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

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

  1. This workout seems to be fine (I started today), but in comparison to the Thor and Skyfall workouts, it seems a bits sparse. I think I have it in my head that I have to workout longer than 30 minutes- which is how long Day 1 took me. I also added some row machine cardio.

    About me: I’m 6’4′, and I weigh 270. That sounds like a lot- it is. However, everyone I ask (like the personal trainers at my gym) thought I couldn’t be over 240 ( I used to be 235 before my senior year of college). I’m thankful that I carry it somewhat well, but I don’t want to carry it.

    The Henry Cavil Workout? James Bond? I’d love to know your suggestions.

    1. What it only took you 30 min?

      Are you using heavy enough weights? The whole point of day 1 is to push very heavy weight for lower reps. As a result you typically need to rest longer when using lower reps/heavier weights.

      1. Since it was only first day, I was testing the water. I haven’t worked out regularly for a year and half. However, I did use 35 olbs, and I was struggling a bit towards the end.

        How long should recovery be? I thought you may say my weights weren’t heavy enough. I may be able to do 45 lbs, I just want to make sure my form is right (for the incline and/or flat dumbbell presses).

        I saw some of the other comments, and I was just wondering why this workout is “better” – for muscle building, than say, the Daniel Craig or the Thor workout. I’m a layman, so forgive me, but it seems that in the Thor workout, you have more exercises for each day, working different muscles.

        Is it all about the ‘very heavy weights” I need to upgrade too?

        Also, would it be bad to add some sort of ab exercises, besides contracting my abs? I am trying to do this as well.

        Thank you.

        1. Well it’s not just about choosing any weight and doing it 5 times. You need to choose a weight that’s sufficiently heavy enough so that it’s very hard to push the 6th rep.

          1. Thank you for replying.

            Right! Any recommendations on the rest time between sets and the next exercise?

        2. @Alex, I realize I’m a little late to the party here, but I just felt like I needed to get in my two cents. If you’re just getting into weight lifting, or just getting back into it after some time away, the last thing you want to do is jump right in and start lifting super heavy weights. Even if you are doing minimal reps it will reek havoc on your joints and your ligaments. You should start with 3-4 weeks of lighter weight to practice technique, like you said, and to prepare your joints for the stress of heavy lifting.

          This program seems like a good one for the goals it is targeting, but it is very intense and you need to work up to it. I’ve had clients who try to go too much too soon despite my advice not to, and they all ended up hurting themselves and having to rehab and take even longer to get there than if they had been patient in the beginning. Other clients have followed my direction and built a good solid foundation first and when they were ready their strength and muscle size increased dramatically.

          I guess the point is, if you don’t do it right the first time you’ll end up worse off than when you started.

  2. Is this the exact workout Cavill used to train for this movie or were there any variations? Could you send me them if there were? I noticed on your other article about Daniel Craig you left a note stating that was not the official workout so I was wondering.

  3. I have been following this for a few days and its great, I really enjoy your programs. I just have a few questions.

    1) How long should it take before I start to see some gains?

    2) I know it’s different for everyone but how long will it take if we follow this religiously to be Cavill’s size?

    3) If I get a good pump while I do this but am not sore the next day, does that mean I am not going to see results?

    Sorry for all the questions.

    1. 1) couple weeks
      2) I honestly don’t know because everyone begins at a diff starting point.
      3) Soreness is overrated. Focus on just getting stronger and progressing, soreness usually comes with that but sometimes it doesn’t and that’s okay.

  4. I am overweight. No, I am obese. Which celebrity program would be best for me? I’m thinking Chris Pratt since he had to lose a lot for his Guardians/peter quill character. Also concerned about that caloric intake formula. It’s CRAZY! I couldn’t put down that much ‘clean’ healthy food in 3 days. May be I did it incorrectly but I used a calculator.

  5. Hi Keith,

    I’ve been following this program for a while now and i’ve been loving it and the changes i’ve been experiencing. However today i was sick today and couldn’t do the thursday workout. How should i resume the workout after i recover? I am on a strict 2 days off (which i do mon, tuesday/ thursday, friday workouts) and 1 day on shift in which i cannot workout. How do you think i should resume the program?

  6. I weigh 290 and am a beginner in the worse way. I’m getting married mid november and want to look my best as possible. I have a trainer, gym membership, I’ve bought P90x/insanity, and the motivation is just not there sadly. I know I’m not going to be Cavil or even close to Superman but what advice to can you give to someone that has a hard time staying motivated?

    thank you for your help

    1. That’s a heavy question, James 🙂

      Heavy weight lifting in the way I set it up here is one of the fastest ways to transform your body. Of course it’s no magic pill, but once you learn how to properly lift weights with good form and add more and more weight each week, I think you’ll find the motivation to be pretty easy.

  7. Hey Keith great workout!

    I’m 15 years old, 5 feet 7 and weigh 120 lbs. Can I follow this program? Will it stunt my growth?

    Thanks

  8. Hey Keith,

    Thanks so much for such a simple to use routine! My question is, I’m about 5’10” and 230 lbs. I’m looking at the diet and I’m a bit confused. I want to lose weight and gain muscle (goal of maybe 200lbs) so according to the calculations, I need to take in about 230g of protein a day and 3910 calories with 782 calories from fat (20% of total calories). According to livestrong.com, 230g of protein is 920 calories (they say 1g protein/carbs = 4 calories). So that means almost 2208 calories from carbs? Isn’t that a lot of calories from carbs? Thanks again!

  9. Hi Keith,

    I’m 15, 220 lbs, about 5’10”. Ive been exercising for the past few months hoping to lose weight and gain muscle. I’ve incorporated vigorous cardio during Monday’s, Wednesdays and Fridays, and moderate resistance training the other days except sunday (pushups, situps, leg raises, lunges, squats, shoulder touches, sitting twists, bicep curls, overhead press and deadlift (3x) with moderate weight levels). It has been without a solid plan behind it, so which plan would you say is better to lose weight and tone up quickly, the Henry Cavill workout or the Stephen Amell workout? Also I’ve been cutting 1000 cals a day (so daily i take in 1900 cals) which is recommended to me by many sources. How could I modify either of these workouts to fit my needs?

    1. I would focus on just losing weight first and not trying to build muscle and lose weight at the same time. If you are a complete newbie, you will probably gain some muscle and lose weight but just view that as a bonus.

      I’d start with the Amell plan. Who told you to cut with 1000 calories? DO NOT do that. You are way too young to be cutting on that few calories.

      1. So to lose weight would I not do any weight lifting? Should I have my focus be cardio, or should I do both? Also the calorie deficit seems natural, I don’t find myself hungry if I’ve met the 1900 calorie limit for the day?

  10. So the Amell plan alone will help me lose weight? I don’t need to do any sort of cardio? Also how would I modify the Amell workout to pinpoint weight loss instead of muscle development?

    1. Yes.

      No cardio for now.

      Just follow the workout as laid out the only difference is that you don’t necessarily need to get stronger each weeks and you don’t need to eat in calorie surplus.

  11. I have never done any physical activity before. My weight is 144 pounds and my height is 5’6. And m a pure vegetarian. I want physique like Jason Statham. Please can you give me a routine workout. Thanks in advance.

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}
2K Shares
Share2K
Tweet
Pin180
Email
WhatsApp