Before Describing Taylor Lautner's Workout, Here is a Quick Bio

Taylor Lautner was born on February 12, 1992. He was 17 at the time Twilight New Moon was filmed. From the age of 6 to 13 was accomplished in martial arts. At the age of 12 he won the Junior World Championships as a black belt in karate. He started acting in 2001 and in 2008, he played a Native American named Jacob Black in the movie Twilight.

Lautner was not the director's initial choice for the role of New Moon's Jacob Black.

Director Catherine Hardwicke even thought about finding someone else to fill in for Lautner's role. She wanted someone with more muscle and more believable to play Jacob Black. This is because Jacob becomes a werewolf in New Moon, and the director wanted an actor that looked physically stronger than Taylor Lautner.

If he didn't bulk up quickly, Lautner was going to be re-cast out of New Moon.

Fortunately, Taylor's background in martial arts was helpful when he needed to improve his physical conditioning. If this was just a 17 year-old with a less athletic background, there is no way he would have been able to display the same degree of muscle tone in such a short period of time.

The Secret to Jacob Black's Six Pack Abs

Lautner trained for nine months before New Moon began to film, though his abs can be credited to much more than just this exercise. Because of his years of training in martial arts, his muscles were more dense and mature than most would have at his age. Individuals who train in martial arts get their power by tightening up their core. This tightening over time builds hard and defined muscles in the abs. Most people would have to lower their body fat to a low percentage by dieting, but Taylor got his because of his background and experience with the martial arts.

Adding on all that muscle was easy for Taylor.

Because of his youth, Lautner could quickly gain twenty pounds. One aspect of working out that the fitness magazines don't make you aware of is that gaining mass is easy when you begin your regimen. Lautner was easily able to gain the muscle mass that his body was ready to accommodate. He's not a very large person at all, and this is positive. Like just about any young guy I've worked with, Taylor was able to quickly fill in and get close to his genetic potential quickly. He did it in 9 months, since he had so much time he could devote to this. This typically takes 12-24 months for most guys.

When Interviewed About How He Got in Shape for New Moon

If you see any of Taylor Lautner's interviews, you will notice he is pretty vague about his workouts. He makes broad statements like, "I ate a lot of food and worked out". Truthfully, for a man that is in his teens or early 20's, this is all it takes for them to put on the mass they want. After this, the secret is how to drop the fat and just have lean muscle. Luckily for Taylor Lautner he still has the high metabolism of a young person on his side. As he grows a bit older he will have to change his strategy.