SINQUA WALLS DIDN’T have to stretch too far from reality to portray Kamal, one half of the odd couple, hoops-hustling pairing of Hulu’s White Men Can’t Jump remake. The 38-year-old actor played college basketball, so he didn’t need to learn to dribble and pick up a whole new sport to shoot the film.
“Playing basketball every day for about 37 days is probably one of the most arduous processes I personally have ever gone through,” he told Men’s Health. “That discipline, that structure has been so helpful in this career that I’m in now—a lot of that came from the years of being a basketball player.”
That’s not to say that he did nothing but shoot hoops to get into shape for the physically demanding role. Walls takes a more balanced approach to his fitness. The actor also trained at Prevail Boxing Gym in Los Angeles for a hybrid boxing and strength training routine.
Walls welcomed the MH crew into the gym to walk us through his routine, which he used to both improve his mobility and movement and to prep his body to be camera-ready for shirtless scenes.
Sinqua Walls’ Strength Training and Boxing Workout
Warmup
Fan Bike Intervals
30 cals, or 5 to 6 rounds of 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off
Dynamic Stretching
Hamstring Scoops
3 sets of 10 to 15 yards
Ankle Grabs
3 sets of 10 to 15 yards
Walking Lateral Lunge
3 sets of 10 to 15 yards
Strength Training
Dumbbell Bench Fly
3 sets of 10 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press
3 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Boxing
Footwork Drills
Pad Work
Heavy Bag Work
Core Training
Med Ball Situp Toss
Want more celebrity workout routines? Check out all of our Train Like videos.
Brett Williams, a fitness editor at Men’s Health, is a NASM-CPT certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter who splits his workout time between strength and conditioning training, martial arts, and running. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.
