Donnie Yen (甄子丹) is definitely living up to his name of being “the universe’s strongest,” showing that everything is possible through perseverance and never giving up. The 52-year-old actor and mixed martial artist has been out of the country in the past few months to shoot the new Hollywood action film xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, sequel to the 2002 film xXx and 2005 film xXx: State of the Union, both starring Vin Diesel. The Return of Xander Cage is produced by Diesel and directed by D.J. Caruso. In The Return of Xander Cage, Donnie stars as Xiang, an alpha warrior working at odds with Xander Cage, an athlete-turned-government agent reprised by Diesel. For the film, Donnie underwent a hell-bent training regime to get into shape and achieve the ideal male physique. To compete with Diesel, who is known for his muscles and hardcore action flicks, Donnie said he had to put in even more effort to train his body. To gain muscle, Donnie put himself in a strict diet and training regimen. He avoided carb intake, cutting salt, sugar, and starch in his diet. After several months of hard work at the gym, Donnie finally decided that it was time to show off his new masterpiece. “I haven’t had a good meal in a while,” said Donnie in an interview with the Hong Kong media. “But my willpower overcame my hunger. I’m almost 53 years old! I am the only Chinese actor in this film, so I can’t lose to the others!” Due to diet and biological differences, it is generally more difficult for Asians to build muscle mass and achieve the huge physique. However, Donnie believes that, through perseverance, everything is achievable. “I think Chinese actors can rival foreign actors,” said Donnie. “As long as you put in the effort, there will be good results, and sometimes these results are even stronger than expected. Chinese actors can flourish from this, regardless of age!” Donnie said it was perseverance and strong will that helped him complete the training. “Many people tend to give up after coming across an obstacle, but I managed to go past that. I want to tell everyone here, including my children, that we must have confidence, determination, and willpower in order to achieve success. Being too tired or having no time are just excuses. If I can do it, so can you.” There is still one more week left before The Return of Xander Cage completes filming. Donnie said he couldn’t wait to return to Hong Kong to see his son and daughter. He plans to stop by the United States to visit his parents, and said his biggest wish at the moment is to treat himself to a big meal after filming ends. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage also stars Samuel L. Jackson and Tony Jaa. Creds: Oriental Daily
Donnie already has a great foundation, he's been training since he was young, it's tough to train and if it was us, most of us would have a tougher time, especially on the limit of what you can eat...
Yeah easier when you're rich And I'm sure he already had the muscle mass to begin with just needed to bulk up.
LOL. Donnie is the last man left from the era... He looks creppy though. Proally drinks the same stuff as syllvester stallone and does indoor tanning. All he does is lift heavy.
well being rich is one thing, but all you really need is a gym membership, good workout plan, and good diet. And stick with it. The hardest part is the latter, sticking to it and being consistent. Many people give up before they should, and must push past the limits, that has muscle building works.
I beg to differ. Being big does not necessarily mean low flexibility. And I seriously doubt his agility is affected in any serious way. He's big no doubt, but not huge. At his age, he can still do a perfect split. Who do you know at age 50 who can do that. Hell you can even argue that his size didn't even affect his flexibility. His flexibility is better than most people I know. Even if you are not as flexible as most people, that's ok. That's what stretching is for, for mobility and good range of motion. He's experienced and I'm sure he knows how to take care of his body. Lifting heavy != not being flexible. If you watch basketball or even football, most of those guys are bigger than Donnie Yen and they are very quick. I mean just look at Ray Rice, Julian Edelmen, Welker etc, etc. To a lesser extent, not as shreded but not skinny either, Paul Pierce, Jabari Parker, Kyle Lowry are not lean or cut, but they can get around using their quickness and agility. Some of those guys are probably around the same size as him if not bigger and they are one of the quickest people on the field.
No doubt Donnie is one of a kind. But for him bulk up this much is rather unnatural for what he does. You brought up a collective point too, not many martial arts guy out there you see are lugging that much bulk. I was trying to get at the notion that bulking up in size for martial arts comes with repurcussions and trade off. It is analogous to someone slimming down for a marathon. It is obvious that Donnie bulking up was for aethestic purposes as opposed to functionality. I wouldn‘t compare the flexibility, and agility you see in football and basketball to the same flexibility and agility you see in martial arts either. It‘s definitely not the same. In any event, Donnie is one of the remaining greats.
