More than a few of us have probably wondered what it would be like to hit the gym with Chris Hemsworth. And while it’s unlikely (but not impossible) that the big man will turn up at your local Anytime Fitness, the next best thing is keeping a keen eye on his social media accounts.
The Thor star has shared an upper-body workout from his Centr app for his 57.4 million Instagram followers to try, and it’s straightforward but tough.
To do the workout as written you’ll need a gym, but if you’re at home a pair of adjustable dumbbells and a resistance band will suffice.
The workout begins with straight sets of a dynamic move to warm up, then moves on to a push/pull superset and finishes with a tri-set of accessory moves.
How To Do Chris Hemsworth’s Upper-Body Workout
Warm-up
Medicine ball slam Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 30sec
Superset
1A One-arm dumbbell row: Sets 4 Reps 10 each side Rest 0sec
1B Push-up: Sets 4 Reps 15 Rest 60sec
Triset
2A Renegade row: Sets 4 Reps 8 each side Rest 0sec
2B Lateral raise: Sets 4 Reps 8 Rest 0sec
2C Triceps press-down: Sets 4 Reps 10 Rest 60sec
While the medicine ball slams are designed to prime your body and spike your heart rate for the high-intensity session ahead, we’d also recommend beginning with a few dynamic stretches, such as those found in this gym warm-up routine.
Next, it’s time to tackle the superset. Perform the two exercises, take a 60-second break, then repeat. Once you’re finished four rounds in total, progress to the final tri-set.
Here, as with the superset, you’ll work through the moves in turn with no rest, only this time there are three exercises rather than two. If you’re in a gym you can use a cable machine for the press-downs, while those of you working out at home can sub in a resistance band.
Take a one-minute breather after finishing all three exercises in the tri-set, then repeat until you hit four rounds. And that’s the workout complete
What To Expect From This Workout
This Chris Hemsworth workout uses a superset and tri-set, keeping rest to a minimum to increase the intensity and cut down your total workout time. By our reckoning, the whole thing should take little over 40 minutes.
It’s an example of hypertrophy training, with the reps all falling within the traditional muscle-building range of eight to 15. So, your chest, back, shoulders and arms are all on track for a solid pump session. However, the combination of isolation and compound exercises twinned with minimal rest times means it also has a conditioning element.