Even among Marvel's catalog of muscle-bound stars, Chris Hemsworth's commitment to fitness is unmatched.
The Aussie actor has created a fitness app, tackled immense physical challenges for the longevity-focused TV show "Limitless" and continues to share regular fitness insights on his social channels.
His latest Instagram post sees him hitting a workout inspired by his Centr app's new 14-week Power Shred program, which combines muscle-building workouts, high-intensity finishers and a meal plan to help you cut body fat and gain muscle.
The routine uses a training technique called supersets (more on this below) to deliver an effective session that will pump up your chest, shoulder and arm muscles, and raise your heart rate to help you burn more fat.
Here's what's in store.
How to do Chris Hemsworth's Power Shred-inspired workout
This workout comprises of three supersets—a pair of movements performed back-to-back with no rest in between—and a finisher.
Superset one asks you to do 12 dumbbell incline chest presses, immediately followed by 10 dumbbell push-ups. Only after you've finished both moves do you take the 60 seconds of rest. That's one set. Repeat this sequence to do four sets in total, then move on to superset two and follow the same pattern.
Superset one x4
- Dumbbell incline chest press x12
- Dumbbell push-up x10
- Rest x60sec
Superset two x4
- Clean and press x10 each side
- Lateral raise x12
- Rest x60sec
Superset three x3
- Biceps curl x10
- Triceps kickback x10 each side
- Rest x60sec
Finisher x3
- Slam ball slam x15
- Rest x30sec
Why I like this workout
My favorite thing about this workout is its simplicity. There are no outlandish exercises, just muscle-building staples, combined with a couple of dynamic, power-building movements.
When I had a sit-down with his trainer Luke Zocchi, it quickly became apparent that these straightforward moves are the bedrock of Hemsoworth's workouts.
"Don't get me wrong, you should always be looking for new things and different things," Zocchi told me. "But for the base level, building your foundation, you just can't beat the basic movements; the squat, bench press, etc.
"Even coming down to bodyweight stuff. Chris and I do a lot of moves like chin-ups, push-ups and squats. They're the base."
So, you heard the man. If you want to build muscle, your first port of call should be mastering the basic exercises that everyone's heard of. After all, there's a reason they, like Hemsworth, are household names.
