Men's Health has chronicled the intense physical and mental conditioning of actor Jesse Williams, detailing the comprehensive workout regimen designed to transition him from playing an athlete to embodying an ex-marine for the film Hotel Costiera. Williams, who collaborated with his trainer Yao Ausu from Peak Vitality Fitness, admitted he was "not very literate in terms of real health and precision the vast majority of my life" until a Broadway role required "explosive athletic movements" and fundamentally "changed [his] entire consciousness about health and mobility".
The core philosophy Williams has embraced is centered on consistency, injury prevention, and total body consciousness, having learned the hard way "not to skip steps" after throwing his back out right before a Broadway show. His current training, led by Ausu, focuses on a combination of calisthenics, combat (explosive movements), and conditioning to ensure he can both "look the part and feel the part". Ausu explained that the goal is to build a "foundation of kind of learned muscle memory in terms of movements".
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The workout begins with pull-ups, utilizing a neutral bent grip to activate the shoulders and wider grips to open the lats. Williams confessed that pull-ups have historically "haunted" him, recalling the challenge of the "damn pegboard" during his junior high school physical fitness test, but he has since improved by finding a rhythm. The session transitions into a push-pull combination. For push-ups, which target the deltoids, Ausu instructs Williams to execute a "bear claw" technique—to "grab the ground" and rotate out on the way up to "really dig in and try to push up".
A critical stability and power element follows with the renegade row, which combines a row with midsection activation and shoulder rotation. This move is paired with rotational chops, which both men stress is "super important for every human to be able to rotate" because "most injury happens" when rotational strength is weak. This movement emphasizes a "power turn, full extension, and pulling to the sternum".
In preparing for the ex-marine role, Williams found that movements relevant for "explosive strikes" and "finishing a situation" always return to a solid base of "core activation, locking in and then exploding precisely from there". This concept is powerfully demonstrated in the hip thrust, an exercise that incorporates everything on the "back side of his body" where power is generated to "accelerate forward". Williams noted that this exercise "really helps me hit hard strike hard hit a baseball hard, hit a tennis ball". Maintaining this regimen is a "real task" during filming. Williams described the five-month shoot for Hotel Costiera as one of the toughest roles he has had to train for. He endured 15-hour days while also acting as an active producer, giving notes at night before bed, followed by decompression and mobility work. A major challenge is managing the "realities of fatigue and diet and getting real sleep".
Williams, who is in his 40s, carries a history of significant injuries, including a torn ACL, torn ligaments in his foot, a partial MCL, and surgeries on both an ankle and thumb. His goal is to "move through and not only just like optically look the part but be able to feel good, strong, explosive, and be able to maintain and rebound the next day". His strategy includes a combination of "all natural supplements" and incorporating some form of activity each day, not always in the gym, just to "keep blood flo,w keep the body moving". He also mentioned the logistical advantage of filming in Italy, where the nine-hour time difference provided "detachment from the US," allowing him to be "wholly focused on my work". be able to maintain and rebound the next day". His strategy includes a combination of "all natural supplements" and incorporating some form of activity each day, not always in the gym, just to "keep blood flow keep the body moving". He also mentioned the logistical advantage of filming in Italy, where the nine-hour time difference provided "detachment from the US," allowing him to be "wholly focused on my work".
