Here's How Joe Manganiello Has Built Hollywood's Best Body

There are some people who, when they butt their heads against life’s ceilings, are content to go no further. Joe Manganiello is not so easily discouraged. Case in point: the actor literally raised the roof of his home gym.

“When we moved in, I met the contractors to figure out how much room I had to go up or down,” the Pittsburgh native explains from his adopted Los Angeles. “It turned out I could go up 30cm. Just enough for proper overhead presses.” Sensibly, he also had the floor rubberised. “You can snatch squat, you can drop your weights . . . You can do whatever you want.”

Provided what you want to do falls under the umbrella of “training like a beast”, then Manganiello’s home gym is a veritable pain cave. “I’ve got the Rogue Monster Rig – you can do any lift you want off that,” he says, before listing his arsenal of metabolic weapons. “I’ve got a full set of dumbbells and kettlebells, a Concept2 rower, an assault bike . . . What else do I have?”

Well, try a glute-ham developer, cable machines, pull-downs, low-rows and, thanks to the generosity of equipment manufacturer Onnit, a collection of maces and clubs. As a particularly nice touch, they also kitted him out with a werewolf kettlebell – a nod to the role that brought him to prominence, as the lycanthrope Alcide Herveaux in the HBO series True Blood. “I’ve got chains, resistance bands – all the toys.” says Manganiello.

It’s hard to imagine a less comfortable man cave...

For the full story and Manganiello's full-body muscle-building workout, check out the August issue of Men's Health. Onsale July 10!