Chris Hemsworth is an Australian actor, producer, and the founder of “Centr” a fitness and wellness app. He rose to prominence for his recurring role as “Thor” in Marvel’s “Thor” and “Avengers” movies. The 39 years old has appeared as the God of Thunder in eight films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe over a decade, beginning with 2011’s Thor and, most recently, in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). He is now one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood; Forbes reports that The Aussie commands more than $15 million plus a share of profits every time he wields Thor’s mighty hammer.
Chris Hemsworth Workout
Keeping one’s body in shape can be challenging, but exercising and dieting to achieve a godly physique appears impossible. When Chris Hemsworth was offered the role of Thor in 2011, he had to undergo a full-body transformation. He went from being the skinny Australian with a surfer body to the jacked God of thunder. Chris certainly had good looks and acting skills, but he needed some help getting the perfect Nordic demigod body.
For the first Thor movie, he trained with former US Navy SEAL Duffy Gaver, who used highly functional training and traditional bodybuilding methods to build muscle mass and increases coordination, balance, and flexibility. Despite his jacked body, the star stays pretty agile; a necessary quality for someone who chooses to perform most of his stunts. Hemsworth trains 5-6 days a week for 1-2 hours per day, including swimming, martial arts, weight training, and interval training to achieve Asgardian awesomeness.
He does two or three intense heavy lifting sessions per day to build muscle mass, as well as bodyweight circuit and functional training workouts to stay mobile. “One of the best parts of getting to work with someone like Chris who’s constantly trying to push his limits is that I’m constantly pushing my own,” says Luke Zocchi, his longtime trainer. “I feel like we’re always learning new ways to become better both in the gym and outside of it,” adds Zocchi.
The actor recently admitted that getting even more ripped for “Thor: Love and Thunder” was challenging and took a toll on him. “Each time I’ve played the character and put the muscle on and out the size on, and then lost it for something else and played another character, there’s muscle memory, and I used to say it sort of got easier each time,” Hemsworth said. He continued: “This was particularly hard. I think because the target weight we aimed for was quite a ways above where I’d been before.”
Chris previously spoke with USA Today about his training for the fourth “Thor” film, stating that he got bigger than ever for the movie and credited it to “boredom” brought on by the COVID lockdown. “It came from boredom, sitting in COVID lockdown was like a prison. It was train, eat, train, eat. Nothing else to do,” he explained. “Then I turned up for the film bigger than I’ve ever been.” The actor also indicated that his wife, Elsa Pataky, was not a fan of his more muscular physique, calling it “too much”. “My wife was like, ‘Bleh, it’s too much,'” he said.
Chris Hemsworth Workout Routine
He lifts weights five days, training each muscle group twice a week. Studies have shown an increase of 3.1% in muscle hypertrophy for lifters hitting muscle groups two times a week compared with those only targeting each muscle group once a week.
Here’s a breakdown of Chris Hemsworth’s workouts for the week.
Monday: Back, Chest, and Abs
- Barbell Bench Presses: 5 sets of 12, 12, 10, 8, and 6 reps
- Hammer Strength Rows: 4 sets of 12 reps
- Bent-Over Rows: 4 sets of 12 reps
- Dumbbell Flyes: 4 sets of 12 reps
- Weighted Pull-Ups: 5 sets of 15, 12, 10, 10 and 8
- Weighted Dips: 5 sets of 15, 12, 10, 10 and 8
- 60-second Planks: 3 sets
- Cable Crunches: 1-3 sets of 13 reps
- Hanging Leg Raises: 1-3 sets of 13 reps
- Reverse Crunches: 1-3 sets of 13 reps
- Sit-Ups: 1-3 sets of 13 reps
- Oblique Crunches: 3 sets of 12 reps for each side
Tuesday: Legs
- Hamstring Curls: 3 sets of 20 reps
- Stiff-Legged Deadlifts: 4 sets of 12 reps
- Barbell Squats: 5 sets of 10, 8, 8, 6, and 4 reps
- Seated Leg Curls: 3 sets of 20 reps
- Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 20 reps
Wednesday: Arms and Abs
- Weighted Chin-Ups: 5 sets of 15, 12, 10, 10, and 8 reps
- Barbell French Presses: 3 sets of 10 reps
- Cable Tricep Extensions: 3 sets of 10 reps
- Hammer Curls: 3 sets of 10 reps
- Barbell Curls: 3 sets of 10 reps
- 60-second Planks: 1-3 sets
- Sit-Ups: 3 sets of 12 reps
- Reverse Crunches: 3 sets of 12 reps
- Hanging Leg Raises: 3 sets of 12 reps
- Oblique Crunches: 3 sets of 12 reps for each side
Thursday: Back, Shoulder, and Chest
- Barbell Bench Presses: 5 sets of 12,12,10,8 and 6 reps
- Dumbbell Flies: 4 sets of 12 reps
- Bent-Over Rows: 4 sets of 12 reps
- Bent-Over Lateral Raises: 3 sets of 15 reps
- Dumbbell Shoulder Presses: 5 sets of 15,12,10,10 and 8 reps
- Lateral Raises: 4 sets of 12 reps
- Font Raises: 4 sets of 12 reps
Friday: Legs and Abs
- Barbell Squats: 5 sets of 10, 8, 8, 6, and 4 reps
- Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 4 sets of 12 reps
- Seated Leg Curls: 3 sets of 20 reps
- Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 20 reps
- Hamstring Curls: 3 sets of 20 reps
- 60-second Planks: 3 sets
- Sit-Ups: 3 sets of 12 reps
- Hanging Leg Raises: 3 sets of 12 reps
- Reverse Crunches: 3 sets of 12 reps
- Cable Crunches: 1-3 sets of 12-15 reps
- Sit-Ups: 1-3 sets of 12-15 reps
- Oblique Crunches: 3 sets of 12 reps per side.
