Whether it's a secret workout, a revolutionary training method or a fitness hack nobody has heard of before. Hollywood loves to sell superhero transformations as something mysterious.
David Corenswet's journey to becoming Superman appears to have been the opposite.
A recent social media video detailing the actor's reported training routine has been doing the rounds online, offering a glimpse into the approach the actor and celebrity trainer Paolo Mascitti used while preparing for James Gunn's superhero epic.
The workout itself is remarkably straightforward, featuring exercises such as the bench press, incline bench press, shoulder press, cable flyes and arm isolation work performed in sets of four rounds of ten reps.
If anything, the programme reinforces a message Mascitti has repeated in several interviews since the film's release: building a superhero physique is about mastering the basics and sticking with them.
No shortcuts to Metropolis
According to the social media post, Corenswet trained three to four times a week using a push-pull-legs structure, focusing primarily on compound exercises such as presses, pull-ups, rows, and squats, which aligns closely with what Mascitti has publicly discussed.
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Speaking to GQ last year, the trainer explained that the foundation of Corenswet's training revolved around the major movement patterns most gym-goers would recognise immediately.
Presses, pull-ups, pulldowns and rows formed the backbone of the programme, alongside a focus on progressively increasing weights and repetitions over time.
Mascitti has also spoken about his preference for a full range of motion and controlled repetitions, arguing that many people spend too much time seeking novelty rather than getting stronger with proven exercises.
The reported push-day workout shared online reflects that philosophy perfectly, using mostly pressing movements, isolation exercises and enough volume to stimulate muscle growth.
Mass matters
The numbers behind Corenswet's transformation are almost as impressive as the physique itself.
The actor has said he weighed around 195-200 lb (~90 kg) during early screen tests before eventually reaching approximately 240 lb (~108 kg) during the bulking phase of preparation.
By the time filming began, he had trimmed down slightly while retaining much of the muscle he had built.
As with most Hollywood transformations, that increase wasn't purely muscle tissue and included body fat, glycogen stores, and water weight, all of which would have contributed to the final number.
Still, adding that amount of size over a relatively short period is no small feat.
Corenswet himself joked that the process became so extreme that he struggled to fit into a Superman suit built from his earlier measurements.
Powered by persistence
The workout may grab headlines, but the diet arguably did just as much of the heavy lifting.
Mascitti has revealed that Corenswet worked his way up to roughly 4,500 calories per day during the muscle-gaining phase before reducing intake closer to filming.
His meals were built around protein sources such as eggs, dairy, chicken, fish and red meat, combined with carbohydrate-rich foods including rice, oats and sweet potatoes.
He reportedly ate seven times a day and aimed for between 0.75 g and 1 g of protein per pound of bodyweight (that's 200g per day at the beginning of his transformation).
Sleep and recovery were treated as equally important parts of the process.
Corenswet's transformation appears to have been built on the oldest muscle-building principle in the book: consistently lifting heavy weights, gradually increasing the load over time, and eating enough food to support growth.
Perhaps the most encouraging takeaway from Corenswet's transformation is that getting superhero fit doesn't require extraterrestrial tricks – just good old-fashioned hard graft, consistency and perseverance.
