they focused on structural exercises like dead-lifts and squats to build a foundation solid enough to hold the extra mass. The second workout, late in the afternoon, was more focused on traditional muscle-building exercises. Cooper needed both types of training to convincingly portray Chris Kyle.”<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>

Courtesy of Warner Bros<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Additionally, the writer\/producer of American Sniper,<\/em> Jason Hall, told\u00a0 People magazine <\/em>that Cooper “was determined to do it naturally, he didn’t want to use any hormones or steroids or anything. He was just very systematic about it and took his trainer with him wherever he went.” Cooper told Men’s Health<\/em>, “I knew this was going to be the way in to playing Chris, and it felt amazing. It’s also nice to know it’s possible to do it naturally, in that amount of time.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0If you have not yet seen American Sniper<\/em>, it truly is an inspiring and heroic story of one our nation’s brave soldiers, whom Bradley Cooper was able to humbly portray throughout this film. We thank you for your service, Chris Kyle, and send our sincere condolences to your family. “Hooyah!”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Click here to find out more about the true story of hero Chris Kyle.<\/div>\n