Zac Efron said it took him 6 months to recover from his 'Baywatch' body side effects, including insomnia, overtraining, and dehydration

• Actor Zac Efron said he went to extremes to get a ripped physique for "Baywatch."
• He told Men's Health he was overtraining and dehydrated, and side effects lasted for months. 
• Efron said he now prioritizes recovery with hard training, including foam rolling and ice baths. 

Zac Efron said sculpting a lean, muscular body for "Baywatch" had serious side effects and changed his approach to training for roles, according to Men's Health. 

The actor told Men's Health he was overtraining, eating a limited diet, and dehydrating to achieve the beach-ready physique for the movie. 

"That Baywatch look, I don't know if that's really attainable," he said. "Like, it's fake; it looks CGI'd."

Efron said he woke up at 4 a.m. to train for his "Baywatch" role, even when he worked late nights.

To attain extreme muscle definition, Hollywood stars combine rigorous diet and exercise with short periods of dehydration to look more ripped, experts previously told Insider. 

Efron said he also used diuretics, substances often employed by bodybuilders to help flush fluid out of the body to make the muscles pop.

As a result of the combined efforts, lingering health issues like insomnia and depression lasted for about six months afterward, he told Men's Health. 

"Something about that experience burned me out. I had a really hard time re-centering," he said. 

Since then, Efron said he still enjoys hard training, but is less strict about his physique.

"I much prefer to have an extra, you know, 2 to 3 percent body fat," he said. 

He now prioritizes recovery, including foam rolling before a workout and before bed. Efron also swears by ice baths and said the cold plunge is his "favorite part of the day."

"Before is when it's most miserable, and when you finally just commit and jump in there," he said.