Flula Borg shattered stereotypes when he revealed his toned physique before playing supervillain Javelin in last year's blockbuster The Suicide Squad. But while the German actor and comedian is looking forward to his latest project Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, the funny man is still very serious about maintaining his health and fitness.
M&F sat down with Borg for a chat to find out how he's managed to maintain his impressive physique, and we soon found it involves mixing things up and having fun.
Stick to a fitness program
“Paolo Mascitti, my wonderful 'coach' from Italy; He likes to yell at me and tell me not to eat all the food in his country, including pasta and also pizza,” jokes Borg. "He has a lot of machines, but it's all simple things like dumbbells, some things for some lat pulldowns and some pull-ups. Just push some things, pull some things. Very easy. Basic like algebra. [It’s like the A-Team]: He is Mr. T and I am Face or Murdock.”
Borg still trains four times a week. "I love routines," he says. “I am a German man, I like everything very organized. And of course our muscles: they learn to adapt and make everything easier. Then you stop seeing those gains, so it's nice to have Paolo there to remind me to change it up, introduce new exercises, different reps, new positions, etc.”
How Flula Borg maintains a balanced lifestyle
The actor and comedian will target different muscle groups in each workout to allow for recovery. He breaks down his workout routine as such: legs, shoulders, back, and chest, but points out that you use your biceps, triceps, and other ancillary muscles for a lot of exercises. While Borg has well-developed abs, he shares that he doesn't need to isolate the abs to train them hard. "A squat or a deadlift, or if you're doing a machine fly, you're also using your abs," he says. For those looking to replicate Borg's impressive abs, his best advice is to cut out sugar.
"I can grind my face off," says Borg. "It's no good if I don't eat healthy, you know? I don't drink much alcohol, sodas or sugary things, no desserts, but I take breaks. Gotta have a "holiday of madness" where I just grab a Benjamin and Gerald ice cream and eat some hamburgers from In-N-Out Burger when I'm in Los Angeles, why else are we living? What's the point?"
Leslie Alejandro
Exercising is great for your mental health
"It was a lot of fun because when I started javelin training, I got signals to my brain that exercise is very good for my brain," he shares. "So now I just have to keep going, and I love strength training the most. You know, we're not allowed to become men who hit each other in the street, so to let out this anger I'm feeling, I'll just pump up some nice weights and then I'll feel like a very, um, naughty man! I mean we have so many tantrums sometimes, so many things that bother us. I can eliminate all of these things by lifting pounds with my hands.”
Flula Borg uses Instagram to stay accountable
While these "vacations of madness" are a welcome break, the actor-comedian also uses them to reset himself and make sure he doesn't resent the passion and dedication he puts into becoming the best version of himself . "Why am I posting these thirsty Instagram photos?" asks Borg. "Well, I'll tell you because I'm ready for all superhero and supervillain movies. That's why I'm doing this. I don't care about the likes. I want to do some cool things and like I said, working out makes you feel good.”
How Flula Borg balances his physical goals with his acting ambitions
"I'm trying not to go crazy building because then I'll just be playing Boban Marjanovic's backup in the new John Wick movie," laughs Borg. "So I try not to get too big, so the reps are usually six to ten, and every once in a while we try to go hard or go home, but mostly just until I'm tired, but not like ' super' let's max it out bros' I don't care 'how much do you train on the bench? I do not care. I do not get it.'
Don't punish yourself for temporary slip-ups
"I'm a petite chandelier," says Borg, who is now 40 ("In theory," he adds). "I may look very pretty, but if you tap me a little, I'll break and explode. This is how it works when I don't sleep well or drink a lot of alcohol. It's always been like that for me, so I learned early on to take care of these things when you can avoid them, and the other: as soon as you make a 'mistake' [with your training and nutrition], who cares? The trick is always to get back into the routine. I would always forget that. I'd feel bad and then I'd eat more of the Benjamin and Gerald ice cream and then it's awful, awful, awful, but if you make a mistake, fine. Who cares? Let's go to the next day.
Above all, just have fun training
If you don't follow Flula Borg on Instagram, you're missing out on epic roles like Borg's training from Nicole Scherzinger or his interactions with housekeeper Yolanda. "Nicole scared me and taught me that fear can burn a lot of calories," jokes Borg. "Nicole also trains with Paulo and I was very lucky that we had a crossroads like Ghostbusters crossing creeks, except good things happened and it was a lot of fun." Ultimately, Borg just wants to impress Yolanda. "Yeah, Yolanda is the pinnacle of all things," he shares. “She is Mount Everest and I am Death Valley. I'm just trying to get up to Yolanda's level in every way, and of course... 'why is everyone so serious?' I know the Joker said that and it was terrifying! But in general, why do we take Instagram so seriously? There are many six packs in the world. Share them if you like, but I'd love to entertain you AND then maybe show you a pack or two.
Flula Borg reprises his role as Pieter Kraemer, a character falling through hard times and looking for redemption in the highly anticipated return of Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin (season premieres vember 23 on Peacock), narrating Muscle & Fitness that he's happy to be back with the popular franchise. "I can show people that I'm not just an idiot on the internet. I actually like to do things like rap and yes… wear mesh!”
