The nerdish actor decided that if he had a better physique, he could play a wider range of roles, and so he took up fitness. He gained 20 pounds after consulting a nutritionist. By combining a high-protein diet with exercise, you can gain muscle. While he ate lean animal protein and fresh veggies during the week, he indulged in traditional Pakistani food on the weekends. He enjoys it but says it has a lot of carbs. Despite the year-long process, Nanjiani is very proud of the results.

Roberts “made me understand true physical pain for months and months,” Nanjiani wrote on Instagram. Their routine included lifting heavyweight and using electrical stimulations or 3-stims. It allows the body and the particular muscle to contract more during the exercises. Nearly every day during filming, Nanjiani would work out with Higgins. Their conditioning helped him become “strong, limber, and injury-free,” he wrote in the caption. “I can almost touch my toes now.”

But in addition to these changes, he also got addicted to the medicinal benefits and overall healthy patterns that came along. “When I’m exercising, I’m not thinking about anything else,” Nanjiani told Men’s Health Australia. “It’s like meditation.” But one of the best parts was that he acknowledged that the routines were not sustainable. “I wish it was just like a video game where you just, like, hit ‘save’ and then like, alright, now I look like this every day,” he told Kimmel. In addition to this, it is not practical or realistic for people who do not have that kind of budget because it can get rather expensive. “I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before,” Nanjiani wrote. “It would have been impossible without these resources and time.”

Kumail Nanjiani never failed to show how much effort and stress it took to reach his current position before he moved on to how exactly he did this. Likewise, he gives credit where credit is due. With people following his social media account, he regularly posted his progress and sentiments. The following is an example of one such post:

I never thought I’d be one of those people who would post a thirsty shirtless, but I’ve worked way too hard for way too long so here we are. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I found out a year ago I was going to be in Marvel’s Eternals and decided I wanted to transform how I looked. I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t have a full year with the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world.  I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before. It would have been impossible without these resources and time. So big thanks to @grantrobertsfit who started working with me at the beginning of the year and made me understand true physical pain for months and months. Then, once we started shooting, a massive thanks to @davidhigginslondon and his team (@ellispartridge, @thebeardypt, @tomcheesemanfitness) for training me almost every day and making me strong, limber and injury free. I can almost touch my toes now. (And thank you for forcing me to do cheat meals David.) Matthews Street Catering for their delicious and healthy meals. And finally, the biggest thanks goes to @emilyvgordon for putting up with me complaining and talking about only working out and dieting for the last year. I promise I’ll be interesting again some day. #thirstyshirtless

Kumail Nanjiani’s workout regime is pretty basic. During the six-day workout routine, he had one active recovery day. This allowed him to return to the routine with renewed energy. Throughout the last 10 months, he pushed himself to his limits, even when he was on his rest day, he was moving around to burn calories and not to be sedentary. A breakdown of the workouts he completed over six days can be found here:

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Back and Traps

Warm-Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk on Treadmill

Workout:

• Hex Bar Deadlift 4×6-20
• Hex Bar Farmers Walk 4×50 meters
• Barbell Shrugs 4×6-20
• Straight Arm Cable Pulldowns 4×6-20
• Dumbbell Shrugs 3×12
• T-Bar Rows 3×12

Triset:

A. Hammer Strength [or Machine] Pulldowns 4xFailure

B. Close Grip Cable Rows 4xFailure

C. Face Pulls 4x Failure

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Chest and Abs

Warm-Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk on Treadmill

Workout:

• Bench Press 4×6-20
• Incline Dumbbell Press 4×6-20
• Cable Chest Flyes 4×6-20
• Dips 4×6-20

Triset:

A. Incline Dumbbell Hex Press 4xFailure

B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Flyes 4xFailure

C. Standing Incline Dumbbell Chest Flyes 4xFailure

Abs:

• Hanging Knee Raises w/ Twist 3×26
• Sit-Ups w/ Twist 3×26
• Side Planks 3×30 seconds each side

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Legs and Calves

Warm-Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk on Treadmill

Workout:

• Back Squat 4×6-20
• Walking Weighted Lunges (w/ DB or BB) 4×50 meters
• Hamstring Curls 4×6-20
• Seated Calf Raises 4×6-20
• Leg Press 3×12
• Calf Raise on Leg Press Machine 3×12

Triset:

A. Goblet Squat 4x Failure

B. Cable Pull throughs 4x Failure

C. Box Jumps 4x Failure

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Shoulders and Abs

Warm-Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk on Treadmill

Workout:

• Seated Dumbbell Press (or any form of Overhead Press) 4×6-20
• W Press 4×6-20

Hold two dumbells in each hand and hold them in an upside position. From there, you can drop them down to your side by keeping your arms on the side and with a  slight bend on your elbows. Once they are parallel to each other, you can lift them back to the head.

• Lawnmower Row 4×6-20
• Behind-the-back Cable Lateral Raise 4×6-20

Triset:

A. Dumbbell Front Raise 4x Failure

B. Dumbbell Lateral Raise 4x Failure

C. Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise 4x Failure

Abs:

• Hanging Leg Raises 3×25
• Sit-Ups 3×25
• Planks 3×60 seconds

Kumail Nanjiani Workout: Biceps and Triceps

Warm-Up:

10 Minute Incline Walk on Treadmill

Workout:

• Preacher Curls 4×6-20
• Reverse Grip Cable Pushdowns 4×6-20
• Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curls 4×6-20
• Skull Crushers 4×6-20
• Concentration Curls 3×12
• Chin-Ups 3×12

Triset:

A. Cable Overhead Extension 4x Failure

B. Cable Hammer Curls w/ Rope 4x Failure

C. Cable Kickback 4x Failure (each arm)

From the interview with Roberts we shared a snippet about Nanjiani’s nutrition, they share: Ten months later, Nanjiani was around 175 pounds and dropped his body fat percentage from 20% to 10%. He added, “That was a huge lean mass gain for Kumail.”

Of course, the idea only works if the customer arranges for it, and Roberts affirms that Kumail Nanjiani was an excellent trainee. “He was ferocious about learning. I have thousands of texts from him asking tons of questions, and I can appreciate it,” Roberts says. “ He drank the Koolaid, and he’s going to maintain this lifestyle—he’s all in.”

That was all about Kumail Nanjiani’s workout routine, which exemplifies dedication and consistency. Additionally, he provides tips and tricks to his fans that he followed while undergoing a rigorous training schedule.