Men\'s Health Australia - 11.2018

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A god among supermen,
Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is
so heavenly-bodied that he
makes Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord
feel unworthy. Hemsworth

• a rare actor who is as big
  of screen as he looks on it –
  and trainer Luke Zocchi
  mixed bodybuilding with
  functional exercises such as
  battle ropes and bear crawls
  to mould a more defined
  physique than in previous
  Thor films. The thunder
  deity’s triceps are like
  horseshoes smithed in
  the forges of Nidavellir,
  which Thor reignites by
  biceps-curling open the
  doors while being blasted by
  the core of a dying star. This
  may not make any sense
  unless you’ve seen Infinity
  War, but sufice to say that
  it’s the ultimate expression of
  “sun’s out, guns out”.

Chris Hemsworth

THOR: RAGNAROK 2017
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR 2018

For someoneneither big

(heis under 177cm) nor

hard (by his own

admission), Hardy does

a convincing impression

of big, hard men: notably

the unhinged career

convict in the 2008

dramaBronsonand the

unintelligible supervillain

Bane in 2012’sThe Dark

Knight Rises. His MMA

fighter Tommy Conlon is

in a lower weight

category but meaner

and leaner, Hardy having

shed 15 per cent of his

body fat while adding

20kg of muscle.

His trainer Patrick

“Pnut” Monroe, a former

marine, employed a

technique called

“signalling”: spreading

bursts of exercise

throughout the day to

encourage the body to

adapt. Although if you’re

doing two hours each of

boxing, kick-boxing,

fight choreography

and lifting, as Hardy was,

that’s hardly necessary.

Known as“HugeJacked

Man” in theMHofices, the

actor and member of the

1,000lb (450kg) deadlift club

raised his own bar withThe

Wolverine, in which he

was more ripped than a pair

of Logan’s gloves. The X

factor was brought by trainer

David Kingsbury, who took

him out of his 812-rep

comfort zone. Jackman

started his sessions with

heavy compound lifts, laying

down a strong foundation

and increasing his capacity

for bodybuilding-style sets

later on. Keeping his body fat

down while bulking up, he

hit his personal best – at the

age of 44.

Green Giant

To play Thor, Hemsworth

muscleduponalargely

plant-based diet.

Here’shissamplemenu

Breakfast

Oats with almond milk, nuts,

blueberries and flaxseed

Mid-Morning

Pea protein shake with almond

butter, banana and spinach

Lunch

Bean burger patties and a

large raw salad

Snack

Protein shake or bowl

of yoghurt and fruit

After Training

BCAA drink, vitamin and

magnesium supps

Dinner

White fish with rice

and vegetables

Tom

Hardy

WARRIOR 2011

Hugh

Jackman

THE WOLVERINE 2013