What Do You Need to Train to Get Superhero Fit?

Watching famous actors bring beloved comic book characters to life on the big screen is undoubtedly entertaining. But their acting prowess isn’t just what makes them nail the part because they also have to look the part.

Superhero movies have become all the rage lately, and the stars that step into the shoes of their respective roles have had to transform their physique through rigorous training. Some examples of these hardcore exercises were discussed in a previous LEP Fitness post. To understand how it’s done, here’s what various actors needed to train in order to get their superhero bod.

Chris Evans as Captain America

Before Steve Rogers transformed into Captain America, he had to be injected with a government-produced ‘Super Soldier Serum’. To achieve this effect, Chris Evans shared that his training targeted two specific muscle groups per session.

In a recent interview, Evans revealed that he and his trainer “would take two muscle groups, whether it was chest and back or biceps and triceps and we would just destroy those muscles, literally, destroy them for just over two hours. Then we’d cool down with core and abs.”

It was a total body workout, hitting different parts of the body on an almost daily basis. He also mixed free weight and body weight exercises, which included pull-ups, weighted dips, and press-ups.

Evans also mentioned that he stayed away from cardio exercises because the goal was to build muscle and not lose weight. His trainer advised him to replace it with circuit training and gymnastics. Talk about a diverse workout routine!

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman

Gal Gadot also revealed her six-month training to the media for her role as Wonder Woman. The highly intensive workout included sword fighting, horseback riding, martial arts, and weight lifting. Gadot even commented on the fact that her superhero training was harder than her military training back in Israel.

The actress told Business Insider that she worked out six hours a day, with the breakdown being: two hours of gym work, two hours of fight choreography, and two hours of horseback riding. “When people used to tell me, ‘Yeah, I do sport, I ride horses,’ I was like, ‘That’s not sport, the horse does everything.’ But no! You’ll be surprised, it’s so painful,” she mused. At the end of the day, her training rewarded her with the strong and toned body everyone saw when the successful film hit the big screen.

Jason Momoa as Aquaman

Game of Thrones’s Khal Drogo was already considerably ripped during his television days. The actor reportedly loves rock climbing, which came to his aid when training for Aquaman. Together with his workout of choice, he used weighted pull-ups, renegade rows, one-arm cable pull-downs, and heavy rope in his sessions.

Momoa’s Trainer Mark Twight talked to Men’s Health about the two workout routines that gave the actor his signature Aquaman bod. The focus was more on the chest and legs, doing rounds like bench presses and quad extensions. The King of the Seven Seas definitely looked regal and powerful in his role!

The Superhero Effect

The likes of Wonder Woman’s superhuman durability and Captain America’s capability to be strong and agile in battle have captivated audiences worldwide. This is why superheroes are some of the most iconic symbols of success and victory, inspiring a lot of people to want to look like them.

Even in more modern adaptations of the superhero brand, these qualities are often emphasised because of their ability to draw people in naturally. Titles with characters akin to superheroes make use of this fact to show a sense of being extraordinary in much the same way.

Video games are at the forefront of the trend, especially considering that a lot of titles allow players to imagine themselves as the character through the game’s controls or mechanics. Foxy Bingo hosts the Amazon Queen slot game, which features a mighty female warrior similar to the Amazon Princess of Themyscira. The traits portrayed are beautiful and sweet, and yet the character is described as intimidating enough to take on any kind of foe.

Generally speaking, superheroes fit a set of ideals that most people want to embody – and that includes a physique that can take on seemingly impossible feats. In fact, Cinemablend notes that the technological advancements seen in modern media today have helped seal the status of how people view superheroes.

The beauty of it all is that you don’t need to land a superhero role in order to do the solid workout routines that actors have done in the past. All you need is a superhero mindset. Rise up to the challenge of training and you will reap the rewards.