Lewis Tan is not the type of actor who only looks athletic. This man's action star moves are more than just movie magic – he can fight IRL, too.

Tan, who you might recognise from his hard-hitting appearances on TV's Into the Badlands and Wu Assassins or on movie screens from Deadpool 2, is a highly-experienced martial artist. But he can do more than just throw punches and kicks convincingly. Along with his fists, knees, and elbows, he shares that he's trained extensively with the katana, nunchuks, staff, and even a secret weapon for his most recent role as MMA fighter Cole Young in the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot.

To prep for the film, Tan trained for six hours a day, six days a week in Bangkok, Thailand at a renowned Thai boxing gym. The regimen goes beyond your basic strength and conditioning sessions—he's doing movement drills, pad striking drills, stunt choreography, and wire work – so that by the time he's actually on-set, the rigorous action scenes are second nature. Then, he pulls out the dumbbells and pushes through the exercise circuits we usually see from our "Train Like" video subjects.

Tan took time out of that ridiculously busy schedule to show the MH crew what a day in the life looks like when you're a hyper-athletic action star. He was joined by his trainers, stunt coordinators, the Seng Stunt team, and friends and fellow actors Juju Chan and Pearl Thusi for the video, making it clear that his type of training does not happen alone. "You need a great stunt team in order to make action films," he says. "These guys take the hits, the reactions, the falls, that make the actors look amazing."

Tan clearly has a great team – but his work ethic and talent help to pull it all together. This is one of the few workouts we would not recommend that you emulate, so sit back and enjoy this behind the scenes look at what goes into making an actor the top of the action genre.

Lewis Tan's Mortal Kombat Training Workout

The Warmup

  • Scorpion Stretch
  • Shadow Boxing

Paddle Work

Muay Thai Drills & Padwork

Weapons Training

Fight Choreography

Wire Harness Training

Light Weight Exercise Circuit

  • Hammer Curl
  • Shoulder Press
  • Dumbbell Shrugs
  • Split Squat
  • Jump Squat
  • Biceps Curl
  • Triceps Extension

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From: Men's Health US
Headshot of Brett Williams, NASM
Brett Williams, NASM

Brett Williams, a senior editor at Men's Health, is a NASM-CPT certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.