Why is it unnatural? We're not talking about ancient martial artist who are traditionally trained. They don't have the tools we have today in the modern era. If you compare him to other Hong Kong guys, sure, you can say he is bigger than normal. Put him in the western world with western mentality who many guys bought up in western culture, lifting is just normal. Guys like Donnie walk around all the time. And again, it's all about comparing training styles and culture. People in western cultures tends to be more athletic and active than those of the eastern world, so even though you train in martial arts, there is a good chance you either lift, or do some other types of sports. It's true Donnie Yen's lifting style is more geared towards aesthetics than that of martial arts, but hey, he isn't competing in fighting nor is he competing in martial arts styles anymore. At the end he is a celebrity who does entertainment for a living. Sure, you don't really have to compare martial arts to professional sports...my point is flexibility and agility is cool and all but you gotta find how practical it is. As is, Donnie Yen is more than flexible enough, and his "bulk" is definitely not in the way. And bulking up definitely does not impact your functionality as much as you think it does.
Donnie is an entertainer, but do you not notice the type of role he has been doing through out his career? There is a reason why he was casted for those martial arts type movie. Weight training is important, but it has more to do with aesthetic than function. Donnie did transform his body and he went beyond his norm to achieve this specific look. One of them was him lifting heavy. I am sure you know this as well. I personally don‘t think it‘s sustainable for what he does. You don‘t normally see bulky martial arts guy like Sammo Hung. lol. You don‘t see such because the muscle mass affects the body a certain way. There is a tradeoff! Many sports figure have talked about this. Melo and LBJ have talked about weight and its effect on the knees. MJ and KOBE bulked up to better brace themselves for the pounding they took. So yes, I would very much say that weight training affects the body and functionality of the end goal.
actually Donnie has dropped and gained weight for the type of roles he was in. Donnie dropped weight for his role in Ip Man 1 and 2. See for a lot of people, the more they lift, the more they know how their body works. For most people, there's always a cutting phase, and a bulking phase. Donnie Yen is no exception, he knows what he is doing. There is absolutely no harm for him bulking for most of the seasons, but he will know when he needs to drop some of those weight. For a lot of people that 10-15 lbs in a matter of 2-3 months is not impossible. But of course it's not sustainable. That's why it's called consistency. To stay looking at that or try to sustain that "look", he has to keep training. Donnie's figure was achieved by YEARS of working hard and perfecting his craft, and since when was Sammo Hung considered bulky? I think you and I have different definitions of the word "bulky". It funny you mentioned those players because for the most part, they have a relatively healthy career until the very end, and that really has nothing to do with carrying too much weight. MJ and Kobe both played 15 and 20 years respectively, and Kobe's injuries that past 2 years is related to all the wear and tear on his body over the years of beating, to be quite honest, I'd they both had great careers up to this point with any major injuries during their peak years, most players wish they had that long of a career and achievements they did. And for LeBron, he's been playing for about 13 years, and if anything his bulk is one of the major reasons why he succeeds in the NBA, his size at 6'8 @ 250 lb and speed, he's a runaway freight train on the open court, you can try to get in his way, he'll probably just run you over, and to this date, he too has been relatively healthy. The few stars who has been injured, all had some sort of "freak" injury which you cannot prevent. I say adding some bulk to your body does more good than harm overall. Nobody is asking them to look like Mr. Olympic nor can they really achieve these looks without any "extra" help, and probably won't be practical at what they do in their respective careers. But back to the point, Donnie looks exactly fine the way he looks now even with his added bulk. And for a guy his age, he looks freaking amazing!
He is far from huge in those photos, imo that's the ideal size for his frame and I'm sure his "flexibility" and "agility" are just fine and most likely better than the majority of the population
LoL. Donnie is cool, but he just looks hella big, like those dudes at the gym that only do curls, bench presses and big lifts to build deltoids. I seen these dudes, out there at some Dim Sum spots with their Mercedes Benz and acne around their left cheeks. Ordering Har Gau and carrying their Whey Protein shaker. lol All they do is lift for looks. lol. Apparently, these are the same dudes on the court with big calves, but can‘t dribble the ball either.
just cuz you're big doesn't mean you juice. Donnie isn't massive, I am pretty sure he does not juice. He's a natty. And Whiteside most likely doesn't juice either, Whiteside also isn't exactly massive. Just cuz you're shredded doesn't mean you juice
Unreal man. You ever read about baseball guys juicing? I think guys like Dwight, Whitesidd are juiced. Remember Hedo n Rashard Lewis? The body transformation is unreal. Once you are in a competitive environment, you look at anything to give you an edge.
