Henry Cavill Workout Routine And Diet For Superman

March 25, 2021 | 575 Comments


Man of steel workout routine

Well ladies and gentlemen, it looks like Henry Cavill has done it again.

After getting absolutely shredded for his role in Immortals, Henry Cavill has taken it upon himself to bulk up for the titular role as Superman in 2013’s Man of Steel.

And if you’ve seen any of the recent behind the scene photos, then you’ll definitely notice that Henry Cavill has succeeded in packing on a substantial amount of muscle.

I laid down a detailed overview of the Henry Cavill’s training and diet to help you look like Superman.

Train in all rep ranges to get ripped like Henry Cavill

henry cavill superman workout

In order to properly portray Superman, Henry Cavill needed to look both big and strong. And the best way to accomplish this is by lifting in both low, mid, and high rep ranges. When most guys train, they typically either train really really heavy or really really light.

They either lift exclusively in the 3-6 rep range or in the 10-12 rep range.

While lower rep ranges (3-6 reps) are good for increasing your strength levels, they aren’t the best for muscular hypertrophy.

On the other hand, higher rep ranges (10-12 reps) are good for increasing fluid in the muscle which will quickly increase the muscle’s size but it doesn’t necessarily translate to strength gains. To build the best overall physique, you need to incorporate all rep ranges.

As you can see in the pic above, Henry Cavill definitely got ripped for Man of Steel. He has excellent muscular density and body proportions. I can’t stress the importance of body proportions enough when it comes to building muscle.

Henry Cavill has a very “shoulder centric” look to his body meaning he has very broad shoulders and a very tight, lean waist. All guys should aim for this look if they want to look like Henry Cavil.

How to do the Henry Cavill workout

For the Henry Cavill Superman workout, your workout should be spread over 4 days. Ideally, you should be on a 2 day on-1 day off cycle. Or if you can’t swing that, you can do an every other day cycle

Monday (Upper body, strength)

  • Incline dumbbell press – 4 sets/5 reps
  • Flat dumbbell press – 4 sets/5 reps
  • Weighted pull ups – 4 sets/5 reps
  • Dumbbell or barbell row – 4 sets/5 reps

Tuesday (Lower body, strength)

  • Deadlift – 5 sets/ 5 reps
  • Front squat – 5 sets/6-8 reps
  • Front lunges – 4 sets/8 reps per leg
  • Calf raise – 5 sets/12 reps

Wed (Rest) 

Rest day.

Take it easy.

Thrus (Chest and Back, hypertrophy)

  • Incline dumbbell press – 4 sets/8-10 reps
  • Cable crossover – 4 sets/10-12 reps
  • Weighted chin ups – 4 sets/8-10 reps
  • Seated cable row – 4 sets/10-12 reps

Friday (Shoulders and arms, hypertrophy)

  • Seated dumbbell press – 5 sets/8-10 reps
  • Side lateral raise – 5 sets/10-12 reps
  • Front Lateral raises – 5 sets/10-12 reps
  • Any bicep curl variation – 6 sets/10-12 reps
  • Any tricep extension variation – 6 sets/10-12 reps

Saturday and Sunday (Rest)

Note: You can do some soft tissue work (with foam roller or lacrosse ball), some dynamic stretching, and even some walking but don’t do any high intensity activities.

Henry Cavill diet – don’t screw this up!

henry cavill diet

I’m on 5,000 calories a day. You’ve got to eat protein first, then a little bit of carbs … you’ve gotta keep your hunger levels going.

While the sample Henry Cavill workout above will help you gain muscle like a mother*ucker, it will only work if your diet is on point.

According to various interviews, Henry ate up to 5000 calories per day in order to bulk up for Superman.

I don’t know if this number is over exaggerated but the majority of people will never need 5000 calories per day, even if your goal is to gain weight.

For most people, the following formula tends to work pretty well: Your bodyweight in pounds x 16-18 kcals.

You can adjust up or down by 100-200 calories if you start to gain more fat than muscle.

As for what kinds of foods you should eat…I don’t particularly care.

  • Aim to get about 0.8-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
  • Aim to get 20% of your calories from fat.
  • Fill in the rest of your calories with carbs.

You can still eat your favorite foods, but just remember – moderation! You should try to eat more whole foods 80% of the time, meaning foods like potatoes, beef, chicken, pork, whole milk, rice, pasta, fruits, and vegetables.

But if you have a craving for doughnuts or pizza then don’t deprive yourself either, just don’t binge on that shit.

Do you need to take supplements?

I typically don’t recommend supplements because all you need t build a badass body like Henry Cavill in Superman is a solid workout program and good nutrition. But that’s not to say supplements are useless.

If you’re having trouble getting enough protein, then a protein powder may help.

Other than that, a multivitamin is useful to cover potential mineral deficiencies.

And some fish oil is useful to combat inflammation and balance out the Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio that is so common in Western diets.

Recommended supplement brands:

  1. ON Whey (protein powder)
  2. Garden Of Life Multivitamin for men (multivitamin) 
  3. Nutrigold fish oil (fish oil)

Update (6/14): What if I’m not trying to gain muscle?

I understand everyone has different goals and not everyone is trying to gain muscle. A lot of guys are complete beginners and want to lose weight.

Here’s how to modify the workout and diet above if you’re trying to lose weight and not gain muscle:

  • Do the same workout but the each workout but on Monday do 1 less set for each exercise.
  • On Tuesday, do 1 less set for each exercise except calf raises (still do 5 sets). On Thursday, do 1 less set for each exercise.
  • On Friday, do 1 less set for each exercise, except for the bicep and triceps exercises (only do 4 sets each instead of 6)
  • For you diet, the only thing that changes are your calorie requirements.
  • Use the following formula:Your bodyweight in pounds x 16-18.
  • If you’re a complete beginner, chances are you’ll gain muscle and lose fat (the newbie effect) which is awesome even if you’re in a calorie deficit.

