Celebrity personal trainer James Middleton reveals how Chris Hemsworth will prepare to play Hulk Hogan

Chris Hemsworth is set to appear as the legendary Hulk Hogan in a hotly anticipated Netflix biopic.

This is likely to be the most physically demanding role Chris has ever taken, and he’s not exactly a slouch.

Hemsworth, in an interview with Total Film magazine, himself indicated that playing Hulk Hogan would be the biggest physical transformation he had ever made. He shared his excitement about the role, saying “This movie is going to be a really fun project. As you can imagine, the preparation for the role will be insanely physical.”

James Middleton, an expert sportsman and trainer, is known for his insight into celebrity and sportsman exercise and nutrition routines. He has agreed to share what would be key elements of Chris Hemsworth’s exercise and nutrition routine in preparation for the Hogan role.

Strength Sessions

Middleton explains a muscle split program will be a fundamental part of Chris’ effort to put on enormous amounts of muscle and size. This means he will be training different muscle groups on different days of the week.

Strength workouts will be 60-90 minutes in duration, and there will be six gruelling sessions each and every week. These include full warm-up and cool-down so that there isn’t any injury or body damage.

Strength exercises would be broken down into what Middleton calls a “Push, Pull and Legs Split” session. Each session would be done twice each week, resulting in a total of six strength sessions, hitting each muscle group twice. This pushes impressive muscle growth by tearing them down to built them back up.

In each strength session, Hemsworth will be doing special compound lifts where he’ll lift heavy weights to increase his strength. Examples of exercises could be bench press for chest and bent over row for back, as well as squats for legs. The actor will then do more isolated muscle work for the remainder of the session. This will be accomplished through a variety of exercises.

There will be a push session. Push sessions build the chest, shoulders and triceps. This kind of session includes moves such as the shoulder raise, shoulder press and bench press, as well as flies. A pull session is also necessary. This kind of session focuses on the biceps and back, with T-bar row, seated row, and bent over rows.

Then the legs are in focus, with quads and claves being targeted, and then hamstrings and gluts.  Lunges, squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts are key.

Doing this muscle split twice every week (with push, pull, legs, push, and pull legs) will achieve the necessary overloading of Chris’ muscles, to stimulate an

d work them and allow for growth.

 

Conditioning Sessions:

If you’re an athlete, you know that building muscle is pointless if you’re unable to use it properly. Chris needs to do more than just look the part of Hogan. He must be able to bring his fitness and stamina to the professional level.

High-intensity conditioning sessions will work his entire body at the same time. This will dramatically boost his cardiovascular fitness, as well as lend functionality to this training. It will keep him flexible and make sure he can move efficiently.

Conditioning workouts will be 30-40 minutes in duration for each session. They’ll be done at least four times a week, and this is in addition to the minimum of six strength sessions, which include a full warm-up and cool-down to make sure Chris doesn’t injury or damage his body.

Bulking and Cutting

Not only will Chris have to be insanely disciplined in the gym, but he must put on lots of muscle and size initially. This can be accomplished by taking in more calories than he burns. He also needs to cut, which involves reducing his calorie intake so that he reduces his body fat and achieves the muscle definition he needs for the role.

Chris is incredibly tall at 6 ft 3. He will have to eat between 6,000 and 7,000 calories each and every day (yikes!) and burn between 3,500 and 4,000 calories a day. When it comes to cutting his calories to get lean, he will still take in between 4,000 and 4,500 a day.

Chris’s meals will be slightly smaller, eaten every two or three hours. Each meal will include lean proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Macronutrients are another key component. The actors would also have to take supplements. Some include protein, creatine, and BCAAs.

In addition to his eating regime, the actor will have to bring in two or three protein shakes each day. This is important for growth and recovery. Water consumption is also something he will have to keep front of mind. Staying properly hydrated will be viral to his performance and focus. It’s also needed for digestion, and that becomes especially important with all of the food intake.

For the next six or seven months, Chris will have to strictly keep up the maintenance schedule for his diet and exercise. Some of the general tips James Middleton gives for Chris include:

• Eating his first meal early, about 5 am every day
• Doing his second workout at about 1 pm in the afternoon, as this is when the body is at its optimum performance state (energy levels are highest)
• Chris should eat between six and seven small meals and snacks each day
• The diet must be balanced, with about 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% healthy fats
• There needs to be sufficient protein intake throughout the day
• Chris needs to get lots of sleep, going to bed at about 8 pm every night