
WHO IS TERRY CREWS?
Terry Crews is more than just a ripped actor with killer muscles. He's a true renaissance man at 56 years old. Born in Flint, Michigan, Crews stands at an impressive 6'2" (188 cm) and maintains a lean weight of around 245 pounds (111 kg) year-round. Before becoming the muscle-bound star we know today, Crews played in the NFL for six years after being drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1991. His football career didn't make him rich though his estimated net worth now sits at approximately $25 million, earned primarily through his successful acting and hosting career.
What makes Crews stand out is his incredible body transformation after leaving football. When his NFL days ended in 1997, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a security guard while chasing his acting dreams. His breakthrough came playing T-Money on "Battle Dome" before landing roles in "White Chicks" and "The Longest Yard." But it was his iconic role as Terry Jeffords in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" that cemented his status as both a comedic talent and serious fitness icon with his aesthetic body and impressive muscle definition.
Crews' workout routine is legendary in Hollywood. He maintains his masculine V-tapered physique through consistent training focused on compound movements and progressive overload. His approach to fitness isn't just about looking good. It's about building sustainable strength and muscle mass while maintaining low body fat percentage year-round. This balance has helped him land roles in major films like "The Expendables" series and voice work in animated features like "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."
Beyond his muscular physique, Crews is known for his positive attitude and transparency about personal struggles. He's married to Rebecca King-Crews and has five children. Crews is open about overcoming a difficult childhood and has become an advocate for men's mental health. His commitment to maintaining peak attraction through both physical fitness and personal growth has earned him numerous awards, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021.
Currently hosting "America's Got Talent" and its spin-offs, Crews demonstrates that a muscular, lean physique can be maintained well into your 50s with the right workout plan and nutrition. His transformation from NFL player to Hollywood star shows how building a balanced, aesthetic body creates confidence and opens doors to success. For men looking to pack on muscle and slice off fat while maintaining energy and overall health, Crews offers the perfect blueprint for creating a timeless, head-turning physique.
HOW BIG IS TERRY CREWS?
When we talk about being in killer shape, Terry Crews is the definition of ripped, masculine perfection. Standing at 6'2" (188 cm), Terry isn't just tall. He's a mountain of muscle that commands attention whenever he enters a room. His current weight sits at an impressive 245 pounds (111 kg), a figure he's maintained consistently since his NFL days in the early 1990s.
The numbers behind Terry's physique are mind-blowing. Terry's actual body fat percentage hovers between a shockingly low 4-6%. For context, most male fitness models maintain 8-10% body fat, putting Terry's leanness in a completely different league.
Most impressive is how Terry has kept this aesthetic body for decades. From his NFL weight of 237-245 pounds to his current Hollywood physique, he's remained locked in with extraordinary consistency. His ability to stay at peak attraction level year-round separates him from other celebrities who often fluctuate between projects.
What makes Terry's size truly remarkable isn't just the numbers but how he carries it. Despite being heavier than many bodybuilders, his physique displays perfect proportion with broad shoulders forming that coveted V-taper. His muscle definition creates a 3D effect that makes him look powerful yet agile, which is exactly the masculine aesthetic most men aim for when building their beach-ripped physique.
Terry's size represents the ideal balance between massive strength and practical function. Unlike some overly bulky bodybuilders, his physique allows him to move with the explosive power that made him effective in the NFL while maintaining the lean, defined look that helped launch his acting career. His balance of size, strength and body fat percentage creates that timeless, head-turning physique that doesn't just impress in photos but commands respect in real life.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF TERRY CREWS' PHYSIQUE
Terry Crews stands out with his impressive 6'2" frame, weighing around 245 pounds of solid muscle. His physique shows what's possible when you combine consistent training with proper nutrition. At 55 years old, Crews maintains a lean body fat percentage that men half his age struggle to achieve. His broad shoulders create that coveted V-taper that separates average bodies from aesthetic ones.
The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star's muscular development isn't just big, it's balanced. His chest development pairs perfectly with his 3D delts and massive arms. What makes Crews' physique truly stand out is his ability to maintain definition year-round. Unlike many celebrities who only get ripped for specific roles, Terry stays at a low body fat percentage consistently, showing his commitment to the fitness lifestyle beyond just career requirements.
Another key feature of Crews' physique is his core development. His abs remain visible and defined, which requires both strategic nutrition and focused training. This kind of definition doesn't happen by accident. It's the result of locked in nutrition habits and regular core-specific training that builds both strength and aesthetic appeal.
