He's the Hollywood trainer the A-list turn to when they need to get in shape for a role. Here, Bobby Strom reveals the customised workout routine he created for the Swedish actor
No one is dedicated to fitness quite like Vogue Scandinavia’s current cover star, Joel Kinnaman. One man knows this only too well: elite trainer, Bobby Strom, who worked with the actor for roles in RoboCop, Edge of Winter, Run All Night, Suicide Squad and House of Cards. His ethos is simple: “I always incorporate strength, core, stability and conditioning into the routines I develop but then I customise the workouts for the individual,” says Strom. “Over the years I’ve found that training has become very one dimensional, especially in LA. I’m a true believer in personal training as everyone is different.”
Below, Strom reveals how he helped Kinnaman to create the body he needed for each role.
Build the core
“I first started working with Joel for the role of RoboCop. The film crew wanted him to put on some muscle size but not become too bulky as they wanted his physique to complement the robot suit. As he was slim and tall with long limbs I wanted to build his strength and condition his core to prepare him for any stunts he would be performing – I do this specifically to prevent injury. I designed a workout that focused primarily on compound movements, including squats, dead lifts, leg presses, bench presses, shoulder presses, Olympic style lifts and Kettle Bell work. Compound exercises condition multiple joints and recruit more muscle groups, which, in turn, create more hypertrophy (muscle growth).”
Adapt the workouts and nutrition to fit the role
“For Edge of Winter Joel’s character was less lean. He was someone who chopped wood, hunted and ate a high fat diet to create a strong, insulated winter bod. So it involved more of a diet change and a slower calorie-burning workout. For Run all Night, his body was somewhere in between summer-lean and winter-heavy, so we added more isolation exercises like cable machine work, laterals, tricep extensions and wood chops.”
Stick to a nutrition plan
“My philosophy is to always work from the inside out; if you change your health internally, you can change your physical aesthetic, too. I discovered a great food delivery company called Zen Foods here in Los Angeles that prepares numerous variations of healthy meals whether you’re wanting to lose weight, gain weight, build muscle or you just want nutritious vegan food. Now I insist that when a studio or production company hires me for a project they pay for one of their food plans as eating right is one of the most effective ways to obtain the best and quickest results. I designed Joel’s food plan along with his likes and dislikes so every morning he would have fresh food delivered for the entire day.”
Post-fitness recovery is crucial
“My wife Alicia played an important role in Joel’s recovery with massage therapy sessions on a weekly basis, along with cupping and rock taping, kinesiology tape that decompresses the tissue immediately below the skin to improve blood flow, ease pain and accelerate recovery. This allowed us to train heavier and harder! We would also have cryotherapy on a regular basis as it’s a great anti-inflammatory treatment.”
