There have been enough dramatic Marvel transformations by now that it’s common to hear people explain how “easy” it must be for A-listers to get shredded. With a team of dedicated trainers and nutritionists, plus endless free time (the thinking goes), of course these actors are getting into the best shape of their lives within a span of months.
But that rueful presupposition ignores the fact that leading men and ladies spend a massive portion of the year on the road, catching long flights, sleeping in unfamiliar beds and walking from one press junket to another. That’s not to say it isn’t a glamorous life — how could it not be? — but it does make fitting workouts in difficult.
Consider: the training regimen for most male stars involves weeks of bulking, weeks of cutting and then a long period of maintenance, during which they try their best to look the part for shoots, reshoots, public appearances and auditions for future roles.
When an actor’s in a pinch, and say, only has a small hotel gym at his disposal, his workout needs to be efficient. Brief circuits that elevate the heart rate, hit as many muscles as possible and leave him soaked in sweat are his best friend. Chris Hemsworth, the affable 38-year-old Aussie, is arguably the king of such workouts. He posted one of his latest on Instagram this week, performed in an undisclosed location.
Here’s the workout in written form:
- 10 bicep curls
- 10 overhead presses
- 10 tricep extensions
- 10 squats
- 10 single-leg lunges (left and right)
- 10 bent-over rows
- 10 standing twists (back and forth equals one rep)
Hemsworth recommends cycling through the full progression 10 times, which is good for 800 (!) reps total. As intimidating as that sounds, we love how approachable this workout is. There isn’t a single move here that even a basic gym attendee couldn’t master after a few tries, and notice that Thor himself doesn’t even put any weight on the 45-pound bar.
That makes the workout extra modifiable; you could perform it with an EZ-bar (usually no more than 25 pounds), or a standard curl bar (13 pounds or less). Either would probably preclude you from performing the final move of the circuit, the standing twists, but you could get a mat afterwards with a medicine ball to attack the obliques. There’s also the option of simply not doing 10 circuits with the straight barbell. Try it out for three to five rounds, giving yourself sizable rest in between, and see how you feel. Hemsworth himself encourages trainees to “go at their own pace.”
Ultimately, training like Hollywood stars doesn’t necessarily mean throwing around the most weight in the gym. It involves picking your spots and finding little windows to get an economical, extremely sweaty half-hour of work in. Cheers, Chris, we appreciate the freebie.
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