Charlie Cox Workout and Diet

Actor
Born: 1982

Charlie Cox was grew up in Sussex, England. He attended boarding school and did not seriously consider acting until he his final years of school. Cox trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and landed a role in the film Dot the i when he was 18. His breakout was in Stardust, and he had a recurring role on Boardwalk Empire, but he is probably best known as Daredevil which ran from 2014-’18. Cox also acts on stage in New York and London. In 2018, he married Samantha Thomas, a producer at Marvel TV. They have 2 children together and live in Connecticut. Cox does not engage much on social media. He is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs about 165 lbs.

Known For:

Charlie Cox’s Diet

Summary

Cox says he didn’t have a typical superhero physique when he was hired to play Daredevil. Naturally slim, he had to eat a lot to make gains. This meant eating every couple of hours, up to 7 meals per day. Things like egg whites for breakfast and then usually a piece of fish or chicken for his other meals along with plenty of vegetables and complex carbs. Water was another staple to keep him hydrated during those lengthy training sessions.

Estimated Macros

  • Medium Carbs 30% 30%
  • Medium Fat  30% 30%
  • Medium-High Protein  50% 50%

Diet Details

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Eat to Gain

Cox was on the slender side when he landed the role as Daredevil. To bulk up, he had to add a lot of protein into his diet, and just eat more generally.

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Protein Power

Cox often has egg whites for breakfast and he eats lots of fish. He also has chicken but will only have steak or a hamburger once a week.

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Eco-Conscious Eater

Cox says that, for environmental reasons, he will only eat meat once a day and the other two meals will be vegetarian.

What to Eat

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Egg Whites

R

Fish

R

Chicken

R

Legumes

R

Vegetables

R

Leafy Greens

R

Fruit

R

Complex Carbs

R

Red Meat (once/week)

R

Water

What to Avoid

Q

Junk Food

Q

Fast Food

Q

Artificial Ingredients

Q

Trans Fats

Q

Processed Foods

Q

Chemicals

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Cox on What he Did to Get Ready for Daredevil

‘When I got the role in 2014, I had to completely reinvent how I live.’

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Cox on Gaining Weight

‘One of the difficulties for me is that I’m naturally very skinny, so that the problem that I have is trying to keep weight on, [and] put weight on.’

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Cox on Protein

‘When I got the job, I quickly became aware of my protein intake.’

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Cox on his Daredevil Diet

‘For the first season, I was trying to put on weight instead of losing it.’

Charlie Cox’s Workout Routine

Weekly Routine

Serious Regimen

For Daredevil, Cox followed an intense schedule of fight training, muscle building, and acrobatics to become chiseled yet agile.

A Helping Hand

Cox’s trainer for Daredevil was Naqam Washington, whom he describes as ‘awesome.’ Cox only had about a month to get ready before the first season started shooting.

True Vigilante

Cox didn’t want to just do the easy parts of the job. He wanted to do as much stunt work as well and worked closely with the stunt coordinator.

Daily Dose

Cox worked out like a devil at first to build muscle, but it wasn’t a classic bodybuilding routine. Instead he did compound moves, jumps and multidimensional movements in addition to fight training. After he built himself up working out 5-6 days a week, he scaled back to about 4 days a week of training.

Night Owl

Cox loves working out at night and can often be seen hitting the punching bag in the wee hours.

MMA Fan

Cox says his favorite part of training is for the fight scenes. He does Thai boxing, jiu-jitsu, bag work and shadowboxing. His character developed his own martial art.

Yoga Rocks

Cox says pre-Daredevil, his exercise consisted of running and yoga. These days, he’ll still fit in a hot yoga session, swim or run on the days when he’s not lifting.

Exercise Style

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A Charlie Cox Routine

Work out 1+ hrs./day, 3-6 days/week. Mix up compound moves with plyometrics (jumping).

Sample strength exercises:
Load vector decline fly with rotation
TRX seesaw
Goblet squat jumps

Some of Cox’s cardio workouts:
Treadmill: increase incline from 5-12 every minute.
Rowing machine: minimum 500m/minute.
Prowler (football apparatus that you push)

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Cox on Cardio

‘I love to do cardio. I like to run and sweat a lot.’

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Cox on Going To The Gym

‘It was interesting because I’ve never really been a gym head before. I’d never even had a gym membership!’

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Cox on Doing his Own Stunts

‘I learned everything and tried to do as much of it as I could.’

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Cox on Training

‘When I first started…I just did what I was told. But then I gradually developed an interest in it.’

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Cox on Why He Has Continued to Train

Now I really enjoy it, and get a lot out of it.’

Charlie Cox’s Supplements

Protein Powder

protein powder

Cox isn’t dishing on his supplements, but because he struggled to gain weight, protein powder is a good bet while BCAAs and creatine both help growth, performance and recovery. See best products
Beta Alanine

beta alanine

To last through lengthy exercise sessions, consider taking beta alanine. Get it here
green supplement

greens supplement

Cox eats his veggies, but you can’t go wrong with a greens supplement. Get it here
probiotics

probiotics

You can only use what you absorb, so probiotics are another smart choice to improve digestion and boost immunity. Get it here
Omega 3 Fish Oil

omega-3s

Supplementing with omega-3s helps reduce inflammation from intense workouts and it also boosts brain health. Get it here
Multivitamin

multivitamin

Finally, a multivitamin is never a bad idea to fill in any gaps in nutrition. See best products

Charlie Cox’s Lifestyle

Humble Hero

Cox says fame is a scary thing because he fears people won’t like the man behind the role. He doesn’t think of himself as a celebrity, and has never forgotten what it’s like to be out of work.

Macbeth Isn’t a Musical

Cox says that when he was in grade school, it was all musicals, even MacBeth, which was very frustrating to him because he wasn’t a singer. He always wound up in the chorus because the leads went to singers.

London Loyalist

Cox says that while he likes aspects of living in the US, he misses the history that one can see everywhere in his native England.

Not an Act

Unusual for a superhero, Daredevil is Catholic, like Cox himself. He says he enjoyed how it added to the complexity of the character.

Kind Praise

Daredevil is blind, and to better understand how to move and react as a sightless person, Cox worked regularly with a man who is blind. In 2015, Cox was honored by the American Foundation for the Blind for his portrayal of a blind character.

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Cox on His Yearnings

‘I’m a London lad, but I’m fascinated by America. I want to take a motorcycle trip across the country and see those wide open spaces.’

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Cox on Work

‘I’m grateful I know what it’s like to be unemployed for long periods of time.’

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Cox on Himself

‘My reaction when I hear the word “celebrity” is, “Who me?” It doesn’t feel like I’m famous.’

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Cox on Being a People-Pleaser

‘I think the danger is to try and please everyone.’

Recommended Products

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Jiu-jitsu Gi
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MMA Gear
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Boxing Gloves
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Curved treadmill
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Rowing machines
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TRX equipment