SAG-AFTRA members are currently on strike; as part of the strike, union actors are not promoting their film and TV projects. This interview was conducted prior to the strike.
Method Man has been a culture-wide icon for more than three decades, but while the Wu-Tang member performed at the Grammy’s during the 50 Years of Hip-Hop tribute, he’s largely stepped away from a full-time career in music. The Wu-Tang Clan is on tour this summer, and while Method Man said that he’ll still pop in from time to time, he’s now mainly focused on acting
That, and hitting the gym. GQ caught up with him about everything from the exact weight he’s benching to his Chick-Fil-A order.
For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and other high performers about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.
GQ: I think anyone who follows you on Instagram knows that you stay healthy. What does that look like for you?
Method Man: Well, for the past 10 years I’ve been following my macros—a macronutrient diet—split up in like percentages catered for my body type. So it’s counting only like fats, proteins, carbs, fiber, but sometimes fiber counts as carbs. I supplement with D3s, spirulina, fish oil, collagen, CLA—and there’s no food restrictions or time restrictions.
How do you determine how many macros you should be getting for your body?
My macro intake—I get about 4,500 calories a day and I base my macro intake off of that.
Do you work with a nutritionist or trainer?
Under Armour has this app called MyFitnessPal and it tracks everything for you—all I need is a small food scale. And I take my scale everywhere.
Like on the road with you?
Yes, it stays in my backpack. I have about six of them now. It’s challenging, especially being on the road, but the fact that I’m just doing macros and I’m following a calorie intake helps me stay pretty true to my food science. It’s all numbers.
What’s breakfast? What’s lunch?
I’m not a breakfast guy, so that would be a meal replacement, mostly. Three scoops of protein, mostly ISO Dymatize.
And then from there, an hour and a half before my workout I’ll have a scoop of carbo, some aminos, that’s when I take my CLA and one teaspoon of creatine. That’s my kind of pre-workout. Carbs give you strength, and you want to be as strong and as aware as you want to be when you’re inside and you want to push for that extra rep. It helps a lot.
Yeah, I’ve definitely seen Instagram videos you’ve posted where you’re lifting the approximate weight of a small village, so I guess this drink is partially to thank.
Yeah, I can lift about three 5’4” people at the same time.
So what all are you doing at the gym?
We do a body part a day—it works for me. As far as shoulders, everything is 10 reps and better. We do about five different workouts for shoulders, and that’s Monday. Tuesday is back. That’s when I do my deadlifts and we go heavy. We do five sets, five reps.