Crews' muscle mass isn't just for show either. His physique represents functional strength with his background as a former NFL player. This combination of size, strength, and leanness creates a rare athletic aesthetic that few can match. His body shows the results of compound movements and progressive overload rather than just isolation exercises, giving him thickness across his frame that turns heads.
What's most impressive about Terry's physique is how he's maintained his muscular size while staying lean enough to show definition. This balance is one of the hardest things to achieve in fitness, requiring precise control of calorie surplus and deficit phases. His muscle maturity comes from decades of consistent training, creating dense, full muscle bellies that stand out even when he's wearing clothes.
THE TERRY CREWS WORKOUT ROUTINE
This is our take on Terry Crews' workout routine that we would recommend if you wanted to build a body similar to his. Let's talk about the key exercises, workout split and core training principles that will help you be successful with this.
Terry Crews' massive frame and ripped aesthetic isn't just genetics. It's built through consistent, strategic training. At 56 years old and standing 6'2", the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star maintains his beach-ripped physique year-round through a workout plan that maximises muscle growth while keeping his body fat percentage low.
Our Terry Crews-inspired workout programme focuses on a 4-day upper/lower body split. This structure trains each muscle group twice weekly, either directly or indirectly, allowing for optimal recovery between sessions. The beauty of this split is that you'll go into each workout fully recovered and ready to improve on your previous numbers, a key factor in progressive overload.
For Monday's upper body session, we focus on horizontal pushing and pulling movements. The incline barbell bench press and weighted dips build that thick, defined chest that Crews is known for. We use reverse pyramid training here. Starting with your heaviest weight and dropping down while increasing reps which is brilliant for stimulating both strength and size gains.
Wednesday shifts to lower body with heel-elevated back squats and Romanian deadlifts as our compound movements. These exercises develop the powerful legs and solid posterior chain that provide the foundation for Terry's impressive upper body. The focus on straight sets allows for consistent tension and volume across all sets.
Friday returns to upper body work but emphasises vertical push/pull movements like standing barbell overhead press and weighted chin-ups. These exercises are essential for building those 3D delts and broad shoulders that create that masculine V-taper that turns heads.
We finish the week with Saturday's lighter leg and core workout, which includes targeted exercises for often-neglected areas like the neck and abs. The Roman chair knee raises and ab wheel rollouts will help carve out those visible abs that Terry proudly displays.
Proper technique is non-negotiable for results. Control the eccentric (lowering) phase without making it super slow, then explode on the concentric (lifting) phase. Maintain full range of motion and make each rep look as similar as possible to maximise muscle tension where it matters most.
Our rep ranges primarily stay within 5-12 reps for most exercises, which creates the optimal balance between mechanical tension and volume. While any rep range between 5-30 can build muscle, the 5-12 range tends to work best for consistent progressive overload. It's easier to track improvement and stay close to failure in this range compared to higher rep work.
Warming up properly prevents injury and primes your muscles for peak performance. For your first heavy compound exercise of each session, perform 2-3 progressively heavier warm-up sets: 60% of working weight for 6-8 reps, 75% for 4-6 reps, and 90% for 1-2 reps. Don't waste energy resting between warm-ups, but take a full 2-5 minute rest before your first working set.
Rest periods are crucial but often overlooked. For compound lifts like the incline bench press or heel-elevated squats, rest 2-5 minutes between sets so your cardiovascular system isn't the limiting factor. For isolation exercises like cable curls or lateral raises, 1-2 minutes is typically sufficient.
Training intensity is where many people miss out on gains. To stimulate muscle growth like Terry Crews, you need to train close to failure. The effective reps model explains why we need to push hard only the last 5 reps before failure are truly effective for muscle growth. Whether you're doing 8 reps or 20, those final challenging reps are what count.
Progressive overload drives continued improvement. When you can hit the top of your rep range for all sets, increase the weight by the smallest increment possible. There are four key ways to progress: add reps, add weight, improve technique, or enhance mind-muscle connection. The first two are measurable, while the latter two should improve naturally with focused training.
This workout plan emphasises mid-lengthened position exercises, which target muscles where they're strongest. Movements like incline bench press, Romanian deadlifts, and standing overhead press create maximum mechanical tension which is the primary driver of muscle growth.
At Terry Crews' age of 56, he's proof that with the right training approach, you can maintain a killer body that's muscular, lean and aesthetic well into your 50s. His defined physique and relatively low body fat percentage show that consistency with both workout and nutrition is key to looking ripped year-round.
Remember that Terry Crews' impressive build comes from years of consistent training. Follow this workout routine, stay locked in with your nutrition, and give each session your maximum effort and you'll be on your way to building a physique that commands presence and turns heads.
