Henry Cavill's training and diet to become Superman

Henry Cavill's muscles and chocolate bars were the envy of many during his appearance in Superman. As you might expect, our superhero's impressive lean and muscular body is the result of 11 months of intense sports training and dieting in preparation for his role, followed by 6 months of dry runs during filming. Do you dream of having the same body? You should know that even if you can be inspired by the bodybuilding program of your star, you will still have to personalize it a little so that it is adapted to your needs and to yourself. This is the only way to obtain convincing results and such an impressive musculature.

Who is Superman?

British actor and born in 1983, Henry Cavill had to suffer many failures before playing the most popular superhero on the planet. Indeed, he was applying for 3 characters in the early 2000s. Batman, Superman and James Bond. Unfortunately, he was not selected for any of the 3 roles. This will earn him the nickname of the unluckiest man in Hollywood. It is only 13 years later after many cinematographic experiences that he will finally play Superman.

His measurements:

• Height : 1 m 85
• Weight: 92 kg
• Biceps circumference: 41 cm

How did Henry Cavill train?

His trainer for the role was Mark Twight and he owns a hall in Salt Lake City where he trains many actors.

Henry Cavill aka Superman's weight gain didn't happen in a few days. In fact, it took him nearly 17 months of preparation. Moreover, for best results, sessions with moderate loads were alternated with others with heavy loads. His crossfit style workouts combined high intensity movements with a strength and speed program.

During the first phase of Superman's training, Mark Twight style, he worked on his general condition to strengthen his muscle mass and gain power. If we know that he trained 2 hours 30 minutes per day, his training was for some days divided into 2 sessions during the day with a typical session crossfit and another one more bodybuilder type. His training has evolved over the months of preparation sometimes with short sets and other long sets with bodyweight and heavy weights.

Here is the breakdown of his workouts.

Monday - Training 1

• Squats
• Press
• Deadlift
• Sequence: Chest press machine, pull-ups to failure, burpees to failure...

Monday - Training 2

• Bench press (strength session with a max at 136 kg)
• skipping rope + arms swings + massage roller
• Complementary exercises: Dips, barbell rowing, box jump

Tuesday

• Sprint: 8 X 50 meters (rest: 60 seconds between each sprint)

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday

• Rowing bent over with dumbbells
• Power Cleans with dumbbells
• Dumbbell bench press

Friday

• Kettelbel swing
• Sprint

Saturday

• 3 squats at 100 kg + 6 pull-ups + 9 push-ups for 9 minutes

Sunday - Rest

Tips

If you want to test it, you can start with about ten warm-up moves before gradually pushing your limits.

For the exercises with weightsHenry Cavill used dumbbells or kettlebells weighing 20 kilos each. However, depending on your initial body mass, you may find it difficult to do the same. So I recommend that you start with low-weight dumbbells and work your way up.

In addition, in the beginning, Henry Cavill compensated for the energy expended by consuming a lot of calories up to 5,000 calories/day! This calorific intake has decreased up to 2,500 calories at the end of the dry period to allow him to burn as much fat as possible.

Maintenance exercises

Physical maintenance is an essential part of bodybuilding training. This is what Henry Cavill does to maintain his 41 cm arm circumference, 86 cm waist circumference and 124.5 cm chest circumference.

However, as you might expect, Superman's superpowers don't just come from his muscles. To go along with it all a balanced diet in calories and protein.

Superman's diet

For the future Superman, this phase lasted four weeks. At this stage, the movements are designed to burn a maximum of fat. In addition, they were combined with a low-calorie diet.

To play Superman and his impressive musculature, Henry Cavill's diet was very high in protein. However, it was all about lean protein like chicken, fish or eggs.

After doing a long mass gain at 5,000 so-called "clean" calories per day (which you'll see in the video below), he'll start a drastic dry run.

"Clean": unprocessed healthy food. It is very easy to reach 5000 calories eating pizza and hamburger but when you eat healthy food, it is much more complicated.

Here's what the typical daily menu of a dry Superman consisted of:

• Breakfast: 5 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, ½ cup of oatmeal, 1 apple + multi-vitamins / fish oil (omega 3)
• Morning snack: Tuna on 2 slices of pita, 1 banana
• Lunch: Brown rice, chicken, salad and diced tomato or green vegetables
• Afternoon snack: 1 protein shake and a fruit
• Dinner: Low-fat cottage cheese + almonds

In addition, to develop and maintain muscle mass, it is recommended to provide the body with : 1.5g to 2g of protein per kg of body weight.

However, I must remind you that this diet was specially designed for Henry Cavill who was meanwhile nicknamed "Fat Cavill"? If you want to gain mass in an efficient way, you will need your own diet program adapted to your body. For this, I would take into account several factors such as age, level and type of training, starting weight, etc.

It is worth mentioning that hydration also plays an important role in gaining lean mass. It allows the body to better eliminate toxins released by the body during intense exercise and to tone the muscles. It is therefore recommended to drink water regularly throughout the day.

Did Superman take nutritional supplements?

Henry Cavill consumed multivitamins and omega 3 as well as whey protein in some of his snacks.

Dietary supplements can be a good help in building muscle mass. However, for best results, it is imperative to consume them in addition to a balanced diet and not as a replacement.

You can also turn to a booster that will make it easier for you to endure the workouts when they become more difficult.

No Kryptonite for Superman

Every Superman fan knows: his one and only weakness is kryptonite. So, if you want to look like your superhero, I recommend that you consider fast food as kryptonite.

So now that you know that the Kryptonite of any athlete or bodybuilder is called junk food, foods high in sugar and fat such as pastries, jams, deli meats and sodas should be avoided. The same goes for processed foods which generally contain additives, bad fats and not enough nutrients.

Instead, focus on healthy foods by favouring fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats as well as oilseeds and foods such as rice or wholemeal pasta. Note that it is also essential to give up certain bad habits: tobacco, alcohol, drugs, snacking, etc.

Discipline is the key to success

Believe me, Henry Cavill didn't get that muscle mass by dragging his feet when it came time to work out. In other words, if you want to get closer to the physique of your dreams, you have to be very disciplined. There's no question of cheating during the exercises and even less of missing a session because the fatigue of the previous one is still present.

Nevertheless, it is not a question of training every day and all the time. For example, Henry Cavill only trained 5 times a week, and for 2.5 hours. In practice, it is up to your coach to determine the ideal training frequency for you. In fact, a session that is so long is not good for your body and can even be counterproductive. 1 hour to 1.5 hours maximum (with warm-ups) is more than enough. Otherwise, you risk overtraining or injuring yourself.

Rest is also an important step in training to gain muscle mass. Indeed, it is essential to let your muscles and joints recover to maximize your chances of achieving your goals. Yes, even superheroes are entitled to rest.

Finally, you should never give in to discouragement if you don't reach your muscle mass goals quickly. It may be helpful to consult your coach to readjust your training program that you are currently doing was not suitable for you.

Now you finally know all of Superman's secrets. It's up to you to take matters into your own hands and change your appearance.

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