How to Get Jacked Like a Superhero
SUPERHERO: THE HUNSTMAN (CHRIS HEMSWORTH)
MOVIE: SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN (JUNE 1)
As the titular "Huntsman," Hemsworth is the picture of a sword-swinging badass. In the flick, he is ordered by an Evil Queen (Charlize Theron) to take Snow White (Kristen Stewart) into the dark forest to be killed so the Queen can eat her heart, but winds up becoming her protector and mentor. A giant in real life (Hemsworth towers at 6'3") and a natural athlete, the actor put on much of his muscle weight to play Thor in last year's hit and this year's follow-up, The Avengers, but it serves him well here—the entire point of his character is that he is a fearless force to be reckoned with. The Huntsman is the guy you go to if you need something done that's a little dirty and definitely dangerous.
How He Did It:
To put on muscle fast for Thor—and subsequently Huntsman and Avengers—Hemsworth, who says he'd never lifted before becoming an actor, adopted a weight-training routine based on the principle of muscle confusion. The actor constantly varied the amount of weight, number of reps and the speed of his lifting so his muscles never adjusted to workouts. Hemsworth reportedly worked with many of Thor's tools—think sledgehammers and kettlebells—to become the massive guy he is now, and the intensity of his workouts required a near-constant intake of calories including protein from lean meats and complex carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables high in fiber, which promotes cardiovascular health, and antioxidants that aid in muscle recovery.
