Hudson Williams Reveals His Full-Body Workout Routine for Heated Rivalry
Hudson Williams has spent the last year preparing his body for one of television’s most talked-about roles. The 24-year-old Canadian actor, who plays hockey star Shane Hollander in the hit Crave/HBO series Heated Rivalry, recently shared his complete workout routine with Men’s Health, revealing how he maintains the physique that has audiences talking.
Heated Rivalry Star Hudson Williams Shares Complete Training Plan
Williams demonstrated his full-body training approach at the Men’s Health Fitness Hub on January 14, walking through a seven-exercise routine designed for efficiency and results. The workout is based on years of gym experience that began much earlier than his acting career. Williams has been training since childhood, when his father introduced him to weights around age six. “There’s videos of him trying to put weights in my hand,” Williams recalled. Hudson Williams once aimed to be an MMA fighter.
The actor trains five times per week when possible, scaling back to three sessions when travel or work commitments interfere. Each workout lasts between 45 minutes and an hour, targeting every major muscle group in a single session. This total-body approach gives Williams flexibility when his schedule gets tight. “Depending on when or when I can’t get into the gym, I just like to know I’ve hit everything,” he explained.
Williams adjusts his training volume based on weekly availability. During busy periods when he can train frequently, he completes two sets of each exercise to maintain consistency. When his schedule limits gym access, he increases to three or four sets to maximize each session.
The workout begins with dumbbell chest flys for three sets of eight to ten reps, an exercise Williams favors for building chest width beyond what pressing movements alone provide. He follows with lying dumbbell curls for two to three sets, cautioning that lifters should avoid the movement if they experience shoulder discomfort. Bulgarian split squats take center stage for lower body work at three sets per side, chosen specifically for glute development. Williams then moves to seated single-arm cable rows, performing three sets per side while focusing on lat engagement.
The routine continues with overhead triceps extensions and cable lateral raises, which Williams sometimes performs as a superset to maximize equipment efficiency in crowded gyms. The workout concludes with dragon flags, the signature core exercise popularized by Bruce Lee. Williams credits his childhood hero for the movement, which he performs for three sets of three to five reps. The exercise serves his goal of quick, high-intensity abdominal training. “I just am lazy, so I want to do something that’ll just rip me in half, but in a short amount of time,” he said.
Williams’ training focus has evolved alongside his career. While he has lifted weights for years, his emphasis on glute development is more recent, driven by the physical demands of Heated Rivalry. “We got an M.O. to upkeep, so I want to keep this butt and get a bigger butt as well,” he said candidly.
The role required Williams to balance athletic realism with screen presence. Heated Rivalry showrunner Jacob Tierney initially suggested Williams aim for a pasta-fed physique typical of hockey players, who often appear wiry or strong in an everyday way rather than overtly muscular. Williams reconsidered after seeing his co-stars, particularly Connor Storrie, who plays Russian hockey star Ilya Rozanov. “I was asking Jacob like, ‘What should I look like?’ And he’s like, ‘You should look like you eat pasta.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know. I’ve seen these other guys on the show and they look like underwear models,'” Williams said.
Williams cut carbohydrates and focused on building size to match the physique standards set on set. His admiration for Storrie’s build is evident. “Poor Connor Storrie, who has the fattest butt I’ve ever seen on a man, I’m sure just wants to stop talking about his beautiful cheeks,” Williams joked.
With Heated Rivalry renewed for a second season and filming set to begin this summer, Williams has set ambitious physical goals. He wants to add ten pounds of muscle and develop larger shoulders and legs. “I want to get bigger, juicier, thicker. I want to get some big ass shoulders,” he said. His target is matching Storrie’s first-season physique, though he expects his co-star to arrive even more developed. “I think that guy is just going to eat so much protein that he’s going to ascend and he’s going to show up like an Olympia, Mr. Olympia,” Williams predicted.
Williams and Storrie occasionally train together, sharing techniques while working separate routines. Storrie has taught Williams bicep exercises, while Williams has introduced lat movements to his co-star. Despite Storrie’s size advantage, Williams maintains there’s value in learning from each other. “You can always still learn from the smaller, less built guy,” he said with self-deprecating humor.
The two actors share competitive energy both on and off screen. A video of them arm wrestling ended in a tie, though Williams remains skeptical of the result given Storrie’s arm size. Williams believes he would win a spaghetti-eating contest but concedes Storrie would dominate any pull-up competition due to his gymnastics background.
Before landing Heated Rivalry, Williams worked as a server at The Old Spaghetti Factory in New Westminster, British Columbia, while auditioning and creating short films. The biracial actor, whose mother is Korean and father is of British and Dutch descent, graduated from Langara College’s Film Arts program in 2020. His mother initially worried his heritage would limit acting opportunities, making his casting as Shane Hollander particularly meaningful. The role specifically called for a biracial actor, turning what his mother feared would be an obstacle into an essential casting element.
Williams drew inspiration from real hockey players Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid when developing his character, both known for their dedication and team-first mentality. “They’re just good guys. They seem like the best teammates and they eat and breathe one thing, and that’s hockey,” Williams said.​
Heated Rivalry, based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novel series, follows the secret romance between Williams’ character Shane Hollander and Storrie’s Ilya Rozanov, rival hockey stars whose on-ice competition masks an intense personal connection. The series premiered on Crave and HBO Max around Christmas 2025, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon and earning renewal for a second season.
Hudson Williams’ Full-Body Workout Routine
Training Frequency: 5 days per week (3 days minimum when busy)
Session Duration: 45-60 minutes
Volume: 2 sets per exercise (regular schedule) or 3-4 sets (limited schedule)
- Dumbbell Chest Flys
- Sets: 3
- Reps: 8-10
- Focus: Chest width
- Lying Dumbbell Curls
- Sets: 2-3
- Notes: Skip if you experience shoulder discomfort
- Bulgarian Split Squats
- Sets: 3 per leg
- Focus: Glute development
- Seated Single-Arm Cable Rows
- Sets: 3 per side
- Focus: Lat engagement
- Overhead Triceps Extensions
- Notes: Can be supersetted with lateral raises
- Cable Lateral Raises
- Notes: Can be supersetted with triceps extensions
- Dragon Flags
- Sets: 3
- Reps: 3-5
- Focus: Core/abs (signature Bruce Lee exercise)
