ACTOR ROME FLYNN has dreams. He wants to be able to dunk. He wants to get jacked enough to play Aquaman in the future Aquaman film when Jason Momoa gets too old. The former is a bit more attainable than the latter, thanks to the basketball-centric workout he’s been doing to play Anderson Fisher, star running back on the Parmount+ show Fantasy Football.
“For Fantasy Football, it was really important I stayed in shape and tried to emulate what a star running back looks like,” Flynn says.
Flynn has amassed nearly 10 years of acting credits playing roles of varying physicality. He’s played a former Olympic runner and sports coach who can shoot energy blasts on the Netflix sci-fi show Raising Dion as well as a duplicitous law student, and secret son of Annalize Keating’s (Viola Davis) dead husband, in his breakout role as Gabriel Maddox on ABC’s award-winning drama How To Get Away With Murder. As a running back on Fantasy Footballhe wants it all to look realistic, from his explosive first step off the line of scrimmage to hurdling over defenders looking to tackle him out of his cleats.
Flynn tapped Olin Simplis, NBA/WNBA Player Development Specialist and Shooting Coach of the stars, to achieve a pro-athlete physique. Simplis is also a training partner at the training facility Academy USA and has trained the likes of two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant and two-time WNBA champion Breanna Stewart.
“We’re not dummying this down because he’s an actor. This is what we do with all of our pro guys,” Simplis says. “Everything they do, he does. He’s really doing a really good workout at the highest level.”
We caught up with Flynn at Academy USA in Glendale, California, to watch Simplis put him through a sweat-drenched workout that includes dribbling with a basketball twice as heavy as the standard NBA ball and battle rope swinging that works out nearly every part of his body. Simplis also prioritized exercises to help prevent non-contact injuries.
Check out Flynn’s workout routine to see how even a fake football player puts in real work like your favorite basketball players.
Rome Flynn’s Basketball Training Regimen
The Warm Up
●Mini-Band Dribbling Warm-Up
2 times (3 different variations)
●Rip Throughs
2 rounds
On Court Workout
●Layup and Shooting Drills
Weight Room Workout
●Sled Pull
●Slant Board Goblet Squat
● Lunge With Push Press
●Hanging Leg Raise
3 sets of 12-15 reps
Battle Rope “Finisher”
30 seconds (2 variations)
Want more celebrity workout routines? Check out all of our Train Like videos.
Keith Nelson is a writer by fate and journalist by passion, who has connected dots to form the bigger picture for Men’s Health, Vibe Magazine, LEVEL MAG, REVOLT TV, Complex, Grammys.com, Red Bull, Okayplayer, and Mic, to name a few. a few.
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