Reacher‘s third season is already filming, and even though Alan Ritchson’s attempt to speak with Tom Cruise didn’t go well, he’s still living the dream.

At least, he’s feeling much better lately. Ritchson has opened up to GQ about how much he screwed up his body while prepping for the 2022 season debut.

There’s a good reason for Ritchson speaking out, too, because those who want to train like Jack Reacher can learn from his experience.

The leading man definitely had some setbacks after pushing himself too hard, and he has to be careful from here on out, so that (most importantly) he can stay healthy and (also nice) so that there can be many more Reacher seasons.

Here’s where it’s necessary to mention that Ritchson was previously upfront with Men’s Health on taking testosterone at a therapeutic dose. And with GQ, he reveals why that happened.

Long story short: his initial round of Reacher bodybuilding sessions were entirely powered by “hard work,” but “I f*cking wrecked my body, dude. It was too much.”

He ignored muscle strains and landed himself in surgery in between seasons, and Ritchson further detailed his plight and how (for maintenence purposes) the testosterone subject arose:

“I needed surgery. I couldn’t breathe well. I got a blood panel done and found out I had no testosterone left [because of overtraining].

My doctor was like, ‘You need to be on testosterone’. [Testosterone therapy] was a real gift because now I’m able to easily maintain that size. My workouts are short and sweet – maybe 30 minutes a day.”

Ritchson is also quick to mention that “to me, the character is much more than” his size. That is to say, there’s Reacher’s dry humor and sardonic manner of responding to even the most stressful of situations. And don’t forget the junk food addiction — that’s a humor highlight for sure.