How David Corenswet Got Ripped To Play Superman In James Gunn's DC Universe
In May 2024, almost one year after he was announced as the new Man of Steel, David Corenswet was seen wearing the iconic Superman costume for the first time in an image from James Gunn's "Superman." The highly anticipated film, which is slated for release in July 2025, is ushering in a new era for DC Studios and its co-chairman and CEO James Gunn, who is writing and directing the project. Corenswet took over the red cape following the departure of Henry Cavill after a meeting with Gunn and Peter Safran, who is also a co-chairman and CEO of DC Studios.
For Corenswet, taking on such a big role meant big changes: He had to trade in his lean physique for super abs and larger-than-life arm muscles. It's a journey that's taken by many actors who have portrayed the Man of Steel over the years. Fortunately, he had plenty of help along the way. Corenswet was able to stick to the task at hand thanks to guidance from experienced personal trainer Paolo Mascitti, who created a custom plan for the actor. But what did that plan entail, exactly? Here's how David Corenswet got ripped to play Superman in James Gunn's DC Universe.
Corenswet packed on the pounds with daily workouts
Paolo Mascitti told British GQ that David Corenswet showed an awesome work ethic while preparing for James Gunn's "Superman." The actor trained by himself for two hours each day while also fitting in three to four weekly sessions with his trainer, and that was on top of a loaded filming schedule. According to Mascitti, Corenswet was determined to look the part. "He's 6'4" but we wanted to put more bulk on him," the celebrity trainer said, adding: "He probably went from 200lbs to 240lbs, but some of that mass will shed as he continues to tone up."
Corenswet's determination more than likely came from the fact that playing the Man of Steel is a dream come true for him: While responding to comments about physical similarities between himself and Henry Cavill in 2019, Corenswet told Entertainment Weekly, "My pie-in-the-sky ambition is definitely to play Superman." The actor's personal trainer was excited about getting him ready for the role of a lifetime, and he believes that it's a part the actor was meant to play. Mascitti said: "He is Superman. James Gunn is amazing at casting people and this guy was born to be Superman. Ask any cast or crew member, David is the nicest guy, and I think, the perfect Superman."
He progressively overloaded his muscles
Rome was not built in a day, and neither was Superman. In January 2024, James Gunn took to his @jamesgunn Instagram account to share that the "Superman" team was almost ready to head into production. Paolo Mascitti told British GQ that he and David Corenswet started meeting five months prior to the start date, which was set for March 2024. The experienced trainer believed that this was enough time to achieve their goals, but it wasn't easy,
To get the actor into super shape, Mascitti prescribed incline dumbbell presses, bench presses, leg raises, and incline running, among other high intensity techniques. "If you're trying to gain size, your focus should be on big, compound moves," said Mascitti. "You need to progressively overload the muscles, which means lifting heavier and heavier weights each time. And my obsession is getting a full range of motion, which involves really controlling the negatives."
That's not the only physical training that Corenswet has been focused on, either. While his appearance was always going to be important, the actor knew that he also had to master an array of skills that would help make the action fly off the screen, and that required fight training: Rachel Brosnahan, the new Lois Lane, told The Hollywood Reporter in January 2024 that Corenswet was hard at work sharpening his combat skills in Atlanta, Georgia.
Sticking to a strict diet was key (though he cheated a little)
Working out is not the only activity that leads to a Superman bod. As anyone who is trying to pack on muscle will tell you, what you're eating is just as important as what you're lifting. David Corenswet's personal trainer is of course well aware of just how vital diet is when it comes to getting into superhero shape, so he made sure his client was getting everything he needed in terms of food. "You need to be in a caloric surplus to provide the building blocks of muscle," Paolo Mascitti told British GQ. However, sometimes he was shocked to find out that Corenswet had been straying outside of the diet he advised.