THE TERRY CREWS WORKOUT SCHEDULE
WORKOUT A (MONDAY - UPPER BODY - HORIZONTAL PUSH PULL)
- Incline Machine Press: 4-6, 6-8, 8-10 (Reverse Pyramid Training)
- Flat Barbell Bench Press: 6-8, 8-10 (Reverse Pyramid Training)
- Machine Chest Supported Row: 2 x 8-10 (Straight Sets)
- Bayesian Cable Curl: 6-8, 8-10, 10-12 (Reverse Pyramid Training)
- Single Arm Overhead DB Extensions: 6-8, 8-10, 10-12 (Reverse Pyramid Training)
- Chest Supported DB Lateral Raise: 10-12 + 3-4, 3-4, 3-4 (Myoreps)
- DB Skiers: 10-12 + 3-4, 3-4, 3-4 (Myoreps)
WORKOUT B (WEDNESDAY - HEAVY LOWER BODY)
- Pendulum Squats: 2 x 8-10 (Straight Sets)
- Smith Machine Good Mornings: 2 x 8-10 (Straight Sets)
- Reverse Nordic Curls: 3 x 8-12 (Straight Sets)
- Lying Leg Curls: 3 x 8-12 (Straight Sets)
- Calf Press Machine: 3 x 12-15 (Straight Sets)
- Cable Side Shrug: 3 x 10-12 (Straight Sets)
WORKOUT C (FRIDAY - UPPER BODY - VERTICAL PUSH PULL)
- Smith Machine Shoulder Press: 6-8, 8-10, 10-12 (Reverse Pyramid Training)
- Underhand-grip Pendlay Rows: 2 x 8-10 (Straight Sets)
- Single Arm Lat Pulldown: 6-8, 8-10 (Reverse Pyramid Training)
- Dual Rope Extensions: 3 x 8-12 (Straight Sets)
- DB Single Arm Preacher Hammer Curl: 3 x 8-12 (Straight Sets)
- Seated Cable Y Raise: 6-8, 8-10, 10-12 (Reverse Pyramid Training)
WORKOUT D (SATURDAY - LIGHTER LEGS, CORE & NECK)
- Crunch Machine: 3 x 10-15 (Straight Sets)
- Roman Chair Leg Raises: 3 x 8-12 (Straight Sets)
- Leg Extensions: 3 x 8-12 (Straight Sets)
- Nordic Curls: 3 x 4-6 (Straight Sets)
- Neck Curls: 3 x 15-20 (Normal Pyramid Training)
- Reverse Neck Curls: 3 x 15-20 (Normal Pyramid Training)
NEXT: Get Ripped Quickly With Chris Hemsworth's ‘Extraction 2’ Workout
THE TERRY CREWS WORKOUT NOTES
Here are the workout notes for our take on the man's workout routine.
Terry Crews' lean, muscular physique at 56 years old isn't just luck, it's built through smart training. At 6'2" and maintaining a ripped 245 pounds, Terry Crews' workout approach combines several training styles that keep his muscles growing and his body fat percentage low.
For key compound movements like the Incline Machine Press, Flat Barbell Bench Press, and Smith Machine Shoulder Press, we've programmed reverse pyramid training. This is one of the most effective ways to build both strength and size.
After warming up properly, you'll hit your heaviest set first when you're fresh and your muscles are ready for maximum tension. Start with your heaviest weight in the 6-8 rep range, really pushing for mechanical tension. Rest 2-4 minutes, drop the weight by 10-15%, and aim for 8-10 reps. For some exercises, you'll do a third set with another 10-15% weight reduction, pushing for 10-12 reps.
The beauty of this approach is you're maximising progressive overload when you're at your strongest. This is how Terry Crews maintains his impressive chest, shoulders, and arms by lifting heavy when his muscles can handle it. The reverse pyramid keeps training interesting since each set feels easier than the last, which is psychologically more sustainable for building a muscular, aesthetic body long-term.
For exercises like Pendulum Squats, Machine Chest Supported Rows, and Calf Press Machine, we use straight sets. This means using the same weight across all sets, aiming for the same rep range.
Straight sets are brilliant for mastering form and creating consistent stimulus. When Terry Crews performs his lower body workouts, straight sets allow him to focus on technique and muscle connection rather than constantly adjusting weights. This approach builds that solid, balanced lower body while letting you really lock in the proper form.
For isolation exercises like DB Single Arm Preacher Hammer Curls that shape those defined arms Terry is known for, straight sets create the perfect environment for stable, progressable training. You can track your progress clearly by seeing when you can add reps or increase weight.
For neck training, we recommend normal pyramid training. This style involves starting lighter and gradually increasing weight across sets.