Henry Cavil Workout: Want the exact blueprint to build a “Superman” worthy body?

Look I know a lot of guys who aspire to look like Cavill struggle with losing weight and building muscle.

You’re probably one of them.

So I took everything I know and created a program called Superhero X12 designed specifically for guys who want to get ripped and build a Hollywood “superhero” body.

If you ever wanted the lean, aesthetic physique of a Hollywood actor, be sure to check it out. If you have any questions on the Henry Cavill Man of Steel workout, be sure to leave them below.

575 Comments - Leave Your Thoughts

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      1. Good workout keith…… Instead of changing from 5 reps on strength days to 12 reps on hypertrophy days can I just find a happy medium and do 8reps on all days…. The reason I am saying is I workout at home with no spot and have limited weight to work with …. So going super heavy on bench fr 5 reps is not practical ….

  1. I’m fairly strong, and have some muscle, but I’m ridiculously overweight(was in great shape at one time), do I need to do anything beyond this workout or will it also take care of fat loss if I lower the calorie intake?

  2. Hi

    Can I do tabata protocol( 5 min jogg then 20 s sprint and rest 10s-8 reps) one time per week for burn extra fat?

  3. Hi keith,

    I can see from the comments you are such a good advisor and really helpful to those for building muscles. I have a question here for IF do you think eat breakfast is necessary? My weight is 125 lbs. i would like to gain some more muscles a bit. Since my chest already have volume. The most important thing is my shoulders. Can i make my shoulders bigger? I have been working out since November 2012. I lost 10 lbs until now. Also, i wanted to make my abs more visible. I still have a bit belly fat now i am trying to get rid of it.

    1. Hey,

      Breakfast is not necessary at all. Only your total calories at the end of the day matter. Bringing up your shoulders is simply a matter of getting progressively stronger at exercises that engage the shoulder.

      As for getting rid of belly fat, that’s a matter of dieting and being in a calorie deficit.

      I would focus on one or the other (getting bigger shoulders or losing fat) not both since you’ll just drive yourself crazy if you want to accomplish both quickly.

  4. Keith what sort of weights are we looking to lift mondays and tuesdays ? Maximum heavy weights that we can lift or 90% of our maximum ?

    1. The max weight that you can lift for 5 reps. But don’t train to failure each time, you should feel like you could do one more rep.

  5. Dear Keith
    Your overview of the training programme is quite easy to comprehend but I read in Men health magazine an article about 3 phases of training. The first one called conditioning and is all about getting into shape in 2 months, 5 days a week, the next is called the hypertrophy phase and lasts for 3 months (5days a week) and finally the last is the leaning phase for four weeks. How come you haven’t included the phases ? And how would a program for someone like me look like if I may so frank to ask you advice 🙂 I am a very lean person and my metabolic rate is high. Weight at the moment 65kg but physically active with both soccer and training but lacks the structure in how to train efficiently. Please advise. All the best
    Wolfsburg

    1. Why? Because I don’t work at MensHealth 🙂

      I’m unfamiliar with that 3 phase workout but the workout in this article is geared for those who want to gain muscle. Like you said, you are very lean so I’m guessing you want to gain muscle and my workout/diet above is perfect for that.

      1. Dear Keith
        Thanks for the reply and I will keep you updated on the progress. I did the first day yesterday and I was finished within an hour? Was that too quick or ?

  6. Hey Keith, thanks for brining me to this workout. I noticed that there aren’t any ab exercises. I have some definition already, (5’9 / 155) but want them completely shredded. Since that’s all body fat related would 1 or 2 boxing classes a week help melt some more fat?

  7. I’m a 16 yr old guy, and I still have a very high metabolism. I’m roughly 135 pounds and 6 feet tall. Should I go about this any differently?

  8. HEY KEITH
    IM ABOUT 220 LBS AND AROUND 5’10… I HAVENT WORKED OUT IN A LONG LONG TIME AND STARTING MONDAY (4 DAYS FROM NOW) IM GOIN TO START WATCHING WHAT I EAT AND I AM ALSO GOING TO START GOING TO THE GYM ON MONDAY. I DONT WANNA LOSE WEIGHT I WANNA MAKE MY WEIGHT INTO MUSCLE. I WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW THE WORKOUT PLAN YOU HAVE ABOVE, WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND AS FAR AS WORKING OUT?

          1. You should focus on cardiovascular training and date. Drop enough weight until you’re comfortable and then start bulking again. Lifting weights is not going to make you look like Superman if you’re 5’10 and 220. My advice would be to start jogging!

  9. so my question is, how do i know how much weight do i use? i only have enough weights to do maybe 150 on a bar.. maybe a little more.. i can bench 100 just fine, i worked outin high school, used to be 135 benching 235, now im 25, 180, trying to drop to 160 but pack on the muscles again… i have alot of memory muscle, my arms are still big. so any tips please?

    1. You should use a weight that you can only do for the specified rep range. So if you need to 5 reps on an exercise, you shouldn’t be able to do more than 5 reps for the given weight.

    1. No push ups don’t work your back. You should start with inverted rows which are easier to do than pullups. They will help you work your way up to pullups.

  10. trying to understand your work out better. So, on Monday and Tuesday it is low reps/high weight. On Thursday and Friday it is high reps/low weight?

    thanks in advance for advice

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