Cardio
Regarding cardio, Chris Hemsworth enjoys surfing and performs assault bike sprints, treadmill sprints, and about 15 minutes of jump ropes, pads, and bag work.
Chris Hemsworth’s Functional Full-Body Workout
This total-body pump-up targets the arms, chest, back, legs, and core. Chris has been posting various workouts on his social media accounts to get his followers moving and promote his health and fitness app Centr.
4 Rounds
- Push-ups x 20 reps
- Dumbbell Bent Over Row x 10 reps
- Sit Through x 20 reps
Rest 30 seconds.
- Dumbbell Floor Chest Fly x 20 reps
- Dumbbell Renegade Row x 10 reps
- Mountain Climbers x 20 reps (each side)
Rest 30 seconds.
- Dumbbell Lunge x 10 reps (each side)
- Dumbbell Floor Triceps Extensions x 10 reps
- Bear Crawl x 30 seconds
Rest for 30 seconds before repeating the circuit four times.
Chris Hemsworth Diet Plan
When training to build Thor’s muscles, you must eat a well-balanced diet that can withstand the intense workout routine. Over the past seven years, his nutritionist, Sergio Perera, has worked with him to match his meal plan to his body’s physical demands. Even when Chris is in full prep mode, he believes it is critical to maintain variety in meals to achieve the results he seeks without sacrificing his health, performance, or tastebuds.
If Chris is training to bulk up, he consumes more calories than his body needs. These extra calories give his body the necessary fuel to boost muscle size and strength. He prioritizes snacking by sticking to whole foods whenever possible, such as nuts, eggs, and tuna. While the star eats more red meat than usual when building muscle, he limits it to daylight hours, as red meat requires more energy to digest. The same goes for grains. Chris will, however, enjoy a lamb chop at night if training runs late.
Hemsworth eats eight times a day while filming his Marvel movies to gain muscle mass and make it easier for his body to digest the food. If you are active and train hard, you probably burn many calories each day and need to eat clean foods that replenish all the energy you’ve expended to support mass-building. According to studies, eating frequent mini-meals spreads throughout the day, prevents the metabolism from slowing down, reduces hunger pangs, optimally fuels your body, and positively impacts cholesterol and insulin levels.
For breakfast, Hemsworth consumes a sizeable green smoothie made of various types of leafy greens, low-glycemic fruits, nuts, seeds, fats, and small amounts of sea salt to aid in electrolyte balance, nerve transmission, and glucose metabolism. Regarding protein, he prefers a mix of rice, hemp, and pea protein. Chris mentioned that for lunch and dinner, he eats bigger meals, such as steak, chicken, and fish, with whole grains, vegetables, and salads. “With the months leading up to the shoot and during filming, I’m basically overfeeding myself on protein and endless amounts of chicken breast, eggs, steak, fish, vegetables, tuna, avocado, cottage cheese, and brown rice.” He said.
Here is what he eats in a day:
Day 1
- 8 am – Green power shake with protein.
- 10 am – Bowl of yogurt with mixed fresh berries, chia seeds, almonds, and honey
- 12 pm – Workout.
- 1 pm – Post-workout shake consisting of vegetable protein, ice water, BCAAs, and 1g of vitamin C.
- 2:30 pm – 8 oz grilled chicken with crispy sweet potatoes and a rocket salad with seeds, nuts, and salted apple. Lemon and olive oil dressing on the side.
- 5:30 pm – 2 rice cakes with Vegemite, tuna, and cherry tomatoes.
- 7 pm – 8 oz white fish with grilled mushrooms and a raw broccoli salad.
- 9 pm – Half of a small paw paw/papaya with yogurt and berries. Magnesium/zinc supplement.
Day 2
- 8 am – Green power shake with protein.
- 10 am – 3 fried eggs on a slice of wholegrain toast with Vegemite and avocado.
- 12 pm – Workout.
- 1 pm – Post-workout shake consisting of vegetable protein, ice water, BCAAs, and 1g of vitamin C.
- 2:30 pm – 8 oz eye fillet (fillet mignon), grilled pumpkin salad with spinach, herbs, cucumber, and ½ cup of steamed rice.
- 5:30 pm – Chicken and vegetable soup with barley.
- 7 pm – 8 oz white fish, leafy green salad with radicchio and balsamic dressing. A side of roasted mixed cruciferous vegetables.
- 9 pm – BCAAs with Magnesium/zinc supplement.
Day 3
- 8 am – Raw cacao and frozen berry shake with coconut oil, chia seeds, dates, and vegetable protein.
- 10 am – Savory porridge with olive oil, parmesan, and two poached eggs.
- 12 pm – Workout.
- 1 pm – Post-workout shake.
- 2 pm – Sesame chicken salad with leafy greens, sprouts, pickles, and ½ cup steamed rice.
- 5 pm – A homemade frozen green bar.
- 7 pm – 8 oz grilled mahi mahi, grilled asparagus, roasted tomato, and a non-dairy Caesar salad.
- 9 pm – BCAAs with magnesium/zinc supplement.
Chris Hemsworth Supplements
A well-balanced diet can provide everything you need to stay strong and healthy, but supplements can fill in the gaps. Before going to sleep, Chris will take a serving of BCAA’s and a magnesium/zinc supplement to stimulate muscle growth, improve physical performance, boost muscle recovery, prevent muscle mass breakdown, and reduce soreness and fatigue.
- BCAAs
- Zinc
- Magnesium