With normal pyramid training, you pre-fatigue the muscles with lighter weights before hitting them with heavier loads. This creates a different stimulus that's particularly effective for smaller muscle groups like the neck, where Terry Crews' impressive development contributes to his powerful aesthetic and presence.
By starting with lighter weight in the higher rep ranges and finishing with heavier weight in the lower rep ranges, you create a solid foundation of endurance before building peak strength. Though we typically favour reverse pyramid for main lifts, normal pyramid training has its place in a balanced routine like Terry's.
For shoulder isolation work like DB Lateral Raises and DB Skiers, we use myoreps. This is a killer technique for muscles that don't respond well to heavy weight.
With myoreps, you'll perform one challenging activation set of 10-12 reps, where the last 3-4 reps really stimulate maximum muscle fibre recruitment. Then, instead of full recovery, you'll rest just 10-15 seconds before performing 3-4 more reps. You'll repeat this short rest-mini set pattern 3-4 times.
This approach is perfect for those 3D delts that give Terry Crews his impressive v-taper and broad shoulders. The short rest periods maintain muscle fibre recruitment while accumulating massive training volume in minimal time. For a busy actor like Terry Crews, whose net worth depends partly on maintaining his iconic physique, efficient training methods like myoreps are essential.
Terry's routine is split across 4 days:
- Monday: Upper Body (Horizontal Push/Pull)
- Wednesday: Heavy Lower Body
- Friday: Upper Body (Vertical Push/Pull)
- Saturday: Lighter Legs, Core & Neck
This balance ensures he hits each muscle group with optimal frequency for muscle protein synthesis while allowing proper recovery. The split focuses on compound movements early in the workout when energy levels are highest, followed by targeted isolation work.
By following this structured approach and mixing training styles, you can build a physique that turns heads like Terry Crews. At any age, these science-backed training methods create the perfect stimulus for muscle growth while keeping fat levels low for that beach-ripped, masculine look that stands out from the crowd.
THE TERRY CREWS DIET PLAN
Terry Crews' massive, chiseled physique isn't just about looking good on camera. It's the result of years of consistent, strategic training. At 56 years old and standing at an impressive 6'2", the former NFL player turned actor maintains a ripped, aesthetic body that many men half his age would envy. His workout approach is as disciplined as his diet, focusing on building strength, size, and definition through a combination of heavy lifting and targeted isolation work.
The foundation of Terry's training is a classic bodybuilding split, targeting different muscle groups on specific days to maximise muscle growth and recovery. He typically hits the gym 5-6 days per week, with each session lasting about 90 minutes. This consistent approach has helped him maintain his muscular frame despite his busy acting schedule on shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
A key aspect of Terry's workout philosophy is progressive overload gradually increasing the weight or reps to continuously stimulate muscle growth. "I train to failure," Terry has mentioned in numerous interviews. This intensity ensures his muscles are constantly being challenged, which is essential for someone with his experience level to continue seeing gains.
For building his trademark broad shoulders and 3D delts, Terry incorporates a variety of pressing and raising movements. His chest workouts focus on both strength and aesthetic development, typically starting with compound exercises like bench press variations before moving to isolation movements. This balanced approach creates that impressive V-taper that gives Terry his commanding presence.
Terry doesn't just focus on the show muscles. His leg training is equally intense, helping him maintain proportion throughout his physique. He's a strong advocate for not skipping leg day, which is evident in his balanced physique. His approach includes heavy compound lifts like squats and deadlifts, complemented by isolation exercises for complete leg development.
What many don't realise is that Terry's workout routine is actually quite adaptable. Despite his busy filming schedule, he's mastered the art of fitting in effective workouts even when time is limited. This commitment to consistency, rather than waiting for the "perfect" gym conditions, is one of the secrets to his year-round definition.
Another interesting element of Terry's training is that he often performs his morning workouts in a fasted state, during his intermittent fasting window. While training fasted isn't necessarily better for muscle growth, Terry believes it helps him stay leaner while maintaining his muscle mass. He supplements with BCAAs during these sessions to help preserve muscle tissue.
What makes Terry's approach particularly effective is the balance between intense training and proper recovery. He understands that muscle growth doesn't happen in the gym, it happens during rest periods when the body repairs itself. This is why he emphasises quality sleep and strategic rest days as part of his overall fitness plan.
For men looking to build a similar aesthetic body, Terry's approach offers valuable lessons: focus on progressive overload with both compound and isolation exercises, maintain consistency even with a busy schedule, and don't neglect the importance of recovery. His workout routine proves that with the right approach, you can build and maintain an impressive physique at any age no shortcuts, just sound training principles applied consistently over time.