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
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!
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:
- ON Whey (protein powder)
- Garden Of Life Multivitamin for men (multivitamin)
- 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.
Hi
I love this workout. B
ut what I should do to be more leaner?
Sorry for double comment : )
Maybe change workout for your Arrow Routine?
I noticed there is no core or ab workouts in here, and you also said not to partake in anymore strenuous excercises? So what should we do for that?
Lunges, rows, deadlifts, squats…these all work your abs since they need to work as stabilizer muscles.
This is nothing like the actual workout he did. Its not even close to what other websites say or the actual footage and youtube videos of him being trained.
I’m completely aware of that, Ryan. This is a great workout to help you get a body like Henry Cavill. His actual workout, if I were to simply write about it word-for-word would not be optimal to helping you guys gain muscle.
For the diet, can intermittent fasting work with this?
7 pm – 11 am next day, fast
11 am – 3 pm – veggie/protein/fat light meals 1 – 3 times
3 pm – 7 pm – veggie/protein/CARB heavy meals 1-2 times
ya sure.
Cool. Thank you for the workout. The one on Men’s Fitness is too much. Seems it would take half a day to go through all that.
Haha no problem.
Doing all of this by what time do you expect to see results?
You should start seeing results in a few weeks.
Hi, just wanted to ask, if you do this exercise, would it be possible to do this and still do other workouts; for example, I’m trying to be a fighter, but I want to be big like henry, would I get better results as I’m doing 2 things? Or will I burn myself out?
Ya it’s possible just make sure you’re eating enough to compensate for the extra workouts.
I’m 6’1 and around 230 pounds, I’m really interested in doing this workout but I have very limited resources. I have a set of dumbbells that are about 30 pounds each and I do not have access to a gym. I also have some heavier weight plates that I used to use for ab workouts. Is there anything I should buy or any changes I should make to the workout before I start it? Also if I want to reduce fat should I focus mainly on the diet or should I include a cardio workout?
Having only 30 pound dumbbells isn’t ideal. The best thing for you to do would be to increase the reps, and decrease your rest time to fatigue your muscles. So do more of a circuit type training routine. Reducing fat is 90% diet.
Currently doing this routine now and it’s helped me so much with my gains thank you!
No problem, glade to help.
Thank you for providing this workout when henry cavill and mark twight wouldn’t.
Haha no problem.
Hi can I ask what the typical meals would be to have on this diet?and can I incorporate cardio aswel? If do how much cardio?at the moment I’m around 6ft and 17 stone
Meals can vary so much from person to person so nothing is typical.
You don’t need cardio if you’re trying to gain muscle.
Thanks Keith for giving us an amazing workout to do.
I want to ask you, can I just lose fat while gaining muscle by doing this workout?
And im doing intermittent fasting, and workout at 9-11 am in the morning, and eat at 3pm everyday till 9pm. My question is do I need to take protein shakes after my workout or I can skip it until 3pm? They said you need that protein shakes to repair your muscle after workout, and it makes me confused. Thanks keith.
Losing fat and gaining muscle isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do unless you’re a complete beginner. I would focus on one or the other. You don’ need to take protein after your workout, you can wait till 3. As long as you hit your protein goals by the end of the day, you’re good.
Hey man, so I haven’t worked out in a while- then I saw man of steel and instantly got inspired. I’m 5’9 and 132 lbs. I’ve worked out for most of my life until about a year and a half ago. I’m really hoping to get bigger and stronger with this workout. Anything else I can do to help myself? Anything specific to eat? I have whey protein shake but Idont know when to drink it.
Just stay consistent, don’t deter from the plan too much.
Whey protein is nothing special, just an easy and convenient way to get good protein. There’s nothing specific you need to eat as long as you hit the nutritional guidelines I laid out above.
Noob question so apologies. Is it right to assume that for the Monday & Tuesday sessions I use a heavy weight whereas on the Thursday & Friday sessions I use a much lighter weight?
Yes but not so light to the point where it’s not even a challenge.
Great thanks for the info. Started training this week so I’ll let you know how I go :o)
Hi Keith, you said that losing fat and gaining muscle isnt easy to do and you would like to focus on one instead of two. Can this workout help me lose weight? What should I add to the workout? Cardio or sth? And im still using intermittent fasting daily.
yes did you read the section of the post above – “What if I’m not trying to gain muscle?”
Hi Keith: )
With this workout my chest won’t be too big?
Prob not. If it starts to get too big, then just cut back a bit on the chest exercises.