Men's Health April 13, 2026 0 Comments

Unlock the Secret Workout That Transformed Charles Melton Into a Beefed-Up Beast – You Won’t Believe How He Did It!

Before Charles Melton traded cleats for cameras, he was blazing down the field as a high school football phenom, clocking a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and snagging a spot at Kansas State University. But here’s where it gets interesting—Melton didn’t just hang up his cleats for good; he’s kept that athletic fire burning, especially for his role in Netflix’s “Beef” season two. Now stepping into the shoes of Austin, a former Division 1 football star and personal trainer, he’s revisited his roots with a workout that’s less about brute force and more about balance—mixing mobility, heavy lifts, and martial arts, all while juggling the realities of being a new dad. It’s a fresh take on training that challenges the notion of fitness as purely competitive, showing us that even the fittest need to evolve. Curious how a once full-throttle football star fine-tunes his body for acting and fatherhood? Dive into Melton’s unique flow and clean workout—it might just inspire you to rethink your own regimen. LEARN MORE

2 min read

BEFORE CHARLES MELTON was one of the most exciting actors working today, he was a football player. He was a high school standout in the sport as a defensive back, reportedly clocking a 4.5 40-yard dash and earning a preferred walk-on spot at Kansas State University. He stopped playing to pursue acting—but Melton, now 35, still stays active. For his next role in season two of Netflix’s Beef, his character, Austin, is a former D1 football star and personal trainer—so the actor went back to his roots in the gym to prep.

Melton realized that hitting the weights now, as a new dad, would be a bit different than when he was a young football star cleaning over 300 pounds. “I’m getting older, and you realize you need functional movement, and you need to work on the ligaments and the tiny muscles that hold the other muscles together, right?” Melton tells MH in our latest cover story.

Now, he works to find a balance in his training—a flow, he calls it—between mobility drills, heavy lifting, and martial arts. Melton showed off he workout from Undefeated UACTP in Los Angeles with his trainers Enele Maafu and Ty Manzo. He says he’s been working with the pair for about three years.

“I prefer more maintenance-type workouts, but there is something exciting about going on some sort of program that I collaborate with Ty and Enele,” Melton says. “That’s like three months to six months and certain workouts or routines hit a plateau. It’s always good to keep things different and new.”

Check out Melton’s full training session in the video, where he works through a heavy clean session. “It feels good—it’s a very athletic movement,” Melton says.

Charles Melton’s Flow and Clean Workout

The Warmup

Floor Drills

Jefferson Curls

Clean Warmup

High Pull

5 reps

Muscle Clean

5 reps

Hang Power Clean

6, 4, 2, 1, 1; performing accessory exercises between reps

Scissor

Ab Wheel Rollout

Landfill Pancakes

Landmine Press

5 reps per side

Biceps Curl

10 reps

Martial Arts Pad Work

Want more celebrity workout routines? Check out all of our Train Like videos.

Brett Williams, NASM-CPT, PES, a senior editor at Men’s Health, is a certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.