Dolph Lundgren is still putting in the work at 68. The Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist, known best for his role as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV and Creed II, and silver screen work in The Expendables, Aquaman and Universal Soldier, has made a name for himself over the decades as someone who doesn’t just train hard, but smart too.

For many, such a reputation can take years to materialise, but it was a historic montage shown during Rocky IV that fast-tracked Lundgren’s place as a fitness legend in Hollywood and further afield. The scene in question showed the training of the two pugilists — Sylvester Stallone‘s Rocky grafting in the snow and Lundgren’s Ivan Drago putting the reps in, sweat pouring, barbells thrusting overhead — as the pair geared up for a bout that people still talk about four decades later.

‘Anything Is Better Than Nothing’: Dolph Lundgren’s Approach To Weight Training

Though he was 28-years-old at the time of filming the scene for Rocky IV (he would later reprise his role as Drago in Creed II, mentoring his on-screen son, Florian Munteanu, in 2018), 6ft 5in Lundgren has since maintained his passion for health and fitness for the best part of 40 years.

While Lundgren’s roles in the Rocky and Creed franchises showed a certain tooth-and-nail approach to training, the actor takes a more holistic approach to training IRL. ‘Anything is better than nothing when it comes to staying in shape,’ he wrote on Instagram, during a reel showing a quick, ‘slow and controlled’ back workout.

In a separate interview with Men’s Health, Lundgren explained how he trains five days a week — chest and arms one day, then trains his back the next and shoulders and biceps the day following. Legs and core get trained twice a week, but it’s not as regimented as it might seem. ‘I have a plan in the evening for what to do the next day,’ he said in the cover interview, ‘but I adjust on how I feel. If I don’t feel like doing something, I won’t go.’

During his upper-body sessions, Lundgren would start with a 30-rep set, drop to 20 reps, then 15 and finally 10. ‘When you start with that many reps, you get blood into the muscle,’ he explained. ‘Each set after the first one gets easier.’ Better known as drop sets, this method of training involves completing your regular set (it doesn’t have to be as high as 30 reps), before reducing the weight and continuing on with the lower load. The drop in load allows you to keep on working, increasing fatigue and metabolic stress — the main drivers of muscle growth— and, potentially, stimulate parts of the muscle that respond better to higher reps. It’s maximal muscular bang for minimal buck.

Since then, Lundgren has changed how he works out — taking a gentler approach to his training. ‘I’ve changed my routine- now I do upper strength once, lower strength once, rehab once, cardio once a week, plus one or two Pilates sessions,’ he wrote on Instagram. ‘Sometimes I’ll combine some of these workouts to save time. Pilates really gets my core, balance and flexibility going.’

Posting on Facebook earlier this year, Lundgren gave another insight into how he trains: a 30-second video that showed the Swede moving through a range of exercises, including horizontal cable pulls, cable chest presses, lat pulldowns, tricep push-downs and, to finish, rope cable curls. ‘My philosophy has always been to keep going no matter what,’ he captioned.

Dolph Lundgren’s Cardio Circuits

It’s no secret that boxers — from the genuine athletes scrapping in the ring to those playing them accurately on-screen — need to have next-level cardiovascular health; and The Dolph is no exception. At 68, the actor is still putting in the work — and shares how he trains on his Instagram page.

In a recent reel, Lundgren shared a workout that focuses on cardiovascular fitness, light strength work and mobility. ‘Some of my 30-min cardio circuit I do once a week,’ he wrote in the caption. ‘Trying to push my heart rate up to 80% of my max’.

The video, which shows Lundgren working out in an open-air gym, shows the actor starting his session on an air bike, before moving into a mix of dynamic bodyweight exercises, hard intervals on the rowing machine, upright TRX rows and ski-erg intervals. Lundgren finishes the 30-minute workout with mobility stretches for hips and glutes, a variation of a half-kneeling quad and hip Flexor stretch and, finally, some breathwork to end on a calmer note after half an hour of lung-busting cardio.

How Dolph Lundgren Eats To Fuel His Training And Lifestyle

With such diligent training must come a nutrition routine that works just as hard. In 2019, it was reported that Lundgren had given up meat after watching the Gamechangers, an Arnold Schwarzenegger-produced Netflix documentary on veganism.

While the actor connected his new plant-based diet to a healthier sex life, it wasn’t to last. He became pescatarian after six months of veganism, a diet that has been linked with having a positive impact on chronic disease and lower mortality rates.

Lundgren’s wife, Norwegian personal trainer Emma Krokdal, shares his passion for healthy eating. In an interview with the couple, Krokdal explained that ‘Dolph eats clean and has learned to relax. We will go to bed at 8pm, watch a movie, and get up at six’.

‘If we go out, we enjoy a glass of red wine and pasta, but we try to eat at home as much as possible because we know exactly what we’re putting into our bodies,’ she continued. ‘I cook all his meals to make sure he gets enough protein.’

Ed Cooper is the former Deputy Digital Editor at Men’s Health UK, writing and editing about anything you want to know about — from tech to fitness, mental health to style, food and so much more. Ed has run the MH gauntlet, including transformations, marathons and er website re-designs. He’s awful at pub sports, though. Follow him: @EA_Cooper