Henry Cavill was a virtual unknown when he was tapped for the role of a lifetime; that of the iconic Superman in the movie “Man of Steel” released in 2013. After seeing the flick, many guys looked for information online about the Henry Cavill workout in hopes of learning how the star bulked up for the role.
In building up a Superman-like body, Cavill worked with a world-class climber Mark Twight for his training. Twight was the same man who worked with actor Gerald butler and the cast of the movie “300.”
The hard work with Twight paid off as Cavill was able to develop a shoulder centric look to his body. He was able to have broad shoulders and a tight, lean waist that made him perfect for the role as the Man of Steel.
Do you want to have a body like that of Caviil? You can if you follow this workout program.
Below is Henry Cavill routine:
Workout Options | Repetition |
---|---|
Total Body Workout | |
Combination of Power Cleans and Kettlebell Squat (30 sec) | 2 |
Two Handed Kettlebell Clean and Squats | 2 |
Front Squats | 100 |
Box Step-Up | 45 |
Deck Squats | 45 |
Frog Hops and 40 Meters of Bear Crawl | 20 |
Man-Makers | 60 |
Sit-Ups | 60 |
Chest/Shoulder Workout | |
Treadmill or Bike (10 mins) | 1 |
Bench Press | 60 |
Classic Military Push Press | 48 |
Arnold Press | 48 |
Squat Assisted Push Press | 50 |
Hammer Curls | 48 |
Jonestown Sprint | |
Plank Push Ups (45 sec) | 1 |
Dumbbell Overhead Hold (45 sec) | 1 |
Kettle-bell Swings (45 sec) | 1 |
Dead Hangs (45 sec) | 1 |
Ball Slam (45 sec) | 1 |
Wall Sits (45 sec) | 1 |
Legs | |
Squats | 100 |
Goblet Squat | 15 |
Walking Lunges | 60 |
Split Jumps | 60 |
Box Jump (30 sec) | 1 |
Explosive Box Step-Up (30 sec) | 1 |
Jump Squat (30 sec) | 1 |
Quick Step (60 sec) | 1 |
Back and Biceps | |
Barbell Speed Circuit | 45 |
Reverse Grip Bent Over Row | 45 |
Hi-Pull From Floor | 45 |
Upright Rows | 45 |
Barbell Push Press | 45 |
Front Squat Push Press | 45 |
Bicep Curls | 45 |
Total Body Workout
Cavill would start his week with a total body workout. The routine begins with a combination of power cleans and kettlebell squat, with one combo for every 30 seconds. He then performs two sets of two handed kettlebell clean and squats.
Once he’s done with the kettlebell exercises, Cavill will do 100 front squats using only his body weight. If you want, you can break this into sets of 25. The next exercise is box step-up, which Cavill used to do 15 repetitions and three sets. He then does three sets of 15 repetitions of deck squats.
Cavill proceeds to do 20 repetitions of frog hops and 40 meters of bear crawl. He’s given two minutes of rest in between the four rounds or sets of this combo. Then using dumbbells, he has to accomplish 20 reps and three sets of man-makers. Cavill ends the grueling training with three sets of 20 repetitions of sit-ups.
Chest/Shoulder Workout
As mentioned earlier, Cavill was able to develop the classic V taper physique that made him look credible as Superman. It’s not surprising that his upper body, chest, and shoulder workout was grueling, to say the least.
His workout for the upper torso begins by warming up in a treadmill or bike for 10 minutes. He then spends another 10 minutes on the rowing machine at an easy pace, which basically is a continuation or extension of the warm up phase.
The exercise steps up with Cavill performing six sets of the bench press. Each set required at least 10 repetitions. He alternated both arms, and even used kettlebells in some instances.
After the bench presses Cavill had to do four sets of 12 repetitions of the classic military push press. He would continue with his workout with four sets of 12 repetitions of the Arnold press. His trainer varied the workout by instructing Cavill to use alternating and one hand dumbbells.
The workout continues with two sets of squat assisted push press. Cavill had to complete 25 repetitions per set of the said routine before doing four sets of 12 repetitions of hammer curls.
Cavill would end his upper body workout with the so-called Jonestown Sprint. It involves seven exercises—plank push ups, dumbbell overhead hold, kettlebell swings, dead hangs, ball slam, and wall sits. He would have to allot 45 seconds for each exercise, and complete two sets.
Legs
In working out his legs, Cavill would start with a wall-squat as the warm-up exercise. Once his muscles have been warmed up, he does 100 repetitions of squats. You could break down this exercise into sets of 25 if you want to.
He then uses kettlebells to do three sets of five repetitions of the goblet squat, and three sets of 20 repetitions of walking lunges. To add more challenge to this exercise, he puts sandbags on his ankles. He then continues the workout with three sets of 20 repetitions of split jumps.
Cavill then performs 30 seconds of box jump and 30 seconds of explosive box step-up, as well as 30 seconds of jump squat and 60 seconds of quick step. He ends the workout with kettlebell swings to failure, using a 50 pound kettlebell.
Back and Biceps
Cavill would usually do back and biceps exercises on the fourth day of the week. He starts with warm-up exercises on the rowing machine, then proceeds with exercises such as barbell speed circuit, reverse grip bent over row, and hi-pull from floor. He also performs upright rows, barbell push press, front squat push press, and ends the workout with bicep curls.
Cavill worked out for six months in preparation for the role. He also rested a lot, sleeping nine to 10 hours every day to give his body enough time to recuperate from the intense Henry Cavill workout that he had been doing.