Mike Colter is one of the biggest stars of the small screen now that the Netflix series Luke Cage has finally come out in which he plays the main character who has the same name. But to be able to do all these stunts at the age of 41, he has to pay close attention to his body.
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In an interview with Men’s Health, the American actor talked about how much he loves to train, even though he can’t do it every day since he lives in Los Angeles, but the majority of filming take place in New York.
'I’m not training like I’d like to – I’m basically training when I can,' he said. 'Ideally, I like to train hard. But that’s not my life.'
Personal training
'Today’s a workout day, but I don’t know when I’ll work out again, because tomorrow my day is full,' explains the actor. 'I travel to New York City on Wednesday, so it’s very difficult to get my workout’s in. If I get two days a week, I’ve got to make the most of them; if I get three days, that’s great.'
To be able to maximise his sessions, he works as many body parts as he can when he can. Mike particularly insists on working his abs to be able to do his stunts confidently and he also focuses on stretching to make sure he can recover from these sessions as best he can.
Significant recovery
Stretches do help him to recover, but Mike Colter also relies on rest to stay in shape. 'You need seven, eight hours preferably, of recovery time in sleep.'
The only thing that complicates his sleep pattern is being on a plane all the time.
Mike then discovered a solution by taking a leaf out of his young daughter's book.
'Sometimes I come home to LA on the weekends after a long time away from home, and I take a nap while my daughter is taking a nap.'
Practical.
'I’ll drink some wine'
When it comes to his diet, Mike makes sure he eats protein-rich foods most of the time. However, he does allow himself some pleasures.
'I have my cheat days, I’ll drink some wine.'
But he never forgets that good nutrition is the foundation for a sharp body.
'If you work out really, really hard and you don’t put the fuel in the tank, you’re basically wasting your time. The muscles are not going to respond if you don’t put in the carbs and the complex carbohydrates that you need to recover.'
