Men's Fitness Online

He’s got one of the most enviable physiques in Tinseltown, and while amazing genes certainly play a part, Chris Hemsworth works damn hard to look like a god – literally. To celebrate Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok being new to buy on Blu-ray™ & DVD, and now available to rent and watch instantly, we show you exactly what this bloke does to get his superhero body, bringing you the official routine from his trainer. Will it score you a role in the next Marvel flick? Probably not, but it will get you results worth showing off.

Aussie star Chris Hemsworth may play the Norse god Thor on the big screen in Marvel’s movies, but he’s basically a god in the gym, too. He’s tall, ripped and sculpted – making him the perfect actor to go head-to-head with the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok. Likewise for his role in Avengers: Infinity War – starring the ultra-ripped Josh Brolin as Thanos – one of the most epic superhero movies ever. It’s also one of the funniest Marvel movies to date, with Hemsworth proving he has comedy chops right up there with his piercing blue eyes and rippling muscles.

Hemsworth has had to transform his body to play Thor multiple times, and it isn’t always easy to do it. Even for a genetic freak like this guy, it takes serious amounts of work. (And serious amounts of food.) But of all the actors who had to pack on mass for a movie, few in recent memory have taken to the task with such zeal, and notable success, as Hemsworth when he landed the part of Thor.
For the first film, Hemsworth hit the gym with trainer and former Navy SEAL Duffy Gaver, who applied an old-school bodybuilding approach –
with careful attention given to Hemsworth’s arms and shoulders. Thor, after all, often appears sleeveless, but rarely shirtless. All told, Hemsworth gained 20 pounds (9kg), laying the foundation for a physique he’s maintained at or close to peak condition for Thor’s recurring role in The Avengers and solo sequels.

Photos from left to right: Chris as Thor on set. Chris with stunt double Bobby Holland Hanton

“We’ve pretty much stuck to the original template,” Gaver says. “Of course we’ve had some variation over time to keep things interesting and prevent plateaus, but this is the basic template.”
Gaver embraces a simple training model, and despite his high-powered clientele, makes no attempts to jazz it up with new equipment or exotic exercises.
“So many of the products you see advertised on infomercials right now did not exist when the first
Mr Olympia contest was held, which should tell you something,” Gaver says. “I appreciate my niche in the training industry because when someone comes to me, they want to get to it. They’ve got a timeline, and at the end of this, someone’s going to put a camera on them, they’re going to blow it up to 30 feet tall and it’s going to be a part of public record forever. There’s no particular exercise combination that will ever beat the guy who realises, ‘Hey, this all comes down to hard work’.”

Photos from left to right: The brothers Hemsworth: Liam, Chris and Luke; Chris Hemsworth with wife Elsa Pataky, with whom he has three children;

Hemsworth in particular was a model of consistency. According to Coach Magazine, he said, “In the comic strip Thor looks to be around 227kg [500lb], so obviously that wasn’t my goal, but it was very important for me to look the part and be as powerful as strong as I could while still maintaining that element of agility.”The physique he built has made “Chris Hemsworth Workout” the top search suggestion when you punch the actor’s name into Google. The internet, of course, is a minefield of shameless, click-baiting “Thor Workout” imitators. Fortunately, you don’t need to look any further than the full, unabridged template we present here. So get ready to hit the gym hard – and remember: when it comes to building a god-like
body, there are no shortcuts.“People see Chris and they think he was on steroids, but he didn’t touch a single substance,” Gaver says. “It was just red meat, heavy weights and some protein powder. He crushed every single workout. He simply decided to look like Thor.” Mission accomplished.

Watch Thor: Ragnarok today.

Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok is new to buy on Blu-ray™ & DVD, or rent online now and watch instantly. Just visit http://shop.disney.com.au/thor-ragnarok