"He was on around 6,000 calories a day and his diet was strict, but not as strict as I would have liked," Mascitti revealed. "We'd speak remotely and I'd ask him about his diet and he'd be eating cereal! He'd ask, 'What's wrong with cereal!?' But that's why he's the perfect Superman, he has a realistic expectation of himself and the role." If 6,000 calories sounds like a lot, you might be surprised to learn that some superhero actors have even more than that during their training period: Mascitti's client Flula Borg was consuming a whopping 7,000-calories a day while getting in shape for "The Suicide Squad," which was due to his fast metabolism. "I had a very strict meal plan that was implemented by Paolo, so I ate not so many carbs and then lots of protein, lots of vegetables," Borg told GQ. There's no word on whether he also had a cheeky bowl of cereal every now and then.
Making time in a busy schedule
Setting aside a period of five months for training gave Paolo Mascitti and David Corenswet a good jumpstart. With Mascitti's expertise, this was enough time to transform the actor's body for the title role in James Gunn's "Superman." However, Corenswet wasn't able to give himself over to his new workout program entirely — he still had other obligations to fulfill, and that meant making time to train even when he and Mascitti were many miles apart. "Half of his training had to be done over FaceTime and half in person as he wasn't in Los Angeles all the time," Mascitti told British GQ. FaceTime workouts could become a key element in keeping up Corenswet's momentum over the course of the shoot, with the cast and crew of "Superman" filming in various locations, including Svalbard, Norway.
Mascitti's flexibility shows that he is focused on putting the needs of his client first, and while that includes working around filming and travel, it also means building sessions that work toward specific goals. "We focus on moments like presses, pull ups, pull downs, rows — all the big ones. We switched a little bit after a while, but kept that focus on progressive overload to encourage muscle growth, keeping track of reps and weight and trying to advance each week," Mascitti said. It's a simple approach, he admitted, but it's tried and tested. According to the veteran trainer, there are a lot of fads that don't always get results. "A lot of trainers online are looking for the next best thing, but it's not about showy moves, it's about mastering the exercise and focusing on things like full range of motion, mastering the negative, stretching, and trying to progress in weight and reps."
The focus was switched each day
Paolo Mascitti told British GQ that his schedule for David Corenswet consisted of a push day, a pull day, and then a leg day. Mascitti's strategy of mixing up the workout routine comes with its benefits according to research conducted by NBC's Better, including keeping muscles engaged. "The body works in different energy systems, so it's important to vary strength and cardio, mobility and flexibility training," fitness instructor and food coach Liz Barnet told the outlet. "Many workouts focus on one thing more than another, so it's good to change it up." There are, however, some downsides to this approach.
Workout coach Dan Trink, who is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, believes that constantly switching up exercise classes can sometimes have a negative impact on a client's momentum. "If you're in it strictly to have fun or as a form of socializing — that's great, have a ball. If you're looking to maximize your fitness, however, you can fall into the trap of 'mixing it up' at the expense of actually making progress, getting better and reaching your goals." Judging by some of the images that have come out of Corenswet since he started working toward his Superman look, it seems as though mixing it up has been working wonders for him. There's no right way to achieve your workout goals, only the way that works for you, and that's why Hollywood studios bring in the top trainers to get the best out of their stars with tailor-made programs.
How his routine varied from Henry Cavill's
Just as no Superman movie is the same, every actor who plays the Man of Steel takes a different route in terms of getting into shape for the coveted part. David Corenswet and Henry Cavill may look similar, but their approaches to tackling Superman's larger-than-life muscles were quite different. How long and hard you train for a superhero project often depends on the role you're coming off of and the shape you're in going into it. While Paolo Mascitti told British GQ that Corenswet was naturally lean before they started their work, Cavill walked into the role with an ever leaner figure due to a previous project, weighing in at 170 pounds — 30 pounds shy of Corenswet's starting weight.
Corenswet and Mascitti hit the ground running with intense workouts, while Cavill and Twight decided to slowly ramp things up over the course of their first two months together. "Stable fitness requires a wide, solid foundation," Twight told Muscle and Fitness. "The deeper that foundation, the more stable that condition will be, and the easier it is to maintain." As for their schedule, Cavill and Twight did their best to meet five days a week. They squeezed in two training sessions on these days, which is very different to Corenswet's three to four sessions per week with Mascitti. Twight also demanded that Cavill get 10 hours of sleep so that his muscles had adequate time to recover.
Squats are a staple of the Superman workout
David Corenswet and Henry Cavill each took their own paths to reaching ultimate Superman strength, but squats were big exercises for both actors. "He's great at squats, but he just doesn't enjoy lunges," Paolo Mascitti told British GQ when discussing Corenswet's Man of Steel journey. As for Cavill, his routine included front squats. It was during this exercise that his trainer realized that Cavill had reached the stage where he was ready to play Superman. He looked like he was about to fold while holding a 305-pound barbell, but he mustered all of his strength to complete his fourth set. "To see him do that, then walk around like he's on air, to believe in himself enough to try that hard, that was one of the more impressive things that happened during the whole course of this process," Mark Twight told Muscle and Fitness.
Squats minus the 305-pound barbell can be an easy, everyday exercise that's especially beneficial the older you get. AARP looked at research and talked to experts about all of the benefits behind the movement, which can provide strength throughout the leg muscles. Fitness expert Denise Austin told the organization that squats impact the lower body muscles and help to protect knees and hips. For those looking to pump some iron while doing this all important exercise, personal trainer Eric Daw says to wait until completing two sets of 15 reps with no muscle soreness. After that, try a low set of dumbbells before thinking about moving to heavier weights. You might not end up looking like Corenswet or Cavill, but you'll definitely feel the benefit.
His training was somewhat similar to Christopher Reeve's
Before there was David Corenswet or Henry Cavill, there was one actor who embodied the role of Superman and became synonymous with the big screen version of this character. Christopher Reeve first flew onto the big screen as Clark Kent in 1978's "Superman," ushering in a new type of superhero movie. He would continue to play the role over the course of almost 10 years, starring in "Superman II," "Superman III," and "Superman IV: Quest for Peace," which was released in 1987.
In a 1998 interview with Ability magazine, Reeve explained that he had to gain 30 pounds for the role — just 10 pounds shy of Corenswet's goal. And, like the new Superman, the changes made to Reeve's diet and exercise were immediate, including a new weight lifting routine. Like Paolo Mascitti, Reeve's trainer David Prowse (the same David Prowse who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy) also focused on simple exercises that were staples of many workouts. In many ways, Corenswet's approach to getting into Superman shape was more similar to Reeve's than it was to Cavill's, which may come as a shock considering the time gap.
Working out as a cast
Superheroes and villains working out together to make action-packed battles sing on the big screen — that's what's been going down behind the scenes of "Superman." Paolo Mascitti has been tasked with not only helping David Corenswet get into shape for the film, but other cast members, too, including Maria Gabriela De Faria, Sara Sampaio, and Nicholas Hoult. De Faria plays shapeshifter Angela Spica, also known as The Engineer. Sara Sampaio portrays Superman villain Eve Teschmacher. And, of course, no big Superman story is complete without Lex Luthor, played here by Nicholas Hoult.
De Faria posted a video to Instagram showing herself and Sampaio working out with the caption, "Facetime session with @paolomascitti on a Saturday because, as Paolo would say: 'nobody cares about your sad stories, do 5 more.'" Mascitti told British GQ that the cast of "Superman" sometimes joins in with David Corenswet's specially tailored routines. The trainer also does solo workouts with cast members, depending on what the schedule looks like. "There are times where David is really busy so I train Nick and others without him, and other times when it's just been Nick and I together," he said. "There's no specific plan, but they're all welcome to join in with whatever they're doing, whoever is there."
Having fun is important
Motivation can be key to starting and completing a workout, and having fun can be the jumpstarter that keeps that motivation going. Paolo Mascitti told British GQ that there is plenty of room for competition when the "Superman" cast gets together, and that includes when David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult battle it out in the gym. "It's really fun, it's a very easy environment to work in," he said. Put all of his strategies together and out comes a winning workout recipe, which is evident in the results.
In an Instagram post on @paolomascitti, the trainer shared an image of Corenswet flexing his massive arm muscles that got the internet buzzing. That same post also includes the reveal of Corenswet's muscles in the famous super suit, which proved to be a moment of pride for the trainer. Mascitti added a caption that stated just how much the actor has given in the gym. He wrote: "David Corenswet worked his a** off, I can't wait to share more of the training we did to prepare to play this iconic character, stay tuned for more."