Alan Ritchson’s Use of Testosterone Therapy in Preparation for Season 2

In Lee Child’s original Jack Reacher novels, the character is characterized as ‘very tall’ and ‘particularly wide.’ That’s simple to write, but not so simple to build. Alan Ritchson, the man charged with the assignment, spoke about getting into shape to play the massive titular hero and why he chose to take a new route, using testosterone, ahead of the show’s second season.

Prior to filming season one of the blockbuster Prime Video series Reacher, the now 41-year-old actor was assigned the terrible task of gaining 30 pounds in just eight months. He’s previously recounted how he created a gym in his house and completed the task, but as he’s now revealed to Men’s Health UK, it wasn’t without costs.

“I ravaged my body,” Ritchson recalls. “I mean, I had a broken AC (acromioclavicular) joint in my shoulder that needed to be repaired.” My body had a massive hormonal imbalance. I was disintegrating. So, while I made it happen, it’s probably true that it shouldn’t have happened that quickly or in that manner.”

Ritchson’s amazing, shirtless photographs on Instagram make it difficult to detect there’s anything wrong with his body. The actor boasts a physique that would make Greek sculptures blush. But, along with his great figure, there are evident hints that his huge muscles and glistening abs were gained illegally.

Despite what has been stated about him on the internet, the actor insists that his body for season one of Reacher was solely the result of hard work. But the stress and tiredness that resulted from establishing that physique meant his body wasn’t the same afterwards, and he needed some aid if he wanted to keep playing Reacher for years to come.

That was the issue he faced in preparation for the second season, and it’s one of the reasons Ritchson has become an advocate for men considering testosterone therapy as they approach middle age.

“Getting on testosterone was a huge deal for me,” Ritchson adds. “I had none by the end of season one, due to the stress, fatigue, and what I had done to my body.” “It’s a lengthy game for me. I want to play Reacher for the next 15 years… I don’t want to have surgery after every season, and testosterone aids with this.”

“I’m a big advocate of it, especially for people in their forties or older,” he continues. [Men aren’t] aware that it exists, yet it has the potential to change their lives. It might be a mood stabilizer for folks… it can do a lot more than simply make you look good, but it certainly helped me on my trip.”

Ritchson, on the other hand, continues to work his ‘ass off’ at the gym in order to grow and maintain the muscle required for Reacher.

‘[With] a very low clinical dosage, you won’t notice much more than those systems running well.’ You can begin to gain muscle mass if you raise it little, like I have. I’ve never taken 600 mg per week. I’m not sure I can take it. It does, however, aid in muscular building. You’ll notice enormous benefits if you take a tiny amount and then work your ass off at the gym like you normally